MORSE STREET in East Camden was named after Henry G. Morse, the founder and president of the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. The Yorkship Village housing project in the Fairview section of Camden was built to house workers from the New York Shipbuilding Corporation yards on Broadway at Morgan Boulevard. Running parallel to Marlton Avenue from Carman Street, across Baird Boulevard, to Rosemont Avenue in Pennsauken, Morse Street was for many years the northeastern boundary of Stockton Park. Houses were built east of Westminster Street in the 1920s, and more were built in the 1930s and 1940s. In the early 1950s, property was acquired along Morse Street, and the Peter J. McGuire Gardens public housing project was built there, between Bank and Watson Streets. In the 1980s, when the crack cocaine plague struck Camden, drug dealers set up shop in McGuire Gardens and in the 200 block of Morse Street, which became known as "The Alley". A multi-million dollar cocaine led by J.R. Rivera operated there, past of a web of corruption that connected to the Mayor's office and into the police department. After being convicted of drug offenses and other crimes, Rivera gave evidence that led to the conviction of Camden Mayor Milton Milan. In July of 2004, Mayor Gwendolyn Faison announced the demolition of houses on "The Alley". New homes are to be erected by the St. Joseph Carpenter Society, who have successfully completed other projects in East Camden. |
Do you have an Morse Street memory or picture. Let me know by e-mail so it can be included here. |
Unit Block of Morse Street | |
20
Morse Street
1924 Arthur Bailey |
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20
Morse Street
1915 |
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20
Morse Street
1924 Arthur Bailey |
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20
Morse Street
1930 |
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20
Morse Street
1932 Camden Courier-Post |
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20
Morse Street
1938 Camden Courier-Post |
22
Morse Street
1924 Charles W. Dobson |
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24
Morse Street
1924 Mrs. Mary Shaner |
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25
Morse Street
1914-1924 |
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25
Morse Street
mid 1920s-late 1940s |
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26
Morse Street
1913-1921 Philadelphia Inquirer |
26
Morse Street
1924 Joseph Weaver |
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Intersection of Morse Street & Watson Street | |
27
Morse Street 1914
Frederick Ballinghoff |
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CHARGES WATCH STOLEN; CIVIL SUIT IS ADVISED The
story of how she saw on
another
woman's wrist a watch which had been stolen from her "hope
chest" was told in police court yesterday by Mrs. Mabel Barrett, 1535
Federal Street. Mrs.
Barrett appeared as a complaining witness against George Zimmerman 27, of
27 Morse Street, charging
him with possession of a stolen wristwatch. The woman said the watch was
taken from her trunk and same days later, she saw Mrs. Zimmerman wearing
it. Zimmerman
admitted his wile has a new watch, but he said he purchased it from a
man in
Delaware. Judge Pancoast dismissed the complaint and told Mrs. Barrett that she would have to sue in civil court to recover the watch. |
27
Morse Street 1933 George Zimmerman Camden Courier-Post |
28
Morse Street
1924 Alfred Story |
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29
Morse Street
1924 John Heise |
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30
Morse Street
1924 Roy Chancellor |
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31
Morse Street
1924 Edward Conklin |
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32
Morse Street
1910 |
32
Morse Street
1924 Joseph Griffee |
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32
Morse Street
1929-1930s
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33 Morse Street 1924 |
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35
Morse Street
1910 |
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35
Morse Street
1924 Harry E. Krumm |
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37
Morse Street
1924 John Sutherland |
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39
Morse Street
1924 Edward Melvin |
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81
Morse Street
2001-2011 |
200 Block of Morse Street | |
East Side of 200 Block | |
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Northeast
Corner Morse & Bank Street Click on Image to Enlarge |
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Northeast
Corner Morse & Bank Street Click on Image to Enlarge |
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Looking
