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

100 Block of Cooper Street
	Cooper Street Looking Northeast from Front and Cooper 1907 Click on Image to Enlarge The Cooper Mansion was the home of Camden Free Public Library for a time. It was razed to make room for the Johnson Library and Johnson Park
	Cooper Street Johnson Park circa 1920 Click on Image to Enlarge
	Cooper Street Johnson Park 1926 Peter Pan Pagent Click on Image to Enlarge The Johnson Library and park were donated to the City of Camden by Eldridge Johnson, founder and CEO of the Victor Talking Machine Company. Built between 1914 and 1930, and first opened in 1918.
	Cooper Street Looking Northeast from Front and Cooper April 2005 Photo by Craig Campbell Click on Image to Enlarge
	122 Cooper Street Dr. Samuel Harris
	120-124 & 126 Cooper Street
	128 & 130 Cooper Street
	134 Cooper Street
	122 Cooper Street The Dorcas Society 1872 Click on Images to Enlarge
	120-124, 126, 128, 130 & 134 Cooper Street Click on Images to Enlarge
	100-134 Cooper Street Victor Talking Machine Company Factory about 1920 Click on Images to Enlarge
	Northwest Corner of Front & Cooper Street Victor Talking Machine Company Offices about 1920

200 Block of Cooper Street
	Cooper Street Looking East from N 2nd Street 1st house on right: 210 Cooper 1st House on left: 215 Cooper Click on Images to Enlarge
	200-230 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	200 Cooper Street The Edward Sharp House Click on Images to Enlarge
	200 Cooper Street The Edward Sharp House Click on Images to Enlarge
	200 Cooper Street The Edward Sharp House Click on Images to Enlarge
	200 Cooper Street The Edward Sharp House Click on Images to Enlarge
	200 Cooper Street The Edward Sharp House Click on Images to Enlarge
AUTOIST HELD IN CRASH AS LICENSELESS DRIVER Charged with driving without a license, Arthur Benjamin, 28, of 430 Liberty Street, was held in $10 security for a police court hearing following a collision at Twenty-third and High Streets shortly after noon yesterday, One man was cut on the head and legs. Policeman James Banks made the arrest after Benjamin's car struck and overturned the machine of C.R. Finney, 62, of 201 Cooper Street. Finney was treated by Dr. A. Lincoln Sherk. Benjamin was ordered to appear before Judge Garfield Pancoast June 29.	201 Cooper Street 1933 C.R. Finney Camden Courier-Post June 23, 1933
	201 Cooper Street 1933 Turin Grotto mid-late 1930's John Lynch Saloon 1947 Palace Restaurant
	204 & 206 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge RIGHT: 204 Cooper Street was the home of the College of South Jersey Law School in 1947, the predecessor to Rutgers Law School LEFT: Henry S. Ford lived at 206 Cooper Street in the 1930s and 1940s
	205 Cooper Street Richard Pancoast 1880s-1900s
	207 Cooper Street
	209 Cooper Street Womans Club of Camden 1896-1901
	210 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Charlotte C. French 1920s-1930s Click on Image to Enlarge
	210 Cooper Street Charlotte C. French 1920s-1930s Click on Image to Enlarge
	212 Cooper Street
	214 Cooper Street George W. Jessup 1920s-1932
	215 Cooper Street
	217 Cooper Street
	220 Cooper Street Samuel Smith Ice 1890s
	218-222 Cooper Street The Chalcar Apartments 1925 Byron Edwards & Alfred Green Architects Edward A. "Dick" Malan 1940s-1950 Click on Image to Enlarge
	218-222 Cooper Street The Chalcar Apartments Edward A. "Dick" Malan 1940s-1950 Click on Image to Enlarge
	218-222 Cooper Street The Chalcar Apartments February 7, 2004 Byron Edwards & Alfred Green Click on Image to Enlarge


	224 & 218-222 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	223 Cooper Street
	224 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	228 & 224 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Click on Image to Enlarge
	227 Cooper Street
	228 Cooper Street Photo taken February 7, 2004 1877-1888 Nathan F. Cowan & Family Nathan & Sallie Ann Cowan William Cowan Edgar Cowan Herbert Cowan Click on Image to Enlarge
	229 Cooper Street
	230 Cooper Street
	232 Cooper Street 1910s-1920s Frank J. Hineline
	232 Cooper Street 1910s-1920s Ludwig Kind 1910s-1920s Charles H. Greer 1910s-1920s William MacFarland 1910s Philip Wilson

