The 93-year-old Monastery of the Perpetual Rosary, known locally
as the Blue Chapel, stands grandly, yet unoccupied, on 14th
Street in Union City. Built in 1919 and once home to the
Dominican Nuns of the Blue Chapel, the historic monastery was
nearly turned into a five-story affordable housing building. In
2009, after residents and local historians banded together and
fought for its preservation, the structure was spared. Union
City resident Kathie Pontus, known for her dedication to the
protection and preservation of the city’s cultural and historic
resources, was able to convince N.J. Preservation – a privately
supported organization – to list the chapel as an endangered
building online in 2010. Union City’s Historic Preservation
Advisory Committee and Mayor Brian Stack worked to have it
designated as a municipal landmark. There are protective
stipulations written into the city’s most recent zoning plan
passed earlier this year. “They were all the hand of a master at
work.” – Gregory Witul According to loca