East on Morse Street from Bank Street Click on Image to Enlarge |
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Southeast
Corner Morse & Bank Street Click on Image to Enlarge |
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200
& 202 Morse Street 1929 Had Not Been Built Click on Image to Enlarge |
Camden
Fire Department RESCUE COMPANY 1 "CITY WIDE" The address, 200 Morse Street for a dwelling in the East Side section of the city, All companies were responding when County Radio called Battalion 2 Mike Di Pascale to advise him that they are receiving numerous calls on this. Battalion 2 arrives to find a 2 story end of the row ordinary dwelling with fire showing on the 1st floor and heavy smoke from the second the Chief immediately declared the "ALL HANDS" binging Battalion 1 Mike Harper into the job. As the heavy snow was falling with 2 to 3 inches already on the ground E-9 stretched their hose to the front to find both doors locked. Shortly after Battalion 2 was notified that this was an occupied structure with apartments on the 1st and 2nd floor, the battalion immediately ordered E-7 which was the FAST team to grab a hydrant and go to the rear while orders for the RESCUE were to force entry to the dwelling, E-6 was immediately dispatched as a back up FAST team. Upon our arrival the RESCUE, 3 Truck and Squad 7 teamed up at the front and rear of the structure to carry out our duties of Forcible Entry, Laddering, Venting and a primary search of the building. The search was negative and the fire knocked down quickly by 9 Engine, no injuries reported. Companies on the job were: E-9, E-11, Sq-7, TL-3, R-1 Battalion 2 with the "ALL HANDS" bringing Battalion 1 and E-6 as the replacement FAST team. As soon as Captain Glassman transmitted the RESCUE COMPANY available, our presence was requested at Cooper Hospital by Car 3 Paul Price to assist L-1 with an elevator rescue. 1 male employee of the hospital was stuck between the 3rd and 4th floors, Rescue 1 assisted L-1 which was already in the process of accessing and removing the employee. |
200
Morse Street
The January 27, 2004
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204
& 206 Morse Street 1929 Had Not Been Built Click on Image to Enlarge |
FUNERAL ON MONDAY FOR MRS. M. V.
STAPLES
The funeral of Mrs. Mattie Virginia Staples, 67, of 204 Morse Street, mother of 13 children, 12 of whom are living, will be held at 2 p. m. Mon day at the funeral home of James R. Sudler, 60 South Twenty-seventh street. She was the wife of Robert G. Staples, Sr., retired Rev. Chris W. Dannenhauer, pastor of
Parkside Baptist |
204
Morse Street
Martha V. Staples Camden
Courier-Post |
HOUSE FURNISHINGS STOLEN A box of house furnishings Nora Eldridge left at the stairway to her new apartment at 204 Morse Street was stolen last night, she told police. The box contained a clock, a painting, photograph holders and frames, two diaries, a hand mirror and brush. |
204
Morse Street
Nora Edlridge Camden
Courier-Post |
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205
Morse Street 1958 Camden Courier-Post Camden Post No. 980, Veterans of Foreign Wars Albert J. Otto Sr. - Grant
Street |
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206
Morse Street
1929 Had Not Been Built Olga Palutz
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206
Morse Street
1938 Camden Courier-Post |
206
Morse Street
1929 Had Not Been Built 1947
Clarence W. Hubbs
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206
Morse Street
Long
vacant, this home was badly damaged by fire
on August 22, 2008
Camden Firefighters Make Quick
Knockdown on 2 Alarm Blaze
Story and Photos by Bob
Bartosz
Shortly after 1:30 p.m. on August 22, 2008, Camden, New Jersey Firefighters were dispatched to the 200 Block of Morse Street, in the East Camden section of the City for a reported dwelling fire. Fire Radio was receiving numerous calls for an heavy involved dwelling. And additional Engine Co. and Battalion Chief was added to the assignment. The first in Units reported that they had a heavy involved dwelling in the middle of the row of vacant and some occupied dwellings. All Companies were going into Service with their heaviest water lines and a 2nd Alarm was quickly sounded and due to the first and second floors being unstable an exterior attack was being made. Companies were able to open up the adjoining exposures and were able to stop the spread of the fire to the rest of the row of dwellings. Ladder Co. 1 and Co. 3 went into Service with Ladder Pipes as fire fighters used numerous 2 1/2 and 1 3/4 inch water lines to knock the fire down. The fire was placed Under Control in 30 minutes as fire fighters remained on the scene overhauling and assisting the Fire Marshal with the investigation. Click Here For More Picture From This Fire |
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208
