Camden Streets - Royden Street

ROYDEN STREET, which was improperly spelled on the city plan, was named in honor of William Royden, who in 1681-82 became the owner of all the land between the present Cooper Street and Line Street.

William Roydon was originally a grocer from London, England. He had apparently been interested in the development of the New Jersey colony as early as 1676, six years before his arrival in America. One of the largest landowners in West Jersey, he was selected to be a member of the first Council of Proprietors. When it was decided that regular ferry service should be established between Camden and Philadelphia, William Roydon was selected and granted an exclusive license to conduct ferry business between the Newton and Cooper’s Creek.

Do you have a Royden Street memory or picture. Let me know by e-mail so it can be included here.

Phil Cohen

Royden Street - Looking East from South 3rd Street
February 22, 2004

On the left is 556 South 3rd Street, the corner of 3rd and Royden Streets,
where the Pasquale DiRenzo family owned and operated a grocery from the 1920s through the late 1970s

ROMA CAFE
600 South 3rd Street - Southeast Corner of South 3rd and Royden Streets

The building pictured above, with the number 600 on the door, is 600 South 3rd Street. When the 1931 Camden City Directory was published, Joseph Griffo was operating a cafe at this address. By 1939 Antonio Cerasaro had acquired the property, and was running the bar, which was by the known as the Roma Cafe. The 1947 Camden City Directory shows that Antonio Cerasaro was still the proprietor, living on premises with his wife Angeline, and that Americo Cerasaro lived and worked their as a bartender. The Roma Cafe appears in the 1964 New Jersey Bell Telephone Directory, but is not listed in the 1966 edition. It is unclear as to exactly when the Roma Cafe closed, or if the bar remained open under different management. The Roma Cafe stands boarded up and vacant in November of 2003.

300 Block of Royden Street

1930 Census

310 Royden Street

Head of Household....Michael Laborer Shipyard

Wife Rose

Son Tony Laborer Gas Co

Daughter Mary Sprayer Leather

" Nancy Sorter Wool

" Anna

" Angeline

Son Michael*

* Note the last entry of a Son .. Michael....this was actually my Mother. Her name is 'Madeline', but her Mother's pronunciation was 'Mickaline' and apparently the census taker misunderstood it as 'Michael' and as a Son.

310
Royden Street

The Tantone/Tantonio
Family

Also my Godfather, Anthony (Tony) always spelled their name as 'Tantonio', but records of my Grandparents entering the country state the name as 'Tantone' On my grandparents grave Marker the name is spelled 'Tantone' and next to theirs is my Aunt & Uncle's with the spelling as 'Tantonio'.

According to my Mother's memory her Father's occupation for a good part of her life was on Farms as a Boss or Foreman. My Mom and her Sister often had to leave school in the Spring and in the Autumn to work on the Farms picking fruit, et cetera.

The census state my Grandfather's name as 'Michael', but his true name is 'Michele' My Grandmother's name is stated as 'Rose', but is actually 'Rosaria'.

Anthony Venella, September 2006

RACKET BOOK 'LIBRARY' CAUSES MAN'S ARREST

Joseph Spada, 24, of 312 Royden Street, was arrested on suspicion by Detective Thomas Murphy yester day when Murphy said he found 72 blank numbers racket books in Spada's automobile.

Murphy asked Public Safety Director Kobus for an opinion whether Spada could be held on this evidence for a lottery charge. If he cannot, Murphy said, the man will be released.

312
Royden Street

1938 Joseph Spada

Camden Courier-Post
February 8, 1938

314
Royden Street

1924 George W. Attison
1924 William H. Deitz

George W. Attison was a Camden Fire Fighter in the 1920s and 1930s. His stepson, William Dietz, pictured at left, would rise to the rank of District Chief in the Camden Fire Department, only to die in the line of duty in November of 1962.

316
Royden Street

Tony Arbano Family
Joseph Arbano
1920s-1930s

322 and 324
Royden Street

February 22, 2004

Click on Image to Enlarge

400 Block of Royden Street
	401 Royden Street
Suspended Jail Sentence is Given Operator Where 17 Were Taken in Raid Pleading non vult to charge of operating a 'numbers" headquarters raided by the police last July, Dominic Olivette, 28, of 444 Royden street, was fined $100 and given a suspended sentence of six months in criminal court yesterday. Olivette was arrested by a detail of police led by former Director of Public Safety Charles V. Dickinson and Lieutenant George Frost when they captured 17 men in the Royden street house. In police court the day following the raid Olivette was fined $100 by Judge Garfield Pancoast on charges of violating Section 422 of the city ordinances prohibiting disorderly persons from congregating in a building. Olivette paid the fine and was later indicted by the grand jury following an investigation by Prosecutor Clifford A. Baldwin. Judge Shay, in imposing the fine, refused Olivette's plea that he be allowed to pay the sum on installments. One other man charged with "numbers" writing was fined $100 with the privilege of paying at a $2 weekly rate. He is Herbert Lantry, 35, of 519 Ray street, arrested by Lieutenant Herbert Anderson November 26. He was held for the grand jury by Judge Pancoast when arraigned in police court.	444 Royden Street 1933 Dominick Oleveto aka Dominic Olivette
	447 Royden Street 1967 Felice Pizzutiello
School chums and playmates of little Miss Irene Williams, 451 Royden Street, will be more than delighted to learn that the popular little miss is fast recovering from the effects of injuries she sustained several days ago when struck by a speeding auto on Broadway. The deep lacerations on Miss Irene’s head are rapidly healing and it is quite probable that she will soon be romping about again..	451 South 3rd Street 1914 Miss Irene Williams Camden Post-Telegram December 11, 1914
ROYDEN STREET HOME IS DAMAGED BY FIRE Fire of undetermined origin destroyed a bed and house furnishings at the home of Basilio Masso, 454 Royden Street, Saturday afternoon. Children playing in the street saw smoke pouring from a second-story window. As other children ran in to a store on the first floor to notify the owner one boy dashed to Fifth and Royden Streets, where he turned in an alarm.	454 Royden Street 1933 Basilio Masso Camden Courier-Post June 12, 1933

