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Under the leadership of a long-serving mayor and civil rights movement veteran, Newark has recently been designated as a "Most Livable City" and an "All-America City"; Newark has also won the Environmental Protection Administrator's Award. A major east coast port of entry and the largest city in the most densely populated state in the nation, Newark is a transportation, manufacturing, and education center. Its growing service economy is dominated by medical research, insurance, and high technology research and development activities. The devastating race riots of 1967 that dominated the city's image in the twentieth century have begun to recede into history at the start of the new century. Newark has still not completely rebuilt the stores and neighborhoods destroyed in that conflagration, but efforts to do so are well underway. While the average cost of a home in Newark has remained high, the city has made notable efforts to make housing accessible to all by building handsome, affordable townhouse complexes. Success in the finance and insurance industry has spurred development of more steel towers inhabited by the headquarters of major businesses. A city once known for divisiveness and destruction is now renowned for its renaissance of construction, recycling, and civility.

The City in Brief

Founded: 1666 (incorporated, 1836)
Head Official: Mayor Sharpe James (D) (since 1986; current term expires 2006)
City Population
1980: 329,248
1990: 275,221
2000: 273,546
2003 estimate: 277,911
Percent change, 1990–2000: -.6%
U.S. rank in 1980: 46th
U.S. rank in 1990: 56th (State rank: 1st)
U.S. rank in 2000: 68th (State rank: 1st)
Metropolitan Area Population
1990: 1,915,694
2000: 2,032,989
Percent change, 1990–2000: 6.1%
U.S. rank in 1990: 1st (NY–NJ CMSA)
U.S. rank in 2000: 1st (NY–NJ CMSA)
Area: 24.14 square miles (2000)
Elevation: 0 to 273.4 feet above sea level
Average Annual Temperature: 54° F
Average Annual Precipitation: 19.7 inches of rain; 27.6 inches of snow
Major Economic Sectors: Financial services, distribution, wholesale and retail trade, services, publishing
Unemployment Rate: 5.4% (NY–NJ MSA; February 2005)
Per Capita Income: $13,009 (1999)
2002 FBI Crime Index Total: 17,814
Major Colleges and Universities: Rutgers University-Newark Campus; New Jersey Institute of Technology; Seton Hall School of Law; University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; Essex County College
Daily Newspaper:The Star-Ledger
 
 
Dictionary: New·ark  ('ərk, nyū'-) pronunciation

A city of northeast New Jersey on Newark Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, opposite Jersey City and west of New York City. It was settled by Puritans in 1666 and is today a heavily industrialized port of entry. Population: 281,000.

 

 

City (pop., 2000: 273,546) and port of entry, northeastern New Jersey, U.S., west of New York City. It was founded in 1666 by Puritans and was chartered as a township in 1693. It was the site of the College of New Jersey (1748 – 56; now Princeton University). In 1776 the city served as a supply base for Gen. George Washington. It was incorporated as a city in 1836. The largest city in the state, it was the scene of major civil disturbances in 1967. It is a highly diversified industrial, transportation, and insurance centre. It was the birthplace of Aaron Burr and Stephen Crane.

For more information on Newark, visit Britannica.com.

 

Newark, New Jersey, is America's third-oldest major city (founded 1666) but among the country's smallest in land area: today it occupies only twenty-four square miles, of which nearly 75 percent are exempt from taxation. New Jersey's largest city, with a population of only 267,000 (in 2000), is the center of activity for an area of 2 million people spread over four counties. Since its founding it has had several forms of government including the original township, a charter from Queen Anne in 1713, a commission, and now a mayor-council government under which the city is divided into five political wards.

Four distinct periods characterize Newark's history. The first period belonged to the Puritans. Its merchants produced leather goods and quarried brownstone; its farmers worked their landholdings in what is today the Iron-bound section and to the west along First and Second Mountains. The rise of industry and commerce in the nineteenth-century marked a second era. From home or cottage industries, Newark produced fine silver and fancy chairs and cabinets, and within a half century it had become a major manufacturing complex. The rise of banks, insurance companies, and newspapers in the second half of the period marked Newark's commercial growth. In 1872, the city sponsored the nation's first Industrial Exposition to show the nation that it made everything from "asbestos to zippers."

Newark's third epoch belonged to the first half of the twentieth-century and resembled a roller-coaster ride. The two world wars saw Newark's shipyards, plants, and factories feverishly busy, but Prohibition resulted in the shutdown of its breweries and the rise of organized crime, and with the Great Depression came the death of 600 factories. The race riots of 1967 severely damaged both the physical and emotional fabric of the city, and it was more than a quarter century before change for the better was noticeable.