& 210 Morse Street 1929 Had Not Been Built Click on Image to Enlarge |
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212
& 214 Morse Street 1929 Had Not Been Built Click on Image to Enlarge |
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216
& 218 Morse Street 1929 Had Not Been Built Click on Image to Enlarge |
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220
& 222 Morse Street 1929 Had Not Been Built Click on Image to Enlarge |
222
Morse Street
1960-1973 My family owned 222 Morse St from about 1960-1973. I was born in 1962 and have fond memories of a nice neighborhood feeling on Morse Street. All the families knew each other. Kids playing kick-the-can, families on the back porch or in "the alley" facing Marton Pike. Carvel Ice Cream, "Flying A" gas station changed to Getty, The Acme, Panzarottis, and the J & M Bar. Yum Yum vendors on Baird Boulevard were my favorite. I went to Cramer School K- 4th. I remember air-raid drills in 1st grade, Principle Bucannon and the corner penny candy store. My world then was Bank Street to Baird Boulevard and Marlton Pike. I remember "the Projects" (Mcguire Gardens), and big beautiful oak trees down Morse. The roots would raise the sidewalks. We lived on the first floor of 222 and we rented out the second floor. Bob Wytupeck |
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232
& 234 Morse Street There are no Click on Image to Enlarge |
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234
Morse Street
1930s |
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1930s Judge Garfield Pancoast & Famiy Garfield & Fannie Pancoast Garfield S. Pancoast Dorothy Pancoast Left: Dorothy Pancoast Camden Courier-Post
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232,
234, & 236 Morse Street Click on Image to Enlarge |
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Rear
of 242 to 232 & 222 to 200 236 Morse Street as seen from Marlton Avenue & Baird Boulevard 1931 Click on Image to Enlarge |
West Side of 200 Block | |
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201
& 203 Morse Street 1929 Had Not Been Built Click on Image to Enlarge |
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205
& 207 Morse Street 1929 Had Not Been Built Click on Image to Enlarge |
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207 Morse Street Click on Image to Enlarge |
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209
& 211 Morse Street 1929 Had Not Been Built Click on Image to Enlarge |
Camden
Fire Department 9 Engine 3 Truck 2 Battalion The first Box came in at 1827 hrs, for the address of 211 Morse Street bringing E9, E11, E1, L3, L1, B2. The Rescue Co. was not dispatched due to being on another assignment. B2 arrived on location to find a two story ordinary, middle of the row, dwelling, with heavy fire venting from the first floor. B2 struck the all hands Box bringing B1 as the safety officer. E9 arrived and went into service with an 1 3/4 water line . L3 went to work with forcible entry, search and vent. E11 supplied E9 and brought a back up line to the interior. E1 acted as the Fast Team. L1 on location acted as the Rescue Co. and assisted in opening up the rear of the dwelling. Rescue 1 cleared their original assignment and was dispatched to the Box. Companies cleared in 1.5 hrs. No injuries to firefighters or civilians were reported. |
211 Morse Street The December 2, 2003 |
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213
& 215 Morse Street 1929 Had Not Been Built Click on Image to Enlarge |
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217
& 219 Morse Street 1929 Had Not Been Built Click on Image to Enlarge |
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227,
229, 231, 233 Morse Street Click on Image to Enlarge |
227 Morse Street 1950s-1960s My parents operated the M&H Sweet Shop in the Fifties and sold it in 1960. We grew up on 227 Morse Street. We first lived on 254 Boyd Street. That is my father Charles Wexlin pictured at the register in the M&H. Leehman
Wexlin |
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233
Morse Street
Frank Zinni & Family |
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235
Morse Street
1933 |
My family moved to 237 Morse Street from Philadelphia in the year 1936. My older sister Shirley and I went through the Camden school system. Dudley School, Cramer Elementary and Junior High and then to high school, Shirley going to Woodrow Wilson and I going to Camden High. I graduated in 1952. My father Louis worked for his brother Charlie at Camden Storage Battery Company on Haddon Avenue. Moved from Morse Street to 445 Rand Street in 1944 and then to Boyd Street in 1949. Camden was a wonderful city to grow up in. Jay
Goldberg |
237
Morse Street
1936-1944
|
