A
Tapestry of Businesses
Business in Highland
Park has a storied, if not especially long, history. There was the Ten
Eyck Dairy, started in 1886 with a single Jersey cow. The New Brunswick
Brewing Co., which laid claim to one of the first telephone numbers
in Highland Park (31-H.P.), saw its brewery burn to the ground in December
1912 but its bottling department lives on in the form of an apartment
building at 105 Montgomery St. Johnson & Johnson once manufactured
mustard plaster bandages at a plant situated on today's Lincoln Avenue.
Kitchenmeister Florist, now on North Fifth Avenue, traces its roots
to 1883, when Edward Kitchenmeister set up shop across the Raritan River
in New Brunswick, a city with which Highland Park has enjoyed close
ties without losing its small-town feel. According to the Highland
Park Historical Society, the borough even "marginally supported
" a moviehouse from 1927 to the late 1950s. The 1,400-seat Block's
Park Theatre featured a fountain and an aquarium, and 20-cent matinees.
Additional
historical information and maps.
http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/HighlandPark/oldHighlandPark.html
Chamber
History
It wasn't until the last
decade of the 20th century that the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce
appeared on the scene. In 1991 a group of Highland Park's businesspeople
came together and, with the assistance of then-Mayor H. James Polos
and the Borough Council, founded the Chamber. The Chamber already had
a leg up, thanks to the work that had been done by its predecessor organization,
the Highland Park Downtown Merchants Association.
In fact, the merchants association
established the tradition of sponsoring special community events whose
prime objective was to improve the climate in the downtown business
district. The leadership of longtime independent pharmacist Ivan Saiff
and Margaret Rolnick, an entrepreneur who owned a specialty gift shop
downtown, graciously stepped aside to allow the Chamber to begin the
process of expanding membership to all businesspeople and professionals
with ties to Highland Park. Because of the relatively small size of
the town and the business district's close proximity to the residential
community, the Chamber also sought to reach out to not-for-profit organizations
as well as individual residents with an interest in the total welfare
of the town. The Chamber has worked to expand its role as each President
has placed his or her mark on the organization. Gayle Norman, Jeff Urbach,
Walter Deutsch, Laura Levitt and now
Duane Beers
have all made substantial contributions
to change the Chamber and make it a more visible organization representing
the interests of Highland Park's vibrant business community.
Today's
Chamber
Since our inception the Chamber
has served as a clear-voiced, unwavering advocate for the interests
of Highland Park's business, professional/service and not-for-profit
community.
While we rely heavily on
voluntarism, membership dues are critical to our viability and growth.
To be sure, the old adage "It takes money to make money" rings
true with us.
Invigorated by its designation
in 2002 as a Main Street community, the borough has set about marking
a path to greater opportunity and progress that makes this one of the
most auspicious times since the town's founding in 1905. The Main Street
program, far from being an end in itself, actually signals the start
of a systematic, incremental process that will require our community's
stakeholders from all walks of life--including the Chamber--to envision
and help shape our shared future.
What
We Do for Our Community and Our Members
You already know
why we want you, but why should you want us?
Here's a snapshot
of what your Chamber does for you:
- Promotes the
downtown commercial district as a vibrant economic engine for our
community.
- Draws thousands
of residents from across town and visitors from across the mid-state
region for the annual Highland Park Downtown Street Fair.
- Provides networking
opportunities for Highland Park's business owners and professionals.
- Publishes the
Highland Park Business and Service Directory, which provides the borough's
only comprehensive listing of merchants, professionals and services.
Hundreds of copies of the directory are made available to residents
and visitors (including at the Main
Street Highland Park office at 421 Raritan Ave.). Chamber members
enjoy highlighted listings.
- Connects you
to news you can use, including by way of our members-only e-network
and fully integrated Web service.
- Creates marketing
and advertising opportunities for Highland Park-based businesses.
We were able, for example, to allow Highland Park's small businesses
to earn reasonably priced prime-time exposure on some of Cablevision's
highest-rated programs.
- Organizes and
co-sponsors seminars that cover subjects ranging from "Business
Use of the Internet" to "Marketing and Promotions"
to "Press Coverage for Your Business."
Did you know that
Highland Park boasts some 500 businesses and not-for-profit organizations?
Whether you're on Cedar Avenue or Cedar Lane, River Road or Riverview
Avenue, Woodbridge Avenue or Raritan Avenue, we've got you covered.
Thank you for your
support and for sharing our abiding belief that, together, we're making
Highland Park better than ever!
