MONTVALE, N.J.
Montvale sure has changed over the past 95 years. The population has grown from about 1,200 to 8,500. With that growth, acres of farmland and forest became homes and corporate campuses. The borough went from “the country,” where a typical house cost around $5,000 in 1930, to an affluent suburb where few are surprised to see homes listed for more than $1 million.
However, the scene above shows one little section that remains relatively unchanged. This is a view down Park Street, from Grand Avenue toward Kinderkamack Road, as it appeared around 1930.
Unlike today, Park Street then had two-way traffic, which worked out just fine with so few cars on the road. The large building was a meat market, and in the foreground is a gasoline and service station. What appears to be a Model T is pulled up to the pump.
Both buildings still stand. The former meat market has been Davey’s Irish Pub since the 1970s. The service station garage is still there, too. Imagine the cars that have rolled through over the years. In 1930, the average gasoline price was about 20 cents a gallon. Adjusted for inflation, that is equivalent to about $3 today.