Suiting Up: W.H. Woolley Clothing
The city’s most famous men’s clothing store opened on Broadway in the spring of 1911. Partners William H. Woolley and Jacob Kridel started the Long Branch business.
A prominent Red Bank merchant since 1887, Kridel had already founded his own men’s clothing store on Broad Street in that borough. Upon his death in April 1921, it was Monmouth County biggest men’s store. The family sold “J Kridel” in 1945 (which became Natelsons).
All future commerce glory on Broadway would rest in the Woolley name. No city family ever gave more to the betterment of that vital boulevard. Their history in Long Branch is remarkable. William, native born in December 1878, was the son of William H. and Marietta (West) Woolley. They were also Long Branch born — according to the Long Branch Daily Record — and “members of one of the pioneering families of this section.”
Woolley Wonder
William was Broadway bound early on. After graduating high school, he began his sales career working for Joseph Goldstein at his large department store — “one of the most modern in the country” then, according to the Asbury Park Press. Broadway was quite a sight in those days. A bustling and vibrant avenue, it served as the city’s main hub of commerce and connection for over a century. This magnet-like location shaped the early identity and economic growth of Long Branch. Nearly every kind of standard commerce had its day on Broadway.
When Bill Woolley and Kridel first joined forces, the partners began an “up-to-date, exclusive men’s and boy’s store” in the old “Moses Kahn building” at 181 Broadway — first renting than buying. Hard work was the norm right from the start. In the beginning the store was opened 6 days a week from 8 am to 10 pm and until noon on Sundays. By 1912 — with a “rapidly increasing business,” according to the Long Branch Daily Record — Woolley’s had doubled its retail space. Plans for expansion were ambitious — seeking to build a street-to-street store stocked with 2,000-garments. “Undoubtedly, one of the finest stores of its kind in the country,” according to the Daily Record.
“Elegance is not standing out, but being remembered.”
—Giorgio Armani
In March 1925, William “Bill” Woolley acquired full control of the property and business. A born merchant he was an early and eager supporter of advertising to promote his business as well as the city of Long Branch. Woolley clothing newspaper ads were both thoughtful and ubiquitous throughout Long Branch Daily Record pages for some 40 years. Operating under the banner “Clothing for Gentlemen,” Woolley’s offered the finest quality names in men’s fashion — Hickey-Freeman, Hart, Schaffner & Marx, H. Freeman & Son, Kingsridge, Stetson, and Bostonian to name few. Unimpeachable and enduring clothing brands that, quite sadly, few if any guy knows about today.
Offering only the “highest-quality” attire cut with “style and good taste,” the Broadway business was “flourishing” when Bill (while working at the store) fell ill and died in April 1939. The media returned his favors in a glowing Long Branch Daily Record obit-editorial. Comparing his sudden death to be “like a clap of thunder for the entire community” and lauding him as “one of the city’s most outstanding citizens” whose loss brought “deep, profound sorrow.”
Although some might think Bill Woolley’s times of commerce most challenging — Long Branch’s steep decline as a grand resort, the Great Depression, and World War I — city newspaper leaders thought he saw Long Branch “at its peak of prosperity.” Because he was “ever loyal to the destiny” of Long Branch and “always had the welfare of the city at heart.”
Howard’s Beginning
In May 1939, Howard H. Woolley, Sr. joined the family business upon his father’s death and took over “active management.” Just like his father — for his time and place — he was perhaps the most widely-respected citizen in all of Long Branch. While he with the sterling resume, considered himself just “a Long Branch haberdasher” sustained by “loyal customers.”
After graduating from LBHS in 1930, Howard earned a degree from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania. He went to war (serving the nation during WW II as a US Navy officer) and returned to Long Branch and devoted his life to the betterment of his home city. Civic — as a longtime member of the city school board and housing authority. Commercial — as president of both the city’s chamber of commerce (and its 1972 Louis Libutti Award recipient) and Long Branch Rotary Club (and its 1980 Paul Harris Fellowship honoree). He also served on the Monmouth Medical Center board of governors, and on high councils for his local bank, church and boys scouts.
