Historical Society of Bloomfield | Photo Gallery | Town Improvement Association (TIA) Lantern Slides |
Brick Row on Franklin St.

Once one of five such row houses, this one was a victim of the Garden State Parkway. Close examination shows evidences of neglect: the unit to the right of the one painted white is in particularly bad repair. The town of Bloomfield fought a losing battle with the slumlord who owned these crumbling structures while the second river (out of sight to the right) nibbled away at their foundations until they collapsed one by one. Far down the street can be seen a gas station - in back of it stood the 1712 Dodd house. Everything, including the historic house, disappeared under the GSP in 1952.

These brick rows of the 1870's were thought to be the "new Bloomfield" and a great investment when they were built. A business depression in 1876 brought building to a halt and no further brick rows were built. Of the five, only one remains on Lake Street - parallel to the GSP exit ramp at northbound exit 148.

Frederick Branch, July 2010