No longer the city of the 1940s or 1960s, Newark has focused on developing a sophisticated transportation network, with its airport, monorail, extensive highway system, and construction of a light rapid transit system. Newark is also a university city, with five institutions of higher learning.

Newark's Cultureplex includes the Newark Public Library, Newark Museum, New Jersey Historical Society, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Newark Boys Chorus, Garden State Ballet, WBGO Jazz Radio, and several smaller art galleries. In addition, the city boasts two important concert halls—Symphony Hall and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center—heavily used by Newarkers and New Jerseyans alike.

Bibliography

Cummings, Charles F., and John F. O'Connor. Newark: An American City. Newark, N.J.: Newark Bicentennial Commission, 1976.

Cummings, Charles F., and John T. Cunningham. Remembering Essex. Virginia Beach, Va.: Donning, 1995.

Cunningham, John T. Newark. 3d ed. Newark: New Jersey Historical Society, 2002.

 
City (1990 pop. 275,221), seat of Essex co., NE N.J., on the Passaic River and Newark Bay; settled 1666, inc. as a city 1836. It is a port of entry and the largest city in the state. Located only 8 mi (13 km) W of New York City, Newark is a transportation, industrial, commercial, and manufacturing center. Its leather industry dates from the 17th cent., and its still-significant jewelry manufactures and insurance businesses began in the early 19th cent. Among the city's many other products are beer, cutlery, electronic equipment, textiles, pharmaceuticals, fabricated metal items, and paints. Newark International Airport is one of the nation's busiest, and the important seaport is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The city has a large minority population; over 50% of its residents are African Americans and about 30% are Hispanic. Newark's educational institutions include a campus of Rutgers Univ., the New Jersey Institute of Technology, a campus of the Univ. of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and a preparatory academy founded in 1774.

Landmarks include Trinity Cathedral (1810, with the spire of a church built in 1743); the Sacred Heart Cathedral (begun 1899, completed 1954); the First Presbyterian Church (1791); the Newark Public Library (founded 1888); the Newark Museum (1909); and the county courthouse (1906), with Gutzon Borglum's statue of Lincoln in front. Other points of interest include Borglum's large group Wars of America (1926) in Military Park (a Revolutionary War drilling ground and a Civil War tenting area) and many historic homes. Aaron Burr and Stephen Crane were born in Newark.

The city was settled (1666) by Puritans from Connecticut under Robert Treat. It was the scene of Revolutionary skirmishes. Industrial growth began after the American Revolution, aided by the development of transportation facilities. The Morris Canal was opened in 1832, and the railroads arrived in 1834 and 1835. A flourishing shipping business resulted, and Newark became the area's industrial center. In the late 19th cent. its industry was further developed, especially through the efforts of such men as Seth Boyden and J. W. Hyatt. Newark Port opened in 1915, and the city's shipbuilding played an important role in World War I.

During the latter half of the 20th cent., Newark's economy and living standards greatly declined. Many residents fled to the suburbs, which were marked by a boom in corporate development, shopping center growth, and housing construction. Poverty and unemployment plagued Newark, which in July, 1967, was the scene of a major race riot. Two bright spots have been the port, which since 1985 has had a steady increase in volume of exports of containerized cargo, and Newark International Airport, which has expanded greatly. As part of an effort to revitalize the downtown, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center opened in 1997.

Bibliography

See A. S. Rice, Newark: A Chronological & Documentary History (1977).


 
Geography: Newark
(nooh-uhrk)

Largest city in New Jersey.

 
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Wikipedia: Newark, New Jersey
For other places with the same name, see Newark.
City of Newark
Newark_Skyline.jpg
Official flag of City of Newark
Flag
Official seal of City of Newark
Seal
Nickname: The Brick City
Map of Newark in Essex County
Map of Newark in Essex County
Coordinates: 40°44′7″N 74°11′6″W / 40.73528, -74.185
Country United States
State New Jersey
County Essex
Founded/Incorporated 1666/1836
Government
 - Mayor Cory Booker, term of office 2006–2010
Area [1]
 - City   sq mi (km²)
 - Land   sq mi ( km²)
 - Water   sq mi ( km²)
Elevation   ft ( m)
Population (2006)[2]
 - City
 - Density /sq mi (/km²)
 - Metro
Time zone Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 07100-07199
Area code(s) 862, 973
FIPS code 34-510002
GNIS feature ID 08787623
Website: http://www.ci.newark.nj.us/

Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, United States, and the county seat of urban Essex County. As of the 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 273,546, making it the largest municipality in New Jersey and the 65th largest city in the U.S. According to the US Census Bureau, the city's 2006 population estimate is 281,402, an increase of 2.9% from 2000.[2]

It is located approximately five miles (8.04 km) west of Manhattan and two miles north of Staten Island. Its location near the Atlantic Ocean on Newark Bay has helped make its port facility, Port Newark, the major container shipping port for New York Harbor. Together with Elizabeth, it is the home of Newark Liberty International Airport, which was the first major airport to serve the New York metropolitan area.

