Camden Streets - Cooper Street

COOPER STREET is one of the oldest streets in Camden, and is named after the Cooper family. William Cooper was one of the first settlers in this part of New Jersey. Camden was known as Cooper's Ferries for many years prior to the city being incorporated in 1828.

The curb line of Cooper Street, from Front Street to the tracks of the Camden & Atlantic Railroad Company, were moved twelve feet towards the center, and the street paved with Belgian blocks in 1881. In 1927 the curb lines were moved back twelve feet from 4th Street to 9th Street. This improvement was completed in September of 1927.

Cooper Street runs from the waterfront east to 9th Street, with a short block of homes and business still standing above 11th Street. Prior to the construction of Interstate Route I-676, Cooper Street ran all the way to 12th Street. Cooper Street was for many years one of the most prestigious addresses in Camden, and many homes of historic significance, due to both the residents and the architects of said homes, were and still are on Cooper Street.

The "beginning of the end" for Cooper Street came in the early 1920s, when three mansions were torn down to make room for the Walt Whitman Hotel. On June 30, 1940 all the homes on the south side of the 900 block were destroyed when the R.M. Hollingshead chemical factory, which occupied most of the block, fronting on 9th and on Market Streets, exploded and burned to the ground.

Little known outside of East Camden is the "other" Cooper Street, which runs between North 19th and East State Street. This short street only has one single family home and a block of 13 row homes.

Do you have an Cooper Street memory or picture. Let me know by e-mail so it can be included here.

Phil Cohen

500 Block of Cooper Street
	501 & 505 Cooper Street April 17, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	501 Cooper Street James M. O'Neil 1940s-1950s
	505 Cooper Street Charles Cox 1870s-1890s
	509 Cooper Street 1927 Known as the Remington & Vosbury Building when erected, the building at 509 Cooper Street was designed by prominent local architect Joseph N. Hettel Sr.
	509 Cooper Street 1955 Nutter Real Estate 1955 New Jersey Bell Telephone Yellow Pages Ad
	505, 509 & 511 Cooper Street April 17, 2004. Click on Images to Enlarge
	511 Cooper Street April 17, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge Home prior to 1887 of Dr. Joseph & Annie Beatty after 1887 of Dr. Henry F. Hunt 1900s-1910s Dr. William A. Davis & son Dr. Albert Davis
"A TIP O' THE HELMET TO" ……… Fr. Chuck Mayo of Ladder Co. 1, for his alertness and quick action in the prevention of serious injury and probable death to a brother member, while operating at 2nd Alarm-Box #1222, transmitted at 0348 hours on 2 January, 1977 for a fire located at 513 Cooper Street. Severely low temperatures and heavy icing conditions made roof level operations extremely hazardous. While working at roof level, atop the three-story fire building, another member slipped on an ice coated peaked roof above Chuck's position, and began his downward slide toward, and inevitably over the edge. Fr. Mayo's quick reflexes in grabbing the brother resulted in only a close call instead of a tragedy. A job well done.	513 Cooper Street Fire Watch magazine Spring, 1977
	514 Cooper Street William T. Read Sr. 1883-1890 Lucretia Read 1883-1934 William T. Read Jr. House designed by Arthur Truscott City Hall in background April 17, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	515 Cooper Street Dr. Paul Markley 1900s-1910s Theosophical Society 1927-1928 T. Yorke Smith 1910s-1920s
	516 Cooper Street
	517 Cooper Street 1900s-1910s Dr. Byron Fortiner 1970-1980s Dr. Robert Katz optometrist
	518 Cooper Street
	519 Cooper Street 1928 Mary Jane Lovett Camden High School January 1928 Purple & Gold Yearbook
	520-522 Cooper Street April 17, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	520-522 & 524 Cooper Street April 17, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	520 Cooper Street 1955 Colonial House 1955 New Jersey Bell Telephone Yellow Pages Ad
	521 Cooper Street Tommy Skymer 1947
	521 Cooper Street 1955 Jerry's Beauty Salon 1955 New Jersey Bell Telephone Yellow Pages Ad
	522 Cooper Street Dr. G. Russell Atkinson 1920s-1936
	523 Cooper Street 1955 Audiophone Company 1955 New Jersey Bell Telephone Yellow Pages Ad
j	524 Cooper Street
	525 Cooper Street Charles S. Boyer Residence 1900s-1920s
	525 Cooper Street Madeline Palma Residence 1939
	525 Cooper Street Howard R. Yocum Lawyer 1950s
	525 Cooper Street Frank F. Neutze Sr. 1940s - late 1970s
	526 Cooper Street
	524 & 530 Cooper Street April 17, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	527 Cooper Street Judge Frank T. Lloyd 1900s-1910s Dr. William Lashman 1947
	528 Cooper Street Frank M. Travaline Jr.
	530 & 532 Cooper Street 1892
	530 Cooper Street 1955 Health Sanitation Service Co. 1955 New Jersey Bell Telephone Yellow Pages Ad
	532 Cooper Street 1910s-1920s George W. Jessup 1910s-1920s Burleigh Draper 1910s-1920s T. Yorke Smith
	532 Cooper Street 1955 The Camden Telephone Answering Service 1955 New Jersey bell Telephone Yellow Pages Ad Click on Images to Enlarge
	532 Cooper Street 1955 Hygienic Sanitation Co. exterminators 1955 Howard Fredericks Inc. casters 1955 New Jersey Bell Telephone Yellow Pages Listings
	532 Cooper Street April 17, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	534 Cooper Street 1928 Edwin Field Crane Camden High School January 1928 Purple & Gold Yearbook
	534 to 500 Cooper Street 500 Block in background February 7, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	535 Cooper Street
	538, 540, & 542 Cooper Street John Cheney House designed in 1892 by Arthur Truscott
	538 Cooper Street Melbourne F. Middleton Jr. residence 1910s-1930s
	538 Cooper Street Pohle's Restaurant June 22, 1938 Camden Courier-Post Newspaper Ad Click on Images to Enlarge
	538 Cooper Street Pohle's Restaurant June 22, 1938 Camden Courier-Post Newspaper Ad Click on Images to Enlarge
	539 Cooper Street
	540 Cooper Street Markeim-Chalmers, Inc. 1940s-1960s Camden Courier-Post May 19, 1964
	540 Cooper Street William T. Cahill Edward V. Martino John H. Reiners Jr.
	541 Cooper Street
	542 Cooper Street
	543 Cooper Street
	544 Cooper Street 1955 Weidler's Pharmacy 1955 New Jersey bell Telephone Yellow Pages Ad Click on Images to Enlarge
	Looking West from North 6th Street 1892 Click on Images to Enlarge

	Streets of Camden, NJ Cooper Street continued
Unit, 100 & 200 Blocks	300 Block
400 Block	500 Block
600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, & 1200 Blocks
1900 & 2000 Block

North 5th Street & Cooper Street
	Northwest Corner 429 Cooper Street Joseph J. Read Dr. Edward A.Y Schellenger Sr. Wolcott Patterson Dr. Edward A.Y Schellenger Jr. October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	Southeast Corner Cooper Street Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church as seen from Northeast Corner of North 5th & Cooper Street
	Cooper Street Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church as seen from Northeast Corner of North 5th & Lawrence Street

538, 540, and 542 Cooper Street The Cheney Houses, designed by architect Arthur Truscott