A Look Into the History of Spring Lake’s Third Avenue

Dozens of people came out on Saturday for the Spring Lake Historical Society’s Walking Tour of the town's commercial center, organizers said.

Broken down into small groups, an estimated 75 attendees received a look into the history of what the Third Avenue Business District once was, said Barbara Harrigan, a trustee of the town's historical society and a tour guide Saturday.

Beginning on the corner of Passaic and Third avenues, the tour guides touched upon the stories behind each of Spring Lake's historic buildings as they passed by.

“This area was originally the business district for Brighton in the 1900s," Harrigan said. "Spring Lake consisted of Spring Lake Beach, Brighton, North Brighton, Como and Villa Park.”

For close to half of the 20th century, Third Avenue divided two Spring Lakes, Harrigan said.

“During the summer, the town east of Third Avenue had primarily summer visitors. During the winter, east of Third was empty. To the west of Third, residents lived year-round.”

Many of the buildings in the district were originally built from wood, but were later knocked down and rebuilt with brick after a series of damaging fires, Harrigan said.

Kicking off the tour, attendees learned that what is now Kate and Company was once J.A. Osborn Livery and Boarding Stables.

“There were quite a few livery stables in this area at that time (late 1880s). J.A. Osborn would pick people up from the railroad station,” Harrigan said.

New York merchant tailor Orazio Marucci — whom Marucci Park is named for — once worked at 1112 Third Ave., Harrigan said.

“Orazio Marucci came to this country from Italy. He had two sons —Frank and Otto. Otto changed his last name to Morris. Otto Morris opened a shaving parlor near the railroad. Frank took over the family’s tailoring business. Frank Marucci was very prominent in this town as he served as the borough councilman and then as mayor,” Harrigan said.

Marucci served as a councilman from 1916 to 1936 and then as mayor from 1936 to his death in 1956. Marucci Memorial Park was dedicated in his honor.

A sweet smell was in the air outside of the Third Avenue Chocolate Shoppe, which once housed C.H. Waters Auto Tire Repair Works.

“This was a popular location. The streets were dirt and seashells at the beginning of the 20th century. Tires in those days were made of rubber. Everyday they needed air and to be fixed. The sun would rot them because they were synthetic," Harrigan said.

Over on the southeast corner of Morris and Third avenues — where Caldwell Banker now stands — people once enjoyed the Brighton Theater, Harrigan said. 

In 1917, a double feature cost 15 cents for admission for adults, and 10 cents for children. In addition, the theater also served as a ballroom, she said.

In 1946, shoe repairman Criso Crisanti bought the building and ran a shoe repair business at it for many years, Harrigan said.

On the east side of Third Avenue, Morris Avenue to Jersey Avenue was once a popular area for townies — known as the Trout Building — to get their meat, pharmaceuticals, liquor and groceries, Harrigan said.

“There were also a lot of meat markets then. People did not have a way of keeping their groceries cold so they would go to the meat market everyday,” Harrigan said.

And the tour continued.

On Morris Avenue stands the Centennial Clock, where — in celebration of Spring Lake’s 100th Birthday — in 1992 a time capsule containing town memorabilia, videos and children's drawings, was placed beneath the plaque at the clock and is scheduled to be opened in 2042, Harrigan said.

“Would the video even play in 2042?” joked one of the gentlemen on the tour.

Another popular building was the Voorhees Bakery.

“People would go to the bakery to get their dough and donuts,” Harrigan said. “At one point the Bakery started serving fresh bread at 5 p.m. so people could have it with their dinner.”

Each building comes with its own history and through the years has grown and evolved to what Spring Lake is now today, Harrigan said.

More information on the Spring Lake Historical Society and the history of Spring Lake can be found at www.springlake.org/historical.