Early Photograph of High Street
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This photograph, likely dating between 1910 and 1915, shows the intersection of High Street and Main Street in the distance. The road in the middle of the photograph is High Street, and the camera is facing west. The approximate location of the camera was at the coordinates 39.702405, -75.111400.
The Whitney Glassworks is on the right (behind the fence) and in the distance is the three-story Whitney building (also known as the Junior Mechanics Building), which in this photo is on the corner of High and Main Street.
This building was built by the Whitneys' to house their department store and provide leasable space to local businesses. Over its life, the building housed numerous businesses, including the Whitney Department Store, a grocery store, a barber, a lady's dress shop, a tailor, a hardware store, a meat market, a restaurant, and the Post Office. The building also had a variety of spaces that were used for events and social clubs. This building opened on October 10, 1896, and was an important Glassboro landmark for 48 years until a fire took the building on New Year's Eve, 1944.
The Whitney Store occupied the first floor, on the far end of the building on High Street. In the photograph, the sign for the Whitney Store is visible just left of a pole. The Glassboro Post Office was also located on the High Street side of the building between the Whitney Store and the building's main entrance. We are not yet sure who occupied the first floor on the Main Street side of the building when this photo was taken; however, sources point toward a meat market. The second floor was primarily used for offices. The third floor had meeting spaces, often used by various social groups such as the Freemasons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Starting around 1900, Glassboro's governing body, the newly formed Township Committee, began to use an office within this building as the first permanent location of the borough's governance.
Previously, the location was used for two other structures. In 1849, the Whitneys built the Odd Fellows Hall, which was a large three-story building. In the late 1890s (one source says March 1896, but that date doesn't seem correct), the building was moved several hundred feet north on Main Street (approximate location). Shortly after Odd Fellows Hall was moved, the Whitneys built a company story, The Whitney Department Store. An extensive fire stemming from the Whitney Glass Factory destroyed this building on October 26, 1895. The Odd Fellows Hall was demolished in 2003 to make way for new development.
The Glassboro Firehouse, built in 1910, is visible behind the Whitney building. The building across the street, on the far left, is likely the Post Office, which was previously located on High Street, behind the previous sandstone Whitney Building that was destroyed in the October 26, 1895 fire. The Post Office was moved to the southeast corner at High and Main Street on July 1, 1896. In this photograph, you can see the top of the First National Bank behind what is likely the Post Office building.
Aerial Photograph of the Whitney Building and the Odd Fellows Hall
Provided by the Hagley Collection, this is an aerial photo of most of Glassboro. The buildings are located approximately in the middle of the photograph. Dated September 24, 1929
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