The Tube Bar prank calls are a series of prank calls made in the mid-1970s to the Tube Bar in Jersey City, New Jersey , in which Jim Davidson and John Elmo would ask "Red", the proprietor of the bar , if they could speak to various non-existent customers. The gag names given by the pranksters were puns and homophones for often offensive phrases. Recordings of the calls were circulated widely on duplicated cassette tapes and may have been the inspiration for a long running gag in The Simpsons .
24-596: In the mid-1970s, two young men—John Elmo and Jim Davidson; later known collectively as Bum Bar Bastards , or The BBB —began calling the Tube Bar located at Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey. The bar was owned by heavyweight boxer Louis "Red" Deutsch, and most of the time Deutsch himself answered the calls. During a call, the pranksters would ask Deutsch to call out fictitious, pun-like or homophonous names such as "Pepe Roni" ( pepperoni ), "Hal Jalykakick" ( how'd you like
48-502: A 53-story tower, opened in early 2017. It sits directly adjacent to the Journal Square PATH station as a continuation of the dense transit-oriented development that has arisen further to the east in Jersey City. The towers were designed by Hollwich Kushner and Handel Architects. As of 2008, there were proposals to build a complex called 1 Journal Square which would combine rental housing, multi-story retail, and parking. Plans for
72-500: A hit song in the 1940s mentions Journal Square in its lyrics as the place where it got started. Two days before Election Day in 1960 John F. Kennedy made his last campaign speech at Journal Square, before returning to New England. Hudson Boulevard was named Kennedy Boulevard soon after his assassination. The Tube Bar , so-called for the Hudson Tubes (as the fore-runner of the PATH system
96-415: A kick ), "Phil Mypockets" ( fill my pockets ), "Al Coholic" ( alcoholic ) or "Mike Hunt" ( my cunt ). Most of the time, Deutsch would call out the names, unaware that he was being subjected to a prank. At times, Deutsch would catch on, and when he did, he would respond with extreme hostility, shouting profanity, obscene sexual references (usually involving the caller's mother), and threats of physical harm at
120-616: A majority of his career with the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W) before leaving in 1920 to form his own consulting practice in New York City . As a consulting engineer, he designed a number of concrete spans in Scranton, Pennsylvania , Binghamton, New York , and elsewhere. At least two of his works, the Tunkhannock Viaduct and Scranton's Harrison Avenue Bridge , are on
144-547: A record price for an office real estate transaction in the state. A further extension to 2013 requested by MEPTA was not granted by the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency. Jersey City is one of nine municipalities in New Jersey designated as eligible for Urban Transit Hub Tax Credits by the state's Economic Development Authority . Developers who invest a minimum of $ 50 million within 0.5 miles (0.80 km) of
168-455: A train station are eligible for pro-rated tax credit . In 2012, the city adopted a variance for a development proposal to build a 42-story residential tower and adjacent garage on the south and east sides of the Newkirk House . A 13-story residential building is proposed for a parking platform adjacent to and overlooking the PATH tracks originally developed in 1984. In December 2012
192-530: Is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey , which takes its name from the newspaper Jersey Journal whose headquarters were located there from 1911 to 2013. The "square" itself is at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenue . The broader area extends to and includes Bergen Square , McGinley Square , India Square , the Five Corners and parts of
216-540: The Jersey Journal sold its building and relocated to Harmon Plaza in nearby Secaucus ; however, a large sign with the paper's name was still in place atop the building in the square as of June 2015. Other mixed-use projects are planned throughout the district. Abraham Burton Cohen Abraham Burton Cohen (March 9, 1882 – February 11, 1956) was an American civil engineer notable for his role in designing innovative and record-breaking concrete bridges such as
240-627: The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad 's Tunkhannock Viaduct , the world's largest concrete structure when completed. Cohen was an active member of the American Concrete Institute and earned ACI's Wason Medal for Most Meritorious Paper in 1927. Cohen was Jewish, born in Chicago and died in East Orange, New Jersey . He earned a degree in civil engineering from Purdue University in 1905 and an honorary doctorate in 1949. Cohen spent
264-474: The Marion Section . Many local, state, and federal agencies serving Hudson County maintain offices in the district. Prior to its development as a commercial district Journal Square was the site of many farmhouses and manors belonging to descendants of the original settlers of Bergen , the first chartered municipality in the state settled in 1660 and located just south at Bergen Square . In conjunction with
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#1732847982666288-536: The PATH rapid transit system and an occasional freight train. In front of the station is a statue of Jackie Robinson who in 1946 crossed the baseball color line at Roosevelt Stadium . A statue of Christopher Columbus , the work of Jersey City native Archimedes Giacomontonio, has been located on the square since 1950. The Stanley and the Loew's have both been restored, the first now an Assembly Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses ,