The post-war years — transitional times in men’s clothing styles — brought opportunity to the Woolley business. After a 1954 fire in a next-door building, the family purchased it and wrecked that and its own building. In June 1955, a modern, new Woolley’s re-opened on Broadway. At 150 x 50-feet in dimension, the structure was two stories high with full basement. Now offering men’s & boy’s clothing, retail space grew from 6,700- to 18,750-squre-feet. The handsome new storefront boasted four large show windows set in Tennessee marble trimmed with red brick. Mayor Alexander Vineburg cut the grand opening ribbon for the fully air-conditioned store just as summer was starting.
Ever-committed to his customers but concerned about the growing “highway store and shopping center” draw, Mr. Woolley felt the need to place a large ad in the September 1959 Long Branch Daily Record explaining why his Broadway store would close for Wednesday evenings.
Brothers on Broadway
By 1970, day-to-day management of the business had shifted over to Howard’s two sons — Howard H. “Chubby” Woolley, Jr. and William H. “Bill” Woolley. For near two decades strong they directed the Broadway business that “prided itself on quality clothing, knowledgeable sales people and free alterations.”
As times changed Woolleys expanded its offerings with “Boy’s Prep” and “Ladies Sportswear” departments. The store was also very serious in its offerings on scout clothing and paraphernalia and “an official boy scout trading post” by the early 1960s. The section including several large, hand-carved, balsa-wood totem poles was memorable. Bill, himself an Eagle Scout, was active in the local scouting council.
Both brothers – city natives and LBHS grads — knew value and style in clothing. And always looked the part too. Themselves dressed to please and impress — in the classic clothing of the day. The two men were well-educated and trained, Bill held an Ivy League college diploma (Dartmouth ‘63) and a Master’s Degree from the NYU School of Retailing. Howard also went Ivy — earning an economics degree from Brown University in 1969.
Upon his November 2023 death, Bill was remembered for being the “quintessential haberdasher — very fond of good men’s clothing, especially pocket silks, shirts and three button jackets,” according to his Asbury Park Press obit. In his emeritus years Bill “was infamous for lively discussions and his penchant for historical facts and thorough storytelling, oftentimes from his regular perch at Tuzzio’s” (the city’s late, great Italian eatery on Westwood Avenue).
“Chubby” Woolley would carry on the family commitment to the city — through municipal government service. For over two decades (from 1994 to 2017) he was the city’s effective Business Administrator — overseeing a $55 million+ city budget by the time he left office. Prior to that important city position, he was the Executive Director of the Long Branch Sewerage Authority from 1991 to 1994. He was also a longtime city Planning Board member and its chairman. He served in elective office too. In May 1974, he was the youngest person ever elected to the Long Branch City Council at age 27. Four years later, he’d narrowly lose a “fierce campaign struggle” for city mayor, defeated by fewer than 300 votes out of nearly 8,000 cast. Mayor Henry Cioffi, in winning his third and final term, captured just 34% of the city vote in a six-man field. Woolley was reappointed to the city council in January 1984 and served until 1986.
Change of Clothes
The evolution of men’s clothing tastes from the 1970s to the 1990s reflects significant shifts in fashion and cultural influences. These decades showcased a diverse range of styles, from the laid-back and experimental 1970s to the polished and business-oriented 1980s, and finally, the casual and eclectic 1990s. Very hard to navigate as a business practice. By the early 1980s most of Broadway retail itself was in a tailspin and still Howard Woolley, Sr. remained grateful. “It’s been a good location for us,” he told the Asbury Park Press in 1984. “People know where we are and they come ready to buy at Woolley’s.”
But the harsh reality of Broadway commerce proved too much “Declining business conditions and competition from suburban shopping malls helped bring down the curtain on the Broadway landmark,” according to a June 1990 Asbury Park Press story on the clothier shutting down. Mr. Woolley died three years later. Only the building endures today though; owned and operated for nearly 25 years by the city’s master locksmiths, Bullet Lock & Safe Company.
With Lower Broadway now getting a complete facelift thanks to billionaire Jared Kushner, might another “Woolley-like” business reappear? One that is long-lasting, family-owned, locally-sustained, quality-dispensing, pleasant-mannered, and community-supporting. Talk about had work. It’s good the savvy real-estate investor already owns the city’s Pier Village (since 2014) and is remaking nearby Monmouth Mall in Eatontown as well (since 2021), so he’s in deep with us locals already.
• Broadway: Ready for Business — HERE