Do you know where in Red Bank the above photo was taken?
Send your answer (or best guess) to [email protected] by noon, Thursday, June 26. We’ll reveal the location the next day.
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Here’s the answer to last week’s “Where.”
Last week’s photo was a close-up of the extra tall chimney and roof line of the rear structure of “Building 2” of The Antique Center of Red Bank at 195 West Front Street. We took the photo from an alley next to the parking garage for the West Side Lofts. Antique. Center owner Guy Johnson was among the first to write in to identify his own building.
When we visited, Johnson told us the front building was built as a UPS distribution facility in the 1950’s.
The very long chimney in the rear structure does not seem to have any special use, other than the fact that the furnace once used to heat both buildings was in the rear building so it blew a lot of exhaust and likely had to be built well clear of the roofline.
The exhaust, he said, was often enough to asphixiate birds who perched on the chimney, whose skeletal remains he would often find when he cleaned out the furnace.
We then got distracted by a super cool tide clock made out of ship porthole and some awesome antique guitars for sale and were on our way. We had forgotten what a true Red Bank gem this place is.
Antiques Center of Red Bank. Always a delight to visit. (photo by Brian Donohue)
The alley where we took the photo seems to have been an old right-of-way for decades, as “Where” regular Chuck Stern found by looking at old maps of the area and going down what he called a pretty deep rabbit hole on the history of the area.
Chuck writes:
“In summary, there was a railroad right-of-way (ROW) of the NJ Southern Railroad that ran through there years ago. The tracks ran across West Front Street, then alongside Morford Place, then over the river, and on to Belford and Atlantic Highlands. The antiques center is on 2 lots, #9 and #10 of Block 36. #9 is a very narrow sliver that used to butt up against the ROW. From everything I can see, it looks like the roadway is now owned by the West Side Lofts as a driveway to their garage, subject to some access easements.”
Notice that there was once a Burrowes Street that ran between Bridge Avenue and the ROW. There are currently 2 NJ Transit parking lots in Red Bank with Burrowes Street in their names, but there is no more Burrowes Street. (The tax maps show a Burrowes Place that lines up with a short piece of the former Burrowes Street at the intersection with Monmouth Street. There is no street sign identifying it, but it’s named on the tax maps. It looks like an alley just to the west of the former Walt Street Pub.) There is a trivia question stumper for sure. Where is Burrowes Place in Red Bank? Does not show up on Google Maps, just the tax maps.
A shot of the front of the Antiques Center of Red Bank. (photo by Brian Donohue)
Thanks to those who wrote in. It was a short list this week, so this one seems to have been a stumper.
Chuck Stern, Guy Johnson, Peter Cavalier, Alice McKeon.
I hope I got everyone. Please email or text me immediately if we missed you at [email protected] or 848-331-8331. Your sharp eyes and hustle should be properly rewarded.
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