The Journal Square Community Association in partnership with Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop will be hosting a fundraiser for the Bergen Arches on May 9, 2019. Called Open the Arches, the event will raise funds for the transformation of the 17-acre historic railway cut near Journal Square into a park inspired by The High Line in NYC.
The Erie Cut runs between Tonnelle and Palisade Avenues and was excavated to provide an open-air route for coal-burning passenger steam engines on their way to the Hoboken and Pavonia train stations. To keep city streets crossing the cut intact, six arched bridges — aka the Bergen Arches — were constructed.
The last passenger train traveled along the Erie Cut and through the Bergen Arches in 1957 and the railway bed has been abandoned ever since, becoming an all-but-forgotten overgrown woodland area in the heart of Journal Square.
Open the Arches will be held at the Loew’s Jersey Theatre in Journal Square and will feature musical guests Eldad Tamu and the Flying South Latin Jazz Ensemble, a silent art auction, and a food festival — the Taste of Journal Square. BikeJC will also provide bicycle valet service.
Doors open at 5 p.m. and tickets are $25. Sponsors of the event include Whealth, BikeJC, The Journal Square Special Improvement District, Studio B9 Photography, Sustainable JC, the Jersey City Office of Cultural Affairs, Titanium Realty Group, and Jersey City artist Richard La Rovere.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit openthearches.com.
