Grantwood, New Jersey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Grantwood, New Jersey
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 Grantwood, New Jersey
Location in Bergen County, New Jersey
Grantwood, New Jersey
Location in New Jersey
Grantwood, New Jersey
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  New Jersey |
| County | Bergen |
| Boroughs | Cliffside Park, Ridgefield |
| Elevation | 269 ft (82 m) |
| Area codes | 201/551 |
| GNIS feature ID | 876712 |
Grantwood is a small community in New Jersey, United States. It is located in Bergen County. Grantwood is split between two towns: Cliffside Park and Ridgefield. It is just south of Fort Lee.
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How Grantwood Got Its Name
Grantwood got its name in the early 1900s. A company called Grantwood Heights Land Company was started in 1900. Its owner, Frank Knox, bought land in the area.
The name "Grantwood" comes from its location. It sits on the Hudson Palisades, which are tall cliffs. These cliffs are across the Hudson River from Grant's Tomb in Manhattan, New York City. People could reach Grant's Tomb by taking a ferry from Edgewater.
A Place for Artists
The "Others" Group
Grantwood became a special place for artists. In 1913, two artists named Man Ray and Samuel Halpert started an artists' colony here. This colony became a hub for a group of artists known as the "Others."
The colony had many small wooden houses on a cliff. Today, some street names in this area, like Sketch Place, Studio Road, and Art Lane, remind us of Grantwood's artistic past.
Literary Magazines
The first issue of a literary magazine called The Glebe was published at the colony in 1913. Later, in 1915, another important magazine started here. It was called Others: A Magazine of the New Verse. It was launched by Alfred Kreymborg with help from Wallace Stevens and William Carlos Williams. This magazine published works by many famous writers. These included Ezra Pound and Carl Sandburg.
Early Movie Making in Grantwood
The E.K. Lincoln Studio
Did you know that the early movie industry in the United States started on the East Coast? For a while, Fort Lee, just north of Grantwood, was a major center for making movies.
In 1915, the E.K. Lincoln Studio was built in Grantwood. It was on Bergen Boulevard. The studio was owned by E.K. Lincoln, who was an actor and a filmmaker. Many early movie stars and directors worked at this studio. They also used different places in the area for filming scenes.
Movies Made Here
The first movie made at the studio was The Fighting Chance in 1916. Lincoln himself starred in it with Violet Horner. From 1916 to 1917, another big company, Fox Film, rented the studio.
Later, in 1920, the United States Photoplay Corporation used the studio for their film Determination. In 1923, Peter Jones made the movie How High Is Up? here. Also, the first episode of The Leather Pushers (1922) was filmed at this studio.
Moving to Hollywood
After World War I, many filmmakers, including E.K. Lincoln, moved to Hollywood, California. The weather in Hollywood was sunny all year. This made it easier to film outdoors whenever they wanted.
Even after "talkies" (movies with sound) became popular in 1927, the Grantwood studio was still used. It made films in Italian and Polish languages. However, by the end of the Great Depression, the studio was no longer used for making movies. The building itself burned down in the 1960s.