I lived at 274 Boyd Street in Camden from sometime in the late 1930's until 1950, when my brother Bernard and I moved to New York City and our father, Jack L. Freedman, moved to Los Angeles. Our mother, Reba, had died in 1945. Previous to that, we had lived at 243 Morse Street for a short period beginning in 1937. Both Bernard and I went to Cramer School and Woodrow Wilson High. I graduated from Wilson in June 1941 as valedictorian; my brother five years later. Bernard now lives in Los Angeles with his wife. They have two daughters and two grandchildren. In 1972 I married Dr. Sheppard Siegal; we separated in 1974 and he died in the '80s. Adele
Freedman Siegal |
243 Morse Street 1937-Late 1930s |
I
was born at Cooper hospital in 1946. My parents, The
memories brought back by your website really hit me hard. I've been back
to Camden for the CHS 35th and 40th reunions. My brother Mark still Lee
Levin |
246 Morse Street 1940s-1960s |
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246 Morse Street 1941-1968 Left: Lenny Cohen & Gerri Cohen Gerri Cohen Seinberg's Memories of East Camden
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229
to 253 Morse Street Click on Image to Enlarge |
July 2004 | |
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Although the major drug dealers had left Morse Street, By 2003 the 200 block had become infested with squatters, prostitutes, and other undesirable characters. Much of the block was condemned in July of 2004. Click on Image to Enlarge |
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Mayor Gwendolyn Faison operating demolition equipment at Morse Street Demolition Ceremony July 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge |
297 Morse
Street
1924 Louis A. Lebig |
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299 Morse
Street
1924 John M. Hendrickson |
Intersection of Baird Boulevard & Morse Street | |
301 Block of Morse Street | |
297
Morse
Street
1947 Julius Dragon |
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299
Morse
Street
1947 Mrs. Lena Dragon |
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301
Morse
Street
1924 William Mummaw |
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303 Morse
Street
1924-1847 U.M. Lingenfelter |
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305 Morse
Street
1924 Frank Malciano |
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305 Morse
Street
1956-1970s Edward Rovner & Family |
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307 Morse
Street
1924 Thomas D. Hughes |
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308 Morse
Street
1970 Mrs. Mary Lindsey Virtue Camden Courier-Post |
309 Morse
Street
1924 Clarence Klinzine |
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311 Morse
Street
1924 William Kane |
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CALL LETTERS GIVEN RADIO AMATEURS HERE
Washington, Feb. 13.—Call letters for the operation of amateur radio stations have been assigned to several residents of Camden, N. J., and nearby communities, the Federal Communications Commission announced. They include:
Russell W. Finger, of 312 Morse
street, Camden, W3BFH; Robert W. Somers, of 310 Ellis street, Glassboro, W3HHY; Albert J. Wilkinson of
66 Mary street, Bordentown, W3HHZ, and Arthur H. Stead of 1472 |
312 Morse
Street
1938 Camden Courier-Post |
312 Morse
Street
1924 Vacant 1969 |
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314 Morse
Street
1924 Leonard F. Heintze |
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315 Morse
Street
1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone Click on Image to Enlarge |
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315 Morse
Street
1955-1969 I
remember my grandfather and his second wife Ida carefully tending the rose
garden they had at 315 Morse Street. It was a brick single building.
He rented out the top half and lived on the ground floor. To
get to the front door, you had to walk up some steps as there was a small
incline to the property. There was a red rail to hold onto as you
went up the steps. One of my best friends , Tobi Schwartz, lived across
the street at 312 Morse with her family Frank and Bea Schwartz and her
sister Molly Lou. It was so much fun to be able to play with my
friend and see my grandfather at the same time! |
316 Morse
Street
1924 Vacant |
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318 Morse
Street
1924 Vacant |
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320 Morse
Street
1924 Vacant Camden
Courier-Post William
Burtis |
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321 Morse
Street
1923-1957 Camden Courier-Post |
322 Morse
Street
1924 Angelo Costello |
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324 Morse
Street
1924 James B. Scott |
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327 Morse
Street
1924-1933 Samuel R. Smith |
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327 Morse Street Camden
Courier-Post Mrs.