301 Block of Cooper Street
	302-300 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 House on left: 302 Cooper House on right: 300 Cooper Click on Images to Enlarge
	300 Cooper Street Dr. William A. Davis 1882-1900s
	302-300 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 House on left: 302 Cooper House on right: 300 Cooper Click on Images to Enlarge
	302-312 Cooper Street August 2004 Photo Courtesy of Craig Campbell
	303 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Dr. Max Ruttenberg 1933-1947 Click on Images to Enlarge
ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCED Dr. and Mrs. Max Ruttenberg, of 303 Cooper Street, have announced the engagement of Mrs. Ruttenberg's sister, Miss Harriet Blieden, daughter of the late Rabbi and Mrs. Ben jamin Blieden, of Philadelphia, to Max Kahener, of Philadelphia. Miss Blieden is a graduate of South Philadelphia High School for Girls and following attended Temple University. She is vice president of the South Philadelphia Hadassah. Mr. Kahener is a graduate of the Philadelphia Normal School, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the law school of Dickinson College.	303 Cooper Street Dr. Max Ruttenberg 1933-1947 Camden Courier-Post June 15, 1933
	305 Cooper Street Dr. H. Genet Taylor & Family 1885-1959 Agnes Draper 1940s-1950 February 7, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	305 Cooper Street The Home of Dr. H. Genet Taylor & Family February 7, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	306 Cooper Street Emma Hyland 1930s-1945

Above: 306 Cooper Street - The Pierre Apartments
	311 Cooper Street The Bloom Apartments Completed and opened for business February 1928 Property developed and building erected by Segwyn Realty, Inc.- Dr. Meyer Segal, Meyer Wessel, Hyman Bloom This building was known as Cooper Plaza Apartments in 1947.
	311 Cooper Street The Bloom Apartments Camden Courier-Post Newspaper Advertisement February 3, 1928
	300-312 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	312 Cooper Street Camden Republican Club 1914-1922 Click on Images to Enlarge
	312 Cooper Street Headquarters of the Camden County Red Cross February 7, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
Below: Aerial Photo from late 1930 showing 201 to 311 Cooper Street

	315 Cooper Street Lodge 111 Loyal Order of Moose 1947
	318 Cooper Street The home of E.G.C. Bleakly prominent Camden attorney from 1910s through the 1950s Photograph published in 1915 Click on Images to Enlarge
9	319 Cooper Street
	320 Cooper Street
	321 Cooper Street
	322 Cooper Street
	323 Cooper Street Francis D. Weaver 1920s-1938
	323, 325 & 329 Cooper Street
	324 Cooper Street
	325 Cooper Street The Home and Office of Dr. Lettie Allen Ward
	326 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Dr. Daniel Strock 1900s-1927 Garrett Cowls Joseph Hamilton Kay Hamilton April 2004- This building will be demolished to accommodate Rowan University Click on Images to Enlarge
	327 Cooper Street Francis Ford Patterson Jr. 1900s-1910s
	328 Cooper Street
	327 & 329 Cooper Street
	323 to 329 Cooper Street
	328 Cooper Street
	330 Cooper Street Dr. William H. Ireland Loretta Ireland 1880s-1904