SCIAMANNA'S CAFE
also known as Sherman's Cafe
601 South 4th Street - Southwest Corner of South 4th & Royden Street

601 South 4th Street was not listed a s a bar in the 1918-1919 Camden City Directory, however, a Giulio Cinelli was operating a saloon there, as evidenced by the 1920 Census and a 1921 Camden business directory. Giulio Cinelli had left the bar business and moved to Haddon Heights NJ by April of 1930. It is very possible that he was one of the Cinelli's who opened Cinelli's Country House on Haddonfield Road in what was then Delaware Township in 1935. By 1926 Giacinto Sciamanna was running the bar, and the Sciamanna family appears to have remained involved in the establishment into the early 1970s. 601 South 4th Street reappears as a tavern in the 1978 New Jersey Bell Telephone Directory as the Spanish-American Cafe. This listing was continued until 1981. The bar then reappears in the 1983 Directory as Chic's Cafe.

South 4th and Royden Streets became a notorious drug corner in the 1980s. Today the building is vacant and boarded up, and appears to have been vacant for many, many years.

Sciamanna's
Cafe

Looking West down Royden Street from 4th Street

November 9, 2003

Click on Images to Enlarge

The Sciamanna Girls - July 20, 1941

Standing on Royden Street, just west of 4th Street, looking East

Royden Street at 4th - June 3, 1952
The Wedding of Frank Albanese & Anna Sciamanna

Sign outside the bar in 1952 read Sherman's Cafe

500 Block of Royden Street
	501 Royden Street
	503 Royden Street 1933 Leslie Bayne Camden Courier-Post June 23, 1933
	509 Royden Street 1922 John C. Voll Jr. Camden Fire Department
	511 Royden Street 1920s-1930s George W. Attison 1920s-1930s William H. Deitz George W. Attison was a Camden Fire Fighter in the 1920s and 1930s. His stepson, William Dietz, pictured at left, would rise to the rank of District Chief in the Camden Fire Department, only to die in the line of duty in November of 1962.
	526 Royden Street 1947-1957 Antonio Persiano Family Antonio & Nancy Persiano Mae Persiano Carmeal Persiano Lean Persiano Josephine Persiano Jeaanette Persiano Mario Persiano Leonard Persiano Joseph Persiano Nicholas Persiano Anthony Persiano Jr. Camden Courier-Post December 109, 1957
	532 Royden Street 1967 Giuseppe Tascione
	547 Royden Street 1967 A. DiRenzo 1967- trustee Union of Brotherly Love social club
	554 Royden Street 1933 Barney Masso
CLARK-McKENNA Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McKenna of 558 Royden Street, have announced the secret marriage of their daughter, Miss Marie E: McKenna to Virgil R. Clark of Miller, Ga., solemnized in Philadelphia May 26.	558 Royden Street 1920s-1930s Jospeh McKenna Camden Courier-Post June 29, 1933
	579 Royden Street

St. Johns Episcopal Church
1908

St. Johns Episcopal Church
Broadway & Royden Street

St. Johns Episcopal Church 1914

St. John's Parish was incorporated on January 7, 1852, having been in its inception a mission of St. Paul's Parish. In 1853 a lot was secured at the northwest corner of Broadway and Royden Street. The "Floating Chapel of the Redeemer for Seamen of the Port of Philadelphia", moored at the foot of Spruce Street, Philadelphia, was bought, removed from the two canal boats upon which it rested, and drawn across open lots and placed on this site. This building was re-christened as St. John's and was used as a place of worship from September 11, 1853 until Christmas Day of 1870, when it burned down. A new stone building was at once erected, the cornerstone being laid on April 21, 1871, by Bishop Odenheimer. The parish buildings were added in 1884-1885. The Men's Club was opened on May 29, 1893.

Around 1950 St. John's appears to have merged with St. Augustine's Church, which had been locatred at South 9th & Sycamore Streets. It has been known as St. Augustine's to this day.

200 Block of Royden Street
	203 Royden Street Dominic Arbano Family Joseph Arbano 1917
	203 Royden Street Luigi & Mary Celani 1932-1959 Camden Courier-Post March 21, 1932 Emil Tisani - Luigi Celani South 2nd Street Stevens Street
	219 Royden Street Tucci Family Anthony Tucci 1960s
	245 Royden Street Sergeant Thomas Nuzzi Click on Image to Enlarge

600 Block of Royden Street
	601 Royden Street
	618 Royden Street 1947-1991 Woody & Eva DiPietro
	621 Royden Street 1888 John H. Eastlack Family John H. & Annie Eastlack Ralph Eastlack Walter D. Eastlack
	646 Royden Street Thelma Farr 1931

Camden Courier-Post - September 20, 1934

...continued...


Originally built as the Labor Temple, the Camden O.E.O. Community Center April 19, 2003 Northeast Corner of Broadway & Royden Click on Images to Enlarge

2900 Block of Royden Street
	2900 Royden Street
	2901 Royden Street Edgar R. Ellender Sr. Captain, Camden Fire Department 1947