Samuel Smith |
328-A Morse
Street 1947 Not Built |
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328-B
Morse
Street 1947 No Listing |
Intersection of Thorndyke Street & Morse Street | |
300 Block of Morse Street | |
344
Morse
Street
Built after 1947 1950s Melvin Morria & Family |
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346
Morse
Street
Built after 1947 1950s A. Lowenthal & Family |
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347 Morse
Street
1924 Harry S. Glover Jr. |
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347 Morse
Street
1950s-1960s |
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351 Morse
Street
1924 Vacant |
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351 Morse
Street
1950s-1970s Biaggio P. Ardire |
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356
Morse
Street
Built after 1947 1950s Joseph Levin & Family 1955 Mirror Craft 1955
New Jersey Bell Telephone |
357 Morse
Street
1924 Frank Husa |
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360 Morse
Street
1954 Michael A. Rocanella |
365 Morse
Street
Built after 1947 1950s Morris Detofsky & Family |
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367Morse
Street
Built after 1947 1950s-1970s E.P. DiDio & Family |
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369 Morse
Street
Built after 1947 Late 1940s-1950s S. Beilowitz & Family |
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371 Morse
Street
Built after 1947 1950s Pollack Family |
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372 Morse
Street
Built after 1947 1950s W.F. Kuder |
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376 Morse
Street
Built after 1947 1950s Ellis Myeroff & Family |
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378 Morse
Street
Built after 1947 1950s-1970s M. Shultzberg & Family |
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396 Morse
Street
1924 C.L. Heidelbaugh |
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397 Morse
Street
Photo taken around 1928 Click on Image to Enlarge |
Intersection of Midvale Avenue & Morse Street | |
400
Block of Morse Street Click in Images to Enlarge |
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402
Morse Street
1924 Andrew Luffberry |
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403
Morse Street
1924 Joseph A. Grady |
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412
Morse Street Camden Courier-Post October 8, 1947 DUPLEX HOME, offered to veterans by Baird Boulevard Homes, Inc., Twenty- seventh Street and Marlton Pike, is shown above. The sample home, at 412 Morse Street, is open for inspection. Twenty of the first 23 available for sale, have been sold, the company reports. |
415
Morse Street
1924 Frank H. Schaefer |
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416
Morse Street
1951 Howard Murphy Camden Courier-Post
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416
Morse Street
1966 Samuel Berelman Camden Courier-Post Emerson Tschupp
|
423
Morse Street
1924 Thomas C.
Comerford |
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423
Morse Street
1940s-1950s |
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426
Morse Street
Late 1950s-1970s |
427
Morse Street
1924 William Johnson |
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Mr. and Mrs. Elwood Riess of 430 Morse Street, announce the birth of a baby boy Matthew Joseph born Dec. 20 at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. |
435
Morse Street
1970-1971 Elwood Riess & Family Camden County Record |
435
Morse Street
1924 Frank H. Johnson |
500 Block of Morse Street | |
Morse Street |
600 Block of Morse Street | |
Courier-Post - July 21, 2004 |
City
Officials Hoping Eradication of Homes Will Lead to Rebirth of Area
In the driver's seat of a backhoe, Camden Mayor Gwendolyn A. Faison took the first chunk out of 20 dilapidated homes that will be demolished in the area of the city known as "The Alley." "If you don't have quality of life, you don't have nothing," she said. Once a notorious open-air drug market operated by now convicted Jose "J.R." Rivera and Luis Figueroa, the alley lies in the 200 block of Boyd and Morse streets and remains lined with boarded brick homes, sprayed with graffiti, that were once a haven for drug dealers and prostitutes. Enid Gonzales, 45, moved to the alley four months ago and said she has seen drug activity creeping back into the alley. "Sometimes in the morning I'll come out and see needles on the ground," she said. "I'd rather have trash than that." She said the demolition will improve quality of life for her two children, but is worried her house will be demolished with the rest of the vacant homes. "I found out today what was happening," Gonzales said. "If they tear down my house, I'll be homeless." Gonzales also fears for the homeless who have made the alley their home. Wiley Greene, 40, who lives in one of the abandoned houses, said even though the demolition will leave him without shelter, it will make the area a safer place for resident children. "This has been needed for a long