It started as an innovative industrial plant
Independence Harbor is a shining example of the renaissance of the New Jersey Hudson riverfront. Prior to its existence, the site housed the Ford Motor company from 1929 to 1955.
Opening in 1930, Ford's 400,000 square foot assembly motor plant was considered the most advanced and efficient automobile assembly plant for its time.
Built as a replacement for the four-story assembly plant in Kearny, New Jersey, the Edgewater facility was one of the first fully-developed, two-story automobile assembly plants in the United States. Henry Ford took full advantage of the rail line, the deep water frontage, the proximity to a great labor and consumer market to experiment with, he installed the most modern equipment available to efficiently produce a low priced automobile.
The building itself was designed by Albert Kahn, who became known as the “architect who built Detroit” after he modernized the industry's assembly plant concepts. The building utilized various new construction technologies including the first use in the United States of mushroom columns.
The Edgewater plant produced the Ford Model A and was lauded for its ability to assemble the entire vehicle in 48 minutes or less. And once completed, the Model A was shipped to destinations across the country by loading them onto barges at the end of the pier.
Other cars manufactured at the plant included the 1932 Ford Model B ,1936 Ford Coupe, the 1938 Ford Deluxe Convertible Coupe and the 1938 Ford Mercury.
At the start of World War II, production was shifted to military vehicles, Ford Jeeps and light trucks. Jeep production began in 1943. Over the course of the war, the plant produced 130,000 military vehicles over the course of the war, many of which were shipped to Russia.
At the end of the war production shifted back to civilian cars. Air ace Captain E V Rickenbacker and movie actress Carole Lewis re-opened the production line.
At its height, the plant employed over 4,000 people from the surrounding New Jersey neighborhoods including Cliffside Park, Fairview, North Bergen, Weehawken, Palisades Park, Fort Lee and New York City.
But in 1955, Ford decided to streamline vehicle assembly to other locations across the US and abandoned the commercial site and the 1500 foot pier that housed the main assembly line. When it was all counted, the plant had assembled over 1.8 Million Ford Vehicles, averaging 6,000 vehicles a week.
Ford sold the land and the plant to a New York realty investor in 1961 who redeveloped the site for shipping and other industrial uses, which ultimately failed and the site fell into disrepair.
With other local commercial operators either closing down or moving out of the area, the southern part of Edgewater fell into disrepair and soon became an industrial wasteland that lasted well into the 1980's.
Major structures that were torn down were the administrative building, water tower, oil house, multiple railroad tracks and the automobile bridge across the railroad tracks pictured below in a vehicular accident in 1932 (the plant is in the background - right).
From commercial wasteland to thriving community
This is the site where Independence Harbor would later be built, using many of the buildings and features of the original Ford factory including the main factory floor, tie-up bollards at the end of the pier and the bascule bridge.
In 1989, Hartz Mountain Industries began construction on the Independence Harbor community using steel and concrete fabrication.
They retained many of the original structural components including footings, pilings, supports and the mezzanine landing, which is now used for an additional layer of parking. Using these existing components has meant that Independence Harbor very much retains the look and feel of the original Ford factory.
This type of construction became a distinguishing characteristic that has proven its popularity with buyers looking for strength and durability when living directly next to the Hudson River.
SOURCE: GOOGLE MAPS, 2018
Where did our building names come from?
The names of the fourteen buildings in Independence Harbor were derived from the list of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence signed in Congress on July 4th 1776 . In most cases one name was chosen from each of the 13 states.
The first, largest, and most famous signature is that of John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress. The youngest signer was Edward Rutledge (age 26). Benjamin Franklin (age 70) was the oldest. Two future presidents signed: John Adams (second President) and Thomas Jefferson (third President). All of which are represented by building names at Independence Harbor.