That’s right, kids, our look back at Ye Olde New Jersey is finally at an end! And since one of the main purposes of this little photo essay was to show just how much the state has changed over the last 50 years, perhaps few slides illustrate it like this one — Broad Street in Newark.

The cars (and buses), the people, the buildings — they all seem so different to me. That big red sign on the left? Why that’s none other than F.W. Woolworth, known to you and me as the now-defunct Woolworth’s. Woolworth’s was the first great five-and-dime chain store, and was a precursor to discount stores like Wal-Mart and Target.

Check out the sweet signage on the lower left. Who uses eyeglass frames like that to advertise a business anymore? Don’t bother looking it up — no one does. This picture is also notable for what it doesn’t contain, like a multitude of painted traffic lines.

Not long ago, Newark was known as the carjacking capital of the United States (I heard that on TV so it must be true). I doubt such problems existed when this picture was taken. Although I certainly wouldn’t mind getting my hands on one of those sweet rides… through perfectly legal means of course!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane. I scored some sweet slides of New York City from the early ’50s, so I will probably share those at some point (i.e. when I run out of other material).