PALISADES INTERSTATE PARK, N.J.—Nestled in the wooded cliffs off the Palisades Interstate Parkway between exits 2 and 3 stands the State Line Cafe, otherwise known as the Lookout Inn. Cozy, boasting two fireplaces, and with breathtaking views of the Hudson River from 532 feet above the water, this eatery still offers the old world charm it had when it was first built in 1938.
The Palisades Interstate Park’s Annual Report for 1937 included a write-up about a refreshment stand that was undergoing construction by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), one of the New Deal agencies of the Great Depression. Built using native Chestnut logs and stone from the Palisades, the stand was located at Point Lookout, otherwise known as the State Line Lookout, New Jersey’s highest point of the Palisades Cliffs. Safety for the sightseers was a priority and the WPA also built a rock wall along the cliff’s edge.
By the spring of 1938, the refreshment stand as well as a gas station and parking lot had been opened to the public. Back then, the Lookout Inn sat just feet from the northbound lanes of Route 9W.
At the time the Lookout Inn opened, there were numerous refreshment stands that were operating in the Palisades Interstate Park. They would sell menu items such as sandwiches, soup, corn beef and cabbage, spaghetti, ice cream and fresh tomato juice. Beer was also typically served.
Unlike today, in the early years the Lookout Inn was an open-air refreshment stand. Instead of the windows that are there now, there were actually wooden shutters that swung open and closed, and during the cold months large window panels were put into place.
During World War II the Lookout Inn closed down, along with many of the other park facilities. It was reopened following the war’s end, however, and received upgrades such as a new water system, and later, a traffic signal—manually operated by a police officer—at the intersection of 9W and the parking lot. Renovations in 1950 added more space to the stand in the rear, the glass walls we know today were made permanent and the gas station in the parking lot was removed. Later in that decade, the Palisades Interstate Parkway was constructed and the northbound lanes of 9W were taken away from the cliff’s edge and moved about one mile west. This abandoned part of the highway became the scenic road from the Parkway to the State Line Lookout Inn.
Photos courtesy Palisades Interstate Park Commission