LOOKING BACK
Montclair’s Other
Community Hospital
CIRCA 1939
CIRCA 1975
Until 1999, Mountainside wasn’t the only hospital that served Montclair. According to an account in the
Montclair Times, a group of area women formed the Homeopathic Society of Montclair in 1907 with the goal
of launching a hospital; the Society raised funds for 16 years before opening an 18-bed facility in a former
private residence on Harrison Avenue. In 1928, major construction expanded its offerings. Until 1947, it was
incorporated as the Homeopathic Society of Montclair, but the place was popularly known as Community
Hospital. Though a 1959 Times article praised the South Wing as housing “the most modern in operating
rooms, X-ray and laboratory facilities,” the hospital went on to suffer financially, and closed in 1999. After it
was demolished in 2005, Cathedral Healthcare System of Newark sold the 3.2 acre property to developer
Continental Properties, who built high-end condos called The Heights of Montclair in its place.
– Cindy Schweich Handler
1939 photo by Guy G. Clark Jr.; 1975 photo gifted by Mrs. Marjorie Crunden;
Courtesy of the Montclair Public Library
Do you have a great photo for Looking Back? Send your suggestions to [email protected].
104 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE BACK TO SCHOOL 2016