ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—It’s difficult to imagine that Palisade Avenue in Englewood ever looked the way it does pictured above. Showing a dirt road and traffic only from horses and carriages, this view into the downtown dates to around 1904.
While we can’t see any in this image, there were definitely automobiles on the roads of Englewood at the time—just not very many, compared to today. A news snippet from 1902 reports that 50 “horseless carriages” (as they were called then) were owned by Englewood residents, inspiring talk of an automobile parade.
At the time, the automobile was far from being the common mode of transportation. In fact, at the dawn of the 20th century, automobiles were thought of merely as playthings for the wealthy, and thus owning one was a status symbol rather than a necessity. The vast majority of people still viewed the tried and true horse and carriage as the mode of transportation that would carry America into the future.
There were a few automobile dealers and shops operating in Englewood in the early 20th century. One of them was J.W. Van Wart, whose advertisement from 1900—showing the state of automobile technology at the time—is pictured below. In the photo above, his shop is the small white frame building at far left.
