413-417 Broadway
The Eagles Hall at 413-415-417 Broadway was built by the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie No. 65 in 1908. The building, erected by East Camden contractor George Bachmann Sr., was occupied in January of 1909. The Eagles were—and are—a fraternal organization not unlike the Masons, Elks, and Moose. In the era before radio and television, such groups were among the primary sources for social activity and recreation. Besides the Eagles, the Elks and the Improved Order of Red Men all had magnificent buildings in Camden. The hall featured an auditorium on the 2nd floor, with a 20 foot ceiling, a stage and hardwood floors, and finished basement with a bar, pool tables, and bowling alleys.
Prior to the opening of this building, the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie No. 65 held functions at Turner Hall, which was located at 516 Pine Street.
In 1938 the Eagles Hall made the front page of the June 1 edition of Camden Courier-Post when the hall was the subject of a police raid. The hall apparently had been rented out to a group that put on a “smoker” in the second floor auditorium, with a dice game going on and a “lewd movie” being shown when the police arrived.
By 1942 the Eagles Hall, along with the Labor Temple, a union hall that stood on the east side of Broadway at Royden Street, had been taken over by the City of Camden for non-payment of taxes. The buildings were put up for sale in November of that year.
The Eagles Hall was purchased by the Borstein Electric Company, which sold electric supplies, and gas appliances, air conditioning, and heating equipment until the mid-1950s. The Borstein firm evolved into the National Electric Supply Company, located at South 7th Street & Kaighn Avenue in Camden, where Isadore Borstein retained ownership of the building. By 1959, the politically connected Borstein, who served as Camden’s Deputy Mayor for a time, had rented the building to the State of New Jersey, which used it for offices and record storage.
On August 14, 1968 the building was ravaged by by fire.
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