Newark was originally formed as a township on October 31, 1693, based on the Newark Tract, which was first purchased on July 11, 1667. Newark was granted a Royal Charter on April 27, 1713, and was incorporated as one of New Jersey's initial 104 townships by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. During its time as a township, portions were taken to form Springfield Township (April 14, 1794), Caldwell Township (February 16, 1798, now known as Fairfield Township), Orange Township (November 27, 1806), Bloomfield Township (March 23, 1812) and Clinton Township (April 14, 1834, remainder reabsorbed by Newark on March 5, 1902). Newark was reincorporated as a city on April 11, 1836, replacing Newark Township, based on the results of a referendum passed on March 18, 1836. The previously independent Vailsburg borough was annexed by Newark on January 1, 1905.[3] Newark is divided into five wards; North Ward, South Ward, West Ward, East Ward, and Central Ward.

History

The landing of the Puritans in 1666, from the Settlers' Monument, Fairmount Cemetery.
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The landing of the Puritans in 1666, from the Settlers' Monument, Fairmount Cemetery.

Newark was founded in 1666 by Connecticut Puritans led by Robert Treat, making it the third-oldest major city in the United States, after Boston and New York, though it is not the third-oldest settlement. Newark is the city's second name; previously, it was called Milford, named for Milford, Connecticut, from which many settlers had migrated.[4] The name comes from Newark-on-Trent, a town in England whence some of the original settlers hailed.

Colonial era

Newark was a relatively large town in the colonial era, known for its good beer, ciders, and tanned leather goods. In religion, it stayed loyal to old Puritan ways longer than the communities of New England, and was very receptive to the Great Awakening. When the seminaries at Yale and Harvard showed disdain for Great Awakening evangelicalism, several Newark ministers led by Aaron Burr (father of Vice President Aaron Burr) founded the College of New Jersey in neighboring Elizabeth.

Industrial era to World War II

View of Newark NJ 1874
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View of Newark NJ 1874

Newark's rapid growth began in the early 1800s, much of it due to a Massachusetts transplant named Seth Boyden. Boyden came to Newark in 1815, and immediately began a torrent of improvements to leather manufacture, culminating in the process for making patent leather. Boyden's genius would eventually allow Newark to manufacture almost 90% of the nation's leather by 1870, bringing in $8.6 million to the city in that year alone. In 1824, Boyden, bored with leather, found a way to produce malleable iron. Newark also prospered by the construction of the Morris Canal in 1831. The canal connected Newark with the New Jersey hinterland, at that time a major iron and farm area. Railroads also arrived in 1834 and 1835. A flourishing shipping business resulted, and Newark became the area's industrial center. By 1826, Newark's population stood at 8,017, ten times the 1776 number.[5]

The middle 19th century saw continued growth and diversification of Newark's industrial base. The first commercially successful plasticCelluloid — was produced in a factory on Mechanic Street by John Wesley Hyatt. Hyatt's Celluloid found its way into Newark-made carriages, billiard balls, and dentures. Edward Weston perfected in Newark a process for zinc electroplating, as well as a superior arc lamp. Newark's Military Park had the first public electric lamps anywhere in the United States. Before moving to Menlo Park, Thomas Edison himself made Newark home in the early 1870s. He invented the stock ticker in the Brick City.[6] In the late 19th century, its industry was further developed, especially through the efforts of such men as Seth Boyden and J. W. Hyatt. Irish and German migrants moved to the city; the Germans established their own newspapers, which other ethnic groups have emulated. However, tensions existed between the "native stock" and the newer groups.

Newark Smelting and Refining Works, Ed. Balbach and Sons, c. 1870.
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Newark Smelting and Refining Works, Ed. Balbach and Sons, c. 1870.

