The Parkade Building

The Parkade Building was built in the mid-1950s on the site of the Roosevelt Plaza Park. The project was Camden Mayor George E. Brunner’s attempt to keep the Broadway and downtown business district viable by alleviating the parking situation.

At the building’s 1955 dedication, Mayor Brunner proclaimed that the Parkade Building added a “new and brilliant chapter to the history of Camden.” Unfortunately, placing 1000 parking spaces on Federal Street did little or nothing for businesses blocks away on Broadway and Kaighn Avenue, and, with the construction of the Cherry Hill Mall with its free parking, the Parkade Building became a white elephant within a few years of its opening.

For many years the building housed a bus terminal. Various city and county agencies have rented office space in the building over the years. 2003 saw the detection of Legionnaires Disease bacteria in the building. In 2003 a redevelopment plan was submitted to raze the Parkade building and rebuild Roosevelt Plaza Park, an altogether good idea, as Camden’s City Hall, with its grand entrance, has been basically hidden by the Parkade building since the 1950s. On October 9, 2003 Commissioners of the Camden Redevelopment Agency approved these plans. As the ground lease for the building expires in September of 2004, the end hopefully is near for this un-loved and frankly un-lovely building.

Camden, NJ — September 2003