time," Greene said. "The kids need this - there is only so much the parents can do. "It's the better thing to do." Charles Grant, 17, has lived in the alley for 11 years and said he found out about the demolition on the morning news. "It's all right," he said. "I think what they're doing is pretty cool." Councilman Frank Moran spoke with Greene and offered to help him find temporary housing. Moran also said residents of the alley will be relocated, but discussions about when that will happen have not begun. "If it's a matter of eminent domain, they will be entitled to benefits," Moran said. Remembering a time when it was safe to ride his bike down the alley, Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi said the long-needed demolition is another step toward Camden's "renaissance." "It's been a long time coming," Sarubbi said. "But there has to be economic revitalization to complete the cycle." New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey was at the site and said people should not have to live in conditions brought about by the alley. "Tearing down these 20 structures represents a physical renovation," he said. "There needs to be a human renovation as well to stop the violence." Faison said the demolition will be complete by July 31. Amid the yells of encouragement as Faison began the demolition, Camden resident Robin Perkins, 49, called it the "downfall of desolation." "This is a city of great things," Perkins said. "It is a city bolstering with hope and we're finally getting answers to our hope." Perkins, a member of the East Side Civic Association Inc., has lived in the city her entire life and said the alley used to be a part of her family's Sunday walk. "This used to be a place of such affluence," Perkins said. "Now residents can have a different quality of life which they so deserve." |
Philadelphia Inquirer - Jul. 21, 2004 |
Many
Cheer
Troubled Block's Demise A
79-year-old woman in a flower-print dress clambered into the cab of a
backhoe yesterday morning and fired up the big machine's engine. With jaws
open wide, the apparatus rolled forward, and Faison lowered the boom on
the back wall of a row house in the middle of the most notorious block in
East Camden. Bricks
and cinder blocks splintered, and a shower of dust fell from the shovel.
The mayor flashed a broad smile as a cheer erupted among neighbors, city
and state officials. The Alley
- once home to the city's biggest open-air drug market - was coming down. More than
20 houses on Boyd and Morse Streets will be demolished during the next
week. "Thank
God the day has finally come," Faison said. "Let this show that
we do not take our ball and bats and go home. Oh, no. We take our bats and
go out and raise hell." In 1998,
city and state agencies shut down the drug market, which operated with
near impunity for almost a decade, led by gang leaders Jose Luis
"J.R." Rivera and Luis "Tun Tun" Figueroa. "Today
was a long time coming," said Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P.
Sarubbi, who grew up on Eutaw Street two blocks away. "What we see
here today is as real as it is symbolic." The St.
Joseph's Carpenter Society, which is devoted to improving housing in
Camden, hopes to build 38 two-story townhouses on the site. Property lines
will be redrawn to eliminate the alley between the two rows of homes, said
William Whelan, the nonprofit group's executive director. Bernice
Arrington, who has lived in the neighborhood for 35 years, said that in
1969 the block was beautiful and safe. "I
don't know what happened," Arrington said. "It was sudden." The
large-scale police raids of the late '90s were not enough to completely
stop the trafficking of flesh and narcotics in the Alley, and prostitutes
and drug dealers had begun to repopulate the derelict buildings in recent
months. Last
week, most of the Alley's tenants were notified that the buildings
defining their turf soon would begin to fall. "It's
a pain...," said Wiley Green, who had been living for the last month
in the basement of an abandoned building three doors from where Faison
began demolition work. "I don't know where I'm going to go. Now I've
got to find me a nice place to stay." Green,
40, was released last month from South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton,
N.J., after serving a sentence for dealing drugs. He said the Alley had
been quiet during his stay and believed four or five other men were being
displaced by the demolition. "No one comes by here anymore," he said. |
Camden Courier-Post - July 20, 2008 |
Camden
