The demolition of the Hahne’s building in downtown Montclair began at noon today after an hour of speeches. With about 100 people watching, including children from Montclair’s community pre-K, Mayor Ed Remsen gave the signal to start the wrecking, and within minutes he was holding a piece of the crumbling building and smiling for pictures.
“To quote the late great Jerry Garcia,” Remsen said before the demolition began. “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” He called the Hahne’s building a “monstrosity” whose demolition “allows us to generate new tax revenues” for Montclair.
(Clockwise from top left) The wrecking begins; Mayor Remsen poses with Pinnacle’s Brian Stolar, holding a piece of debris from the Hahne’s building; speeches; pre-K children leaving the ceremony.
The pressing question: when does the first piece of Hahne’s debris go up on eBay and what does it go for?
What does it mean when one’s mayor starts quoting the Grateful Dead?
The mayor is hip.
it’s all good when the Mayor quotes the Grateful Dead.
I agree… don’t let the “Touch of Grey” fool ya!!!
I am not taking delight in the demise of the Hahne’s building for yet another apartment complex when we have been in dire need of a wonderful store such as Lord & Taylor as our shopping anchor. There is no sense of a central shopping point in this area; a place where one can go with family or friends to get as much accomplised in a few hours of shopping as we did at Hahne’s without having to run from store to store in the mall marathon that is now today’s shopping experience. We should have taken a page from Westfield; they made it work with Lord & Taylor and we could have done the same. Alas, so many lost opportunities that have defined each administration that has held the Mayor’s office over the past 15 years. Long live our wonderful memories of Hahne’s!!!