In the middle 19th century, Newark added insurance to its repertoire of businesses; Mutual Benefit was founded in the city in 1845 and Prudential in 1873. Prudential, or "the Pru" as generations of Newarkers knew it, was founded by another transplanted New Englander, John Fairfield Dryden, who found a niche catering to the middle and lower classes. Today, Newark sells more insurance than any city except Hartford, Connecticut.[7]

In 1880, Newark's population stood at 136,508; in 1890 at 181,830; in 1900 at 246,070; and in 1910 at 347,000, a jump of 200,000 in three decades.[8] As Newark's population approached a half million in the 1920s, the city's potential seemed limitless. It was said in 1927: "Great is Newark's vitality. It is the red blood in its veins – this basic strength that is going to carry it over whatever hurdles it may encounter, enable it to recover from whatever losses it may suffer and battle its way to still higher achievement industrially and financially, making it eventually perhaps the greatest industrial center in the world".[9]

Headquarters of the Prudential in late 19th century.
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Headquarters of the Prudential in late 19th century.

Newark was bustling in the early to mid-20th century. Market and Broad Streets served as a center of retail commerce for the region anchored by four flourishing department stores like Hahne & Company, L. Bamberger and Company, L.S. Plaut and Company, and Kresge's. "Broad Street today is the Mecca of visitors as it has been through all its long history," Newark merchants boasted, "they come in hundreds of thousands now when once they came in hundreds."[10]

In 1922, Newark had 63 live theaters, 46 movie theaters, and an active nightlife. Dutch Schultz was killed in 1935 at the local Palace Bar. Billie Holiday frequently stayed at the Coleman Hotel. By some measures, the intersection of Market and Broad Streets — known as the "Four Corners" — was the busiest intersection in the United States, in terms of cars using it. In 1915, Public Service counted over 280,000 pedestrian crossings in one thirteen-hour period. Eleven years later, on October 26, 1926, a State Motor Vehicle Department check at the Four Corners counted 2,644 trolleys, 4,098 buses, 2657 taxis, 3474 commercial vehicles, and 23,571 automobiles. Traffic in Newark was so heavy that the city converted the old bed of the Morris Canal into the Newark City Subway, making Newark one of the few cities in the country to have an underground system. New skyscrapers were being built every year, the two tallest being the 40-story Art Deco National Newark Building and the Lefcourt-Newark Building. In 1948, just after World War II, Newark hit its peak population of just under 450,000. The population also grew as immigrants from South and Eastern Europe settled here. Newark witnessed distinctive neighborhoods including a large Jewish community concentrated along Prince Street.

According to legend, the Texas-born artist Robert Rauschenberg accidentally left his bus in Newark and spent a week there before he realized it wasn't New York City.[11]

Post-World War II era

Problems existed underneath the industrial hum. In 1930, a city commissioner had told a local booster club, the Optimists:


Newark is not like the city of old. The old, quiet residential community is a thing of the past, and in its place has come a city teeming with activity. With the change has come something unfortunate—the large number of outstanding citizens who used to live within the community's boundaries has dwindled. Many of them have moved to the suburbs and their home interests are there.[12]

While many New Jerseyans attributed Newark's demise to post-World War II phenomena—the 1967 riots; the construction of the New Jersey Turnpike, Interstate 280 and Interstate 78; decentralization of manufacturing; the G.I. Bill; and the general pro-suburban fiscal order, others point to the decline in the city budget, which fell from $58 million in 1938 to only $45 million in 1944, despite the wartime boom and an increase in the tax rate from $4.61 to $5.30.

Some attribute Newark's downfall to its propensity for building large housing projects. However, Newark's housing was always a matter of concern. The 1944 city-commissioned study showed that 31% of all Newark dwelling units were below standards of health, and only 17% of Newark's units were owner-occupied. Vast sections of Newark consisted of wooden tenements, and at least 5,000 units failed to meet any thresholds of being a decent place to live. Bad housing predated government intervention in the housing market.[13]

One theory postulated by Kenneth T. Jackson and others is that Newark, having a situation where a poor center was surrounded by middle-class outlying areas, only did well when it was able to annex middle-class suburbs. When municipal annexation broke down, urban problems developed since the middle-class edge was now divorced from the poor center. In 1900, Newark's mayor had confidently thought out loud, "East Orange, Vailsburg, Harrison, Kearny, and Belleville would be desirable acquisitions. By an exercise of discretion we can enlarge the city from decade to decade without unnecessarily taxing the property within our limits, which has already paid the cost of public improvements." Only Vailsburg would ever be added.[14]

Although numerous problems predated World War II, Newark was hamstrung by a number of trends in the post-WWII era. The Federal Housing Administration redlined virtually all of Newark, preferring to back up mortgages in the white suburbs. Manufacturers set up in lower wage environments and could receive larger tax deductions for building an entirely new factory in outlying areas than for rehabilitating an old factory in a city. Billed as transportation improvements, Interstate 280, the New Jersey Turnpike, and Interstate 78 harmed Newark as well. They directly hurt the city by tearing the fabric of the neighborhoods they went though, and indirectly hurt the city because the new infrastructure allowed middle-class workers to live in the suburbs and commute into the city.