401 Block of Cooper Street
	400 Cooper Street Judge Mitchell H. Cohen Federal Building & Courthouse February 7, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	403 to 429 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	403 & 405 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	403 Cooper Street Wilbur F. Rose 1880s Dr. Joseph E. Roberts Jr. Dr. Thomas M. Kain Dr. Thomas M. Kain Jr. 1947
	405 Cooper Street Dr. Sophia Presley
	405 Cooper Street Dr. Paul Mecray Dr. Paul Mecray Jr. Dr. Albert H. Schaffer Dr. Walter A. Crist Dr. Alex Sochacki Dr. Saul S. Artis, dentist 1947
	405 & 407 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	406 Cooper Street Dr. A. Haines Lippincott Jr. & his wife Mrs. Miriam Lippincott Photograph taken in 1978
	407 Cooper Street
	408 Cooper Street Joseph H. Murray Funeral Home Charles T. Murray 1929-1970s The funeral home used both 410 (at left) and 408 Cooper Street for business purposes. The photo was taken in 1978. In the 1990s, these buildings were razed to make way for the Judge Mitchell Cohen Federal Courthouse. Click on Images to Enlarge
	407 to 429 Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	411 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Mrs. Bertha Kephart Funeral Home 1935-1936 Click on Images to Enlarge
	413 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	414 Cooper Street Camden Motorcycle Police mid-1920s
	414 Cooper Street Camden Medical Arts Building 1947
	413 & 415 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	415 Cooper Street Family Dental Association 1991 Fire Watch Magazine Advertisement
	415 Cooper Street Family Dental Association Arthur Truscott 1887-1889 1991 Fire Watch Magazine Advertisement
	415, 417 & 419 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	417 Cooper Street Family Dental Association Camden Courier-Post May 19, 1964
	417 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Dr. Henry H. Davis 1920s Thomas Murphy 1940s-1950s Click on Images to Enlarge
	419 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	420 Cooper Street Wilfred W. Fry Playground 1947
	419 & 421 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	421 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	423 Cooper Street
	425 & 427 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	425, 427 & 429 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	425, 427 & 429 Cooper Street October 31, 2005 Click on Images to Enlarge
	Architect's Drawing House for Mr. James S. White 427 Cooper Street, Camden Made for King Architects 226 Walnut Street Philadelphia PA
	427 & 429 Cooper Street April 2003 Click on Images to Enlarge
	427 Cooper Street April 2003 Click on Images to Enlarge
	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
	429 Cooper Street Camden Courier-Post Advertisement January 8, 1938
	430 Cooper Street Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church also known as Centenary-Tabernacle Methodist Episcopal Church as seen from Northwest Corner of North 4th & Cooper Street February 7, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge
	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

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.
	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 Dr. William A. Davis 1900s-1910s & son Dr. Albert Davis
	513 Cooper Street
	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
	522 Cooper Street Dr. G. Russell Atkinson 1920s-1936
	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
	521 Cooper Street Tommy Skymer 1947
	523 Cooper Street
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

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The Victor Plant Cooper Street, Camden N.J.	Cooper Park, 2nd & Cooper Streets circa 1907

"The Camden factories of the Victor Talking Machine Company"	The Victor Plant, Johnson Park in the foreground Now known as Walt Whitman Poetry Center

Cooper Park Library - circa 1910	Cooper Park Library - circa 1912

Cooper Park Library - circa 1916 *The Cooper Park Library was replaced by a large building (right). donated by Eldridge Johnson of the Victor Talking Machine Co.*	The Cooper Free Public Library Known today as The Walt Whitman Poetry Center

Unit Block of Cooper Street
	10 Cooper Street The Esterbrook Pen Company The Esterbrook Pens Co. plant stood at Cooper Street and Delaware Avenue in Camden for several decades. Founded in 1858 in Camden by Richard Esterbrook, the plant was moved to Cherry Hill in 1964. In 1967, it became the Venus- Esterbrook company and by 1969, it closed its Cherry Hill plant. Photo circa 1920.
	10 Cooper Street The Esterbrook Pen Company When Esterbrook Pen left Camden, the old plant was acquired by RCA. Known as RCA Building 16, it was demolished in January of 1971.
	43 Cooper Street Rev. William H. Burrell 1880s-1900s

The Helene Apartments at 125 North 3rd Street & 232 Cooper Street Southwest Corner of North 3rd & Cooper Streets

300 Block of Cooper Street The 2004 Rowan University Development Plan

Approved by the Camden Redevelopment agency in 2004, after Rowan University, never the best of neighbors in Glassboro, announced plans to seize the 300 block of Cooper and Market between 3rd and 4th Streets. Actions by the Redevelopment Agency protected the business, residences, and historic buildings, and in the end, only one standing property, 326 Cooper Street, presently unoccupied, will be razed, and the Camden County Red Cross, presently occupying 312 Cooper Street, will relocate. This is a real victory for all Camden citizens who pay taxes, as only one ratable was lost, while the assessed property values of those save will certainly rise- Phil Cohen, April 2004.