BASEBALL BATHROOM DECOR

The Old Bergen Church, at 1 Highland Avenue, is home to the longest continuous congregation in New Jersey, dating to the settlers of the village of Bergen in 1660. The third and present structure serving the congregation was built in 1841 and dedicated on July 14, 1842. It stands one hundred yards from the site of the earlier two buildings.

The Greek Revival style one-story structure features a full-length portico with post supported by six columns in front of a brownstone facade. It was built by William H. Kirk and Company and Clark and Van Nest of Newark, New Jersey. In the center of the facade is the church tablet of white marble on black marble and inserted cornerstone. Also from the facade, two doors open to the vestibule. Stone from the 1773 church is embedded in the south wall of the church. Atop the church is a wooden belfry. Below the eave is a wooden facia around the roof line.

The interior has a balcony and features mahogany decor. The stained glass windows reveal the benefactors and founding members of the congregation and community. They were contributed by the Van Reypen, Newkirk, Van Horne, Sip, and Van Winkle families, among others. An original signed Louis Tiffany stained glass window is in the sanctuary. Until the early nineteenth century, church records and sermons were preserved in Dutch.

In 1900 a Sunday school was added at the northwest corner. A Memorial Chapel, constructed in 1959, honors the men and women of the congregation who served in the military during World War II. A meeting room, named for the Reverend Dr. Cornelius Brett (1876-1916) built in 1924, contains artifacts from the earlier churches. Among the items are two communion cups made from silver by Hendrikus Boele in 1730. They have been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1970, the Old Bergen Church and the Trinity United Presbyterian Church formed a union. The Trinity Church, which served the same area of Jersey City, was an outgrowth of the merger of the First Presbyterian Church (founded in 1809) and the Westminster Presbyterian Church (founded in 1869). The new federated church retains the name "Old Bergen" Church.

New Jersey State Register (1981)
National Register #82003277 (1982)

To make this bar one of the focal points of the casino, I-5 Design and Manufacture created this conceptual rendering, which incorporates a fiery red and sunrise amber color palette. Radiating out from the center of the bar is a large, illuminated mica structure, designed to draw the eye towards the appealing ambiance of light and color. A curving half-wall, made of ornate and old-world ironwork, with a rock column at each end separates the bar area from the gaming floor in a classic way. Click here to see more examples of casino design