Alpine, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alpine, New Jersey
Borough
Alpine Borough Hall, Post Office and police station
Location of Alpine in Bergen County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Bergen County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Census Bureau map of Alpine, New Jersey
Alpine, New Jersey Location in Bergen County, New Jersey Show map of Bergen County, New Jersey Alpine, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Alpine, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Bergen
Incorporated	April 8, 1903
Named for	The Alps
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	9.27 sq mi (24.01 km2)
• Land	6.40 sq mi (16.58 km2)
• Water	2.87 sq mi (7.43 km2)  30.61%
Area rank	218th of 565 in state 4th of 70 in county
Elevation	518 ft (158 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,762
• Estimate  (2023)	1,750
• Rank	497th of 565 in state 68th of 70 in county
• Density	275.3/sq mi (106.3/km2)
• Density rank	483rd of 565 in state 69th of 70 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07620
Area codes	201 exchanges: 750, 767, 768, 784.
FIPS code	{{{1}}}-{{{2}}}
GNIS feature ID	0885139

Alpine is a small town, called a borough, located in Bergen County, New Jersey. It is about 15 miles north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Alpine is also the easternmost town in New Jersey.

This borough is known for being one of the most expensive places to live in the United States. In 2012, Forbes magazine said Alpine had America's most expensive ZIP Code, with homes costing around $4.25 million. It has often been ranked highly on lists of expensive places.

Alpine was officially created on April 8, 1903. Its name came from the wife of a journalist named Charles Nordhoff. She thought the area looked like the Swiss Alps.

Geography of Alpine

A view looking south along the Palisades from Ruckman's Point in Palisades Interstate Park.

Alpine covers about 9.2 square miles (23.9 square kilometers). A little over 6 square miles (16.6 square kilometers) is land, and nearly 3 square miles (7.3 square kilometers) is water.

The borough shares borders with several towns in Bergen County, including Closter, Cresskill, and Tenafly. Across the Hudson River, Alpine is near The Bronx in New York City and parts of Westchester County. To the north, it borders Tappan in Rockland County, New York.

Population and People

As of the 2020 United States census, Alpine had a population of 1,762 people. This was a small decrease from the 1,849 people counted in 2010. The population has changed over the years, sometimes growing and sometimes shrinking slightly.

Alpine is known for having a very high average income per person. This means that many residents in Alpine earn a lot of money.

Schools in Alpine

Students in Alpine attend schools through a local district and a partnership with a nearby town.

Alpine Public School District

The Alpine Public School District serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade. All these students go to Alpine School. In the 2022–23 school year, there were about 170 students and 21.5 teachers. This means there were about 8 students for every teacher, which is a very small class size.

High School Education

For high school, students from Alpine attend Tenafly High School in Tenafly. This is part of a special agreement where Alpine pays tuition for its students to attend Tenafly's high school. Tenafly High School had about 1,200 students in the 2022–23 school year.

Specialized High Schools

Students from Alpine and all of Bergen County can also apply to special high school programs. These are offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools. They include the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack and the Bergen Tech campuses in Teterboro or Paramus. These schools offer unique programs, and students are chosen through an application process.

Getting Around Alpine

A view looking south along the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Alpine.

Alpine has many roads for cars. Major roads like U.S. Route 9W, the Palisades Interstate Parkway, and County Route 502 all go through the borough.

For public transportation, Rockland Coaches offers bus service. These buses travel along Route 9W to places like the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in Midtown Manhattan. There is no NJ Transit bus or train service directly in Alpine. However, a nearby NJ Transit bus route (753) runs in Cresskill, connecting to Paramus.

Media and Technology

The Armstrong Tower in Alpine.

Alpine is home to the famous Armstrong Tower and a laboratory. This tower was built by Edwin Howard Armstrong, who was a pioneer in radio technology. His experimental FM radio station, W2XMN, broadcast from this tower.

The 400-foot (122-meter) tower is still standing today. It is used by many two-way radio users and a modern FM radio station (WFDU). It also serves as a backup for several New York television stations. After the September 11 terrorist attacks destroyed the World Trade Center, this tower became a primary broadcast site for a short time. The original lab building now has a display of old communication equipment.

Fun Places to Visit

Alpine has some interesting spots to explore.

Rio Vista and Devil's Tower

Rio Vista is a fancy neighborhood in Alpine. It's home to a stone water tower called Devil's Tower. Some people say it's haunted! It was designed for a wealthy sugar businessman, Manuel Rionda, so his wife could see New York from New Jersey. The tower was never fully finished.

Palisades Interstate Park

The New Jersey part of the Palisades Interstate Park runs along Alpine. It follows the top of the New Jersey Palisades and the Hudson River.

• Alpine Boat Basin: This is a great spot for picnics and has a small marina for boats. You can launch canoes and kayaks, go fishing, and find hiking trails here.
• Alpine Pavilion: This is an open-air stone picnic area built in 1934. You can rent it for events.
• Blackledge-Kearney House: This historic house is believed to be where Lord Cornwallis and his soldiers landed in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War.

Famous People from Alpine

Many well-known people have lived in or are connected to Alpine, New Jersey. Here are a few:

See also

In Spanish: Alpine (Nueva Jersey) para niños