site to get 42 houses Fifteen years ago, an area known as "The Alley" between Morse and Boyd streets in East Camden was home to one of the city's largest open-air drug markets. Dealers and prostitutes conducted their business in vacant buildings there. Police officers were shot during raids, one officer left paralyzed from the bullet to his chest. Now, this same spot is slated to be the site of 42 new homes. This month, the city planning board gave Saint Joseph's Carpenter Society approval to move forward with a redevelopment project that's been nearly eight years in the making. A state grant is expected to cover roughly half of the estimated $10 million cost. The rest will come from the sale of the homes. If the grant gets a final go-ahead in the next month, executive director Pilar Hogan Closkey said, construction could begin before the end of the year. Closkey's local nonprofit has been rehabilitating homes here and there throughout the eastern part of the city since 1985. "We target the worst blocks for total redevelopment," she said, carefully stepping over shards of broken glass in one of the lots along the alley. "This is a perfect spot to come in and do it correctly." Long-time residents said The Alley's notoriety as one of the most dangerous places in the city began in the late 1970s. By the late-1980s, a violent network of street gangs, suppliers and drug dealers led by Jose Luis "J.R." Rivera had taken control of the block bordered by Morse, Bank, Boyd and Baird streets. Police said the dealers used the T-shaped alley to their advantage, stationing look-outs at all three entrances to warn of approaching police. Buyers could then exit in whichever direction was clear. Police raided "The Alley" several times in the 1990s. In February 1998, city and state agencies arrested 98 people in a sting operation that left one suspect dead and three police officers wounded. One of them, Lt. Leroy Palmer, was paralyzed after being shot in the chest. Shortly after that, Rivera was arrested and his drug ring was shut down. But some neighbors said the area around "The Alley" continued to be a hotspot for illegal activity. Closkey said the society started to rehabilitate two buildings there in 2000, but constant theft forced the group to stop. Each day, she said, workers arrived to find the boarded-up buildings broken into, a new bathtub or chunks of fresh drywall already stolen. So the group changed its focus to rehabilitating vacant homes in the 15-block area west of Baird Boulevard to the Pennsauken border. The strategy, Closkey said, was to shore up the rest of the neighborhood in hopes that this would make it easier to tackle the worst part. A major improvement came in July 2004 when the city razed 20 vacant buildings along "The Alley." "Once we took down the homes everybody in the neighborhood reported to us that the crime had really dissipated," said Angel Osorio, community justice coordinator for the Camden County Prosecutor's office. "We know that there's an end in sight now." Closkey said the timing is right now that her group has finished about 60 home renovations to the west of "The Alley" and the McGuire Gardens public housing development has been completed to the east. Before construction on the homes begins, though, the entire neighborhood will get infrastructure upgrades. With a $3 million economic recovery board grant, the Cooper's Ferry Development Association will install new sewer lines, storm water drainage, sidewalks with lighting, trees and better retention walls for homeowners at no cost to them. Work could start in a little over a month. The homes will be built on existing property lines in two phases. The three-bedroom houses will have two and a half bathrooms, basements with a bonus room, a one-car garage and a front porch. With state subsidies, the house can be sold for $125,000 to $145,000, about half the construction cost, Hogan Closkey said. She estimated that it would take two to three years for all 42 units to be finished. In addition to the new homes, she said, the society expects to continue purchasing and rehabilitating about 30 more homes in the area. Neighbors Julia Jones and Bernice Arrington have seen the rise and fall of drug traffic since they moved into their homes on Baird Boulevard more than 30 years ago. "It's still going on, but it's not like it was before," Arrington said. "You're going to see some little action, but I wish it was no action. Maybe bringing in new homes there, hopefully it would change some things. I hope it improves out here to make my property look better." Jones said she's praying that the project will "change the neighborhood completely." "This neighborhood does have a bad reputation but it comes from some of the people that live around here. If those people get a chance to move into a new home and make their children behave it may make a difference in their lives. In our lives, too." Closkey said she's confident that building nice homes in "The Alley" will drive away crime as long as there's a collaborative effort with the police. "Once we put people actually in the neighborhood, that'll make a huge difference in terms of eyes on the street," she said. "Because there's no longer that one vacant lot, it's not that easy place to go." Despite the neighborhood's history, Osorio said she thinks the new homes will be in high demand. "All we need is a couple of people willing to take the gamble," she said. "It'll begin to spread and you'll see a different area." |
Fire at 206 Morse Street - August 22, 2008 | |
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