TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, N.J.—It’s a snowy day in Washington Township in this photo (above) that shows the Pine Lodge, corner of Pascack and Ridgewood Roads, as it looked 90 years ago. The advertisement at right was printed this week in 1930.
Notice the old style of phone number—Westwood 2097—from an era when Washington Township used the neighboring borough’s telephone exchange. At the time the township had about 400 residents to Westwood’s nearly 5,000.
The bungalow-style building on the property dates to approximately 1913. Wendell Orth bought it in the 1920s and made renovations to convert it into a restaurant, Pine Lodge.
Around 1930, Orth enlarged an existing lake on the property and created a swim club called Pine Lake. It was a popular summer attraction for decades, drawing people from all over Bergen County.
Pine Lake closed in 1976 and the swimming area buildings burned in 1982. The main house, which has passed through numerous owners, continues to be used as a restaurant. Over the years it’s been Chaucer’s and Pine Lake Inn, but today it’s the Bacari Grill.
