Hoboken grew. People got many jobs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Hoboken Land and Improvement Company, started by Colonel Stevens in 1838, created many streets, began housing, and created building sites. The housing was made up of masonry of three to five stories. Many buildings survive to the present day, and the street grid. It was also at this time that German immigrants became the main group in Hoboken. Along with the main industry of creating ships, well-known industries that created a big presence in Hoboken were Maxwell House, Lipton Tea, and Hostess, among others. In 1870, the Stevens Institute of Technology was created at Castle Point, the highest point in Hoboken.
World War I changed Hoboken. People against Germans started the city being placed under law, and many Germans had to move to Ellis Island in nearby New York Harbor. Or they left the city. During the war Hoboken became famous. In Hoboken terminal, American troops got onto ships that went to Europe. More than three million soldiers went through the terminal, and their word phrase was "Heaven, Hell or Hoboken... by Christmas."
After the war, Italians were the city's major group, with the Irish having been a big group.
In the 1960s, other people followed, including Puerto Ricans. High crime rates shortly followed, and many of Hoboken's original residents slowly moved out, including Irish and Italians. In the middle of the 20th century, industries looked for greener areas, port jobs went to larger places in Newark Bay, and the car, truck and airplane relpaced the railroad and ship as the way of moving in the United States. Most of the ports closed around 1975.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Hoboken attracted artists, musicians, and commuters who were going into Manhattan for work. Making Hoboken better was done in the same way as in the Manhattan. Making Hoboken better has continued, with many new places to live now being built on what used to be industrial sites on the waterfront and even more so in the western parts of Hoboken that were wost for the longest time. Although political control of the city is largely influenced by the city's long-term residents, the "yuppies" who have settled in Hoboken are now showing extensive interest. The City of Hoboken is controlled by the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council).
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As of the census of 2000, there are 38,577 people, 19,418 households, and 6,835 families residing in the city. The population density is 11,636.5/km² (30,239.2/mi²). There are 19,915 housing units at an average density of 6,007.2/km² (15,610.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 80.82% White, 4.26% African American, 0.16% Native American, 4.31% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 7.63% from other races, and 2.78% from two or more races. 20.18% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 19,418 households out of which 11.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 23.8% are married couples living together, 9.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 64.8% are non-families. 41.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 1.92 and the average family size is 2.73.
In the city the population is spread out with 10.5% under the age of 18, 15.3% from 18 to 24, 51.7% from 25 to 44, 13.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 30 years. For every 100 females there are 103.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 103.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $62,550, and the median income for a family is $67,500. Males have a median income of $54,870 versus $46,826 for females. The per capita income for the city is $43,195. 11.0% of the population and 10.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 23.6% of those under the age of 18 and 20.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
With containerization in the 20th century Hoboken lost business as a port town and became rundown. Paterson, Elizabeth, and Camden were other places in New Jersey with similar problems. In the late 1970s, it began to prosper again and many people wanted to live there.
The city today is known for its excellent views of Manhattan, its fine-grained street grid, its historic architecture, and its restaurants and bars. A car is more of a hindrance than a help in getting around, and people do a great amount of walking. On weekend nights the town swells with young partygoers from nearby New Jersey towns who practice a rowdier style of barhopping than is fashionable across the river in Manhattan. Sundays are quieter.
Hoboken's gentrification has become relatively advanced, though many native residents remain in the city and hold political power. The population of "newcomers" or "yuppies", as they are typically called in the local press, consists of college and post-graduate students, bi-nationals, older artists and, increasingly, well-to-do commuters to Manhattan. However, rising rents and other costs of living, particularly in rental units, has resulted in some of the "bohemian" population moving away.
The Hoboken waterfront is the western shore of the Hudson from Newark Street and the Holland Tunnel to the south, and the Stevens Institute of Technology and Lincoln Tunnel to the north. The waterfront defined Hoboken as a port town and powered its economy from the mid-19th century to the outbreak of World War I when the federal government took control for war purposes. Control of the waterfront was returned to the city in the early 1950s. "On the Waterfront", often listed among the five or ten best American films ever, was filmed here. It dramatized the lives of dockworkers, and the infiltration of unions by organized crime. Today the waterfront is a place to look at the Hudson River and Manhattan, with landscaped parks built on the foundations of former piers (Pier A, Pier C, Sinatra Park and Pier 14).
1919
1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday in the Gregorian calendar.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a drug (or chemical) found in plants. It can be harmful for both humans and animals if a large amount is consumed. If a person ate 10-13 grams of caffeine quickly, between 80-100 cups of coffee, it would kill them.
Caffeine is the main drug that is in coffee. Coffee comes from a tree. The seeds of the tree are roasted to make coffee.
Caffeine comes from other plants as well. It is in guarana, yerba maté, cacao, and some plants used to make tea. The plants use caffeine as a "pesticide". This is a chemical that kills insects if they eat the plant. It is the way the plant protects itself.
Caffeine was first extracted from cocoa beans into its purest form which is a white powder and the word originated from the German word “kaffee” and the French word “café” which both mean caffeine.
It is called guaranine when it comes from the guarana plant and theine when it comes from a tea plant. It is called mateine in the mate drink. This drink is an infusion made with Yerba mate.
Caffeine is a "stimulant" drug. A stimulant is a drug that increases body actions like heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolism. It makes a person more awake and alert.
Caffeine also is a diuretic. This means it makes a person make more urine (the waste liquid a person makes).
The caffeine chemical is called a "xanthine alkaloid". This is a group of chemicals that are stimulants. Some xanthine alkaloids (like theophylline) are used to help asthma.
The biggest use of caffeine is as a stimulant. People drink coffee and other drinks with caffeine to stay awake.
Doctors sometimes use caffeine as a medicine. It is used for headaches (head pain). It is sometimes used to help premature (born "very" early) babies to breathe. The short-term risk of this treatment seems to be that the babies treated gain less weight than usual.