312-450: The mixed-use development call for 68-story and 50-story residential towers above a 7-story retail and parking base with a rooftop terrace. While the site has been cleared, construction has not begun. Deadlines to begin construction by 2011 were not met by the developer, Multi-Employer Property Trust. In October 2011, MEPT purchased Newport Tower on the Hudson waterfront for $ 377 million,
336-503: The 1912 opening of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Summit Avenue station many of those properties were demolished to make way for modern buildings, including the still standing Labor Bank Building and the Public Service building. The Newkirk House and Van Wagenen House remain, while the still-intact Sip Manor was moved to Westfield, New Jersey . The square was created in 1923 when
360-519: The 1980s, dubbed cassette tapes of the calls were shared between staff of several major league sports teams such as the New York Mets , Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Dolphins . These dubbed copies of the calls were unofficially referred to as the Red Tapes or Tube Bar Tapes . The popularity of these prank calls spread throughout respective sports leagues, branching out to sports reporters and then into
384-439: The caller. He would utter threats such as, "I'll break dem bones on you, on your feet, you'll never be able to walk for the rest of your life!" as well as "I'll cut your belly open and show you all the black stuff you got in there!" Sometimes Deutsch would offer the two pranksters a reward of $ 100 or $ 500 if they would show up at his bar in person, but they never took him up on the offer, in one case even counter-offering him $ 5. By
408-473: The city condemned and demolished the offices of the Jersey Journal , thus creating a broad intersection with Hudson Boulevard which itself had been widened in 1908. The newspaper built new headquarters and the new square was named in its honor. The bridge carrying the boulevard was designed by consulting engineer Abraham Burton Cohen and completed in 1926. For most of the twentieth century Journal Square
432-704: The county's courts and a number of county agencies and departments. The Five Corners Branch of the Jersey City Public Library is sited on the intersection itself, while William L. Dickinson High School is located nearby at 2 Palisade Avenue . Many of the buildings in Journal Square include housing stock (such as brownstones , pre-war apartment buildings, and Frame houses), convenience stores , bodegas, and downscale franchises, that Jerremiah Healy , Mayor of Jersey City , has referred to as "ugly old eyesores." The redevelopment of Journal Square has attracted
456-409: The interest of urban planners, architects, sociologists, and others, many who view its historical, current, and future use as an important indicator of the contemporary understanding of how cities function. A proposed development by Kushner Real Estate Group and National Real Estate Advisors, Journal Squared , is planned as a 2.3 million square foot, 3-tower residential complex. The first phase,
480-541: The larger media world. The Tube Bar itself was located at 12 Tube Concourse, Jersey City, adjacent to the entrance of the Journal Square PATH station and across the way from the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre . The small complex of commercial storefronts that included the Tube Bar was demolished in early 2009 to make way for the 1 Journal Square development project. Journal Square Journal Square
504-539: The latter used as a moviehouse and for other cultural events. The campus of Hudson County Community College is a collection of buildings throughout the district around the square. A few blocks to the south near McGinley Square , are Saint Peter's University , Hudson Catholic Regional High School , and the Jersey City Armory . A concentration of Overseas Filipino and Indian American -operated shops can be found along Newark Avenue and near India Square to
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#1732847982666528-406: The north. Northeast of Journal Square is Five Corners , the county seat of Hudson County . The Hudson County Courthouse , located at 583 Newark Avenue 40°43′55″N 74°3′25″W / 40.73194°N 74.05694°W / 40.73194; -74.05694 ( Hudson County Courthouse ) , and the adjacent Hudson County Administration Building , at 595 Newark Avenue, are home to
552-540: Was called) was made famous by Louis "Red" Deutsch getting prank calls there. The Journal Square Transportation Center , opened between 1973 and 1975, includes the Journal Square PATH and bus station, and is the headquarters of PATH . It is built on an elevated bridge structure above the Bergen Hill Cut , an 1834 railroad cut once used by Pennsylvania Railroad main line and Jersey City Branch and now by
576-488: Was the cultural entertainment center of Hudson County , home to the movie palaces built in the 1920s: The State (1922, and since demolished), the Stanley Theater (1928), and the Loew's Jersey Theater (1929). Karen Angel of The New York Daily News described Journal Square from the 1920s to the 1960s as a "crown jewel, a glowing commercial, entertainment and transportation hub of the city." The " Jersey Bounce ",
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