William H. Woolley

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 Natelson’s).

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.

Hold the Line — Another generation of Woolley has done the family proud. In May 2024, Ben Woolley (son of Howard, Jr.) was appointed Head Coach of the Long Branch High School football team — a big deal in a sports-loving town. Formerly the Green Wave’s offensive coordinator, Ben has coached football since 2018. He also was the high school’s head baseball coach. The city native and 2001 LBHS grad holds a degree from Wake Forest University. Ben has taught grammar school at the city’s A.A. Anastasia School since 2012. Go Wave!

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 local 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 Long Branch Chamber of Commerce (and its 1972 Louis Libutti Award recipient) and the 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 boy scouts.

The post-war years — grow and transition times in men’s clothing styles — offered 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 magnificent new 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” impact, 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 impress and inspire — in classic clothing of the time. The two men were well-educated and trained, Bill held an Ivy League college diploma (Dartmouth ‘63) and a Master’s Degree from NYU’s Stern 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 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 $50 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 narrowly lost 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-candidate field. Woolley was reappointed to the city council in January 1984 and served until 1986.

(1911-1990)

Change of Clothes
The evolution of men’s clothing tastes from the 1970s to the 1990s reflected significant shifts in fashion and cultural influences. Very challenging to navigate as a business practice. 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. By the early 1980s, with most of Broadway retail itself in a tailspin — 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 hard work. It’s good that 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

Woolley World — New W.H. Woolley Mens & Boys Clothing Store on Broadway, Red Bank Daily Register, April 1955. Designed by James Mancuso and built by Harvey & Houschild, it featured a 50-foot storefront.

Early GQ Appeal — Broadway looking east, 1955. Longtime Woolley’s employees included Peter Colona, a manager and 50-year employee, and John Amichi and his father, who were tailors at Woolleys for many years.

Prime Time — Broadway looking west, 1910s. The Kahn building was where Woolley’s began — somewhere to the right. Owner Moses Kahn was a butcher and a city council member when he died in 1905. He installed the first cash register on Broadway in November 1900 — from National Cash Register (the company still operates today).

First Home — Moses F. Kahn sells his Broadway building and meat business, Long Branch Daily Record, January 1904. Built in 1884, it was the first brick structure constructed on lower Broadway. The Woolley clothing business took ownership in 1912 and wrecked it in 1954 to expand its operations.

Goldstein & Son Department Store on Broadway, 1910s. Joseph Goldstein opened the store in 1883. Born in Austria, he sold the business in 1928 and died in January 1937.

Broadway near Liberty Street, early 1900s.

For William H. Woolley — Long Branch Daily Record, April 1939. He was a charter member of the city’s housing authority in 1938.

Early taste of “Broadway” — Howard H. Woolley does singing and dancing at a UPenn show in AC, Long Branch Daily Record, April 1933.

Woolley’s Neighborhood — Broadway looking west, 1940s (NJ State Archives Photo).

W.H. Woolley men’s-wear business: from left: Howard, Jr., Howard, Sr. and Bill Woolley, 1986.

GQ Guys — The Woolley men: William, Howard, Sr., and Howard, Jr., 1950s.

Howard H. Woolley, Jr. Red Bank Register, June 1974. At the time “Chubby” Woolley led the city council as president and co-owned the family clothing biz on Broadway.

Hold the Line — New York Giants Hall-of-Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor with city Business Administrator Howard H. “Chubby” Woolley, Jr. during LT’s visit to Long Branch City Hall, 2012. Taylor is considered the greatest player in Giants franchise history — MORE INFO.

W.H. Woolley ad, March 1938. Back then fine suits cost $18, silk shirts $5, Stetson hats $3.50 and socks 25 cents.

Broadway looking east to the ocean, 1940s. Woolley’s is on the left past Vogels Department Store. James J. Harrigan was a store employee for over 50 years — starting  as a”handy boy” in 1913.