Considered part of the NY Metro area as well as being part of the New Jersey Gold Coast, Hoboken is right across the river from Chelsea and the West Village. Originally colonized by the Dutch, the area gets its name from the Old Dutch for “high bluff,” Hoebuck. The region was mostly farmland until the 1800s, when Colonel John Stevens reimagined the area as a respite for wealthy Manhattanites. During this time, he laid out the grid-work street system to which the city still adheres. In the 1850s, the members of the town incorporated and the city of Hoboken was truly born.

From the piers, Hoboken became the port of embarkation for 3 million soldiers during WWI. Jobs in the shipyards kept the people afloat during the Great Depression and Hoboken continued to thrive. Home to several factories, post WWII Hoboken was a strong union town through the 1950s. In the 60s, many residents fled to the suburbs. In recent years, however, on a wave of gentrification driven by first a migration of artists and since a resurgence of affluence; Hoboken has become one of the most desirable areas in the NY Metro region, decorated by luxury condos as well as beautifully restored older buildings.

Frank Sinatra is highly regarded as Hoboken’s Finest Son, and in his honor, you’ll find Frank Sinatra Park, Sinatra Drive, and you can take part in the annual Frank Sinatra Idol Contest. Of particular interest to sports fans, Hoboken’s Elysian Fields was the site of the first officially recorded game of baseball, in 1846. The city is also home to the country’s first mechanical engineering school, Stevens Institute of Technology which was founded in 1870 in the Castle Point area of Hoboken. The beautiful Hoboken Terminal train station (still in use) was built in 1907 and is a national historic landmark.