83 years ago — If you were in Journal Square in April 1943 and headed to the Loew’s Jersey to see Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in “Keepers of the Flame”, you’d have found it was easy to get across Kennedy Boulevard (it was called Hudson Boulevard back then) because the crosswalk conveniently linked the East Concourse (the alley from the old Hudson Tube station, now PATH) straight across the Boulevard to the West Concourse, better known as Loew’s Alley, right alongside the Theatre.
It had been less than a year and a half since Pearl Harbor, and right next to the crosswalk, the Junior League was manning this little hut promoting War Bonds to support America’s struggle to defeat the Axis. Several WAACs (members of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps) are seen outside the hut, helping to encourage people to buy bonds. But if somehow anyone missed the message, a huge sign on the facade of the Loew’s repeated it for the whole Square to see.
Does anyone remember hearing about Knox Hats, the store seen at the extreme left? That was back when some of the best clothing stores in Hudson County were at Journal Square.