Despite its problems, Newark did try to remain vital in the postwar era. Prudential and Mutual Benefit were successfully enticed to stay and build new offices. Rutgers University-Newark and Seton Hall University expanded their Newark presences, with the former building a brand-new campus on a 23 acre (9 hectare) urban renewal site. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey made Port Newark the first container port in the nation and turned swamps in the south of the city into Newark Liberty International Airport, now the thirteenth busiest airport in the United States.

Even though it was not the sole cause of Newark's tragedy, the city made some serious mistakes with public housing and urban renewal. Across several administrations, the city leaders of Newark saw the federal government's offer to pay for 100% of the costs of housing projects as a blessing. While other cities were skeptical about putting so many poor and socially dysfunctional individuals together and thus were cautious in building housing projects, Newark avidly pursued federal dollars. Eventually, Newark would have a higher percentage of its residents in public housing than any other American city.

The largely Italian American First Ward was one of the hardest hit by urban renewal. A 46-acre (19 hectare) housing tract, labeled a slum because it was so dense, was torn down for multi-story Le Corbusier-style high rises, to be known as the Christopher Columbus Homes. The tract had contained 8th Avenue, the commercial heart of the neighborhood. Fifteen small-scale blocks were reduced to three "superblocks." The Columbus Homes, never in harmony with the rest of the neighborhood, were abandoned in the 1970s, and were eventually torn down in 1994.[15]

From 1950 to 1960, while Newark saw its overall population drop from 438,000 to 408,000, it gained 65,000 non-whites. By 1966, Newark had a black majority, a faster turnover than most other northern cities had experienced. Evaluating the riots of 1967, Newark educator Nathan Wright, Jr. said, "No typical American city has as yet experienced such a precipitous change from a white to a black majority." The misfortune of the Great Migration and Puerto Rican migration was that Southern blacks and Puerto Ricans were moving to Newark to be industrial workers just as the industrial jobs were drying up. Newark blacks left poverty in the South to find poverty in the North.

During the 1950s alone, Newark's white population decreased from 363,000 to 266,000. From 1960 to 1967, its white population fell a further 46,000. Though white flight changed the racial composition of Newark residents, it did not change the racial composition of political and economic power in the city. In 1967, out of a police force of 1,400, only 150 members were black, mostly in subordinate positions. Since Newark's blacks lived in neighborhoods that had been white only two decades earlier, nearly all of their apartments and stores were white-owned as well. Mayor Addonizio offered, without consulting any residents of the neighborhood to be affected, to condemn and raze for the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) 150 acres (61 hectares) of a densely populated black neighborhood in the central ward. UMDNJ had wanted to settle in suburban Madison.

1967 Newark riots

Main article: 1967 Newark riots

On July 12, 1967, a black taxi driver named John Smith was beaten by police after it was alleged that he violently resisted arrest after driving around a double parked police car. A crowd gathered outside the police station where he was detained. Due to miscommunication, the crowd believed Smith had died in custody while in reality he had been transported to a hospital via a back entrance to the station. This sparked scuffles between blacks and police in the Fourth Ward, although the damage toll was only $2,500. Subsequent to television news broadcasts on July 13 however, new and larger riots took place. Twenty-six people were killed, 1,500 wounded, 1,600 arrested, and $10 million in property was destroyed. More than a thousand businesses were torched or looted, including 167 groceries (most of which would never reopen). Newark's reputation suffered dramatically. It was said, "wherever American cities are going, Newark will get there first."[16]

After the riots

Semi-abandoned buildings in the riot area, mid 1990s
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Semi-abandoned buildings in the riot area, mid 1990s

Newark saw a continued decline in the 1970s and 1980s. Whites continued to move out of the city. Middle class blacks followed suit, and certain pockets of the city developed as domains of poverty and social isolation. Whenever the media of New York needed to find some example of urban despair, they traveled to Newark[citation needed].

In American Pastoral, a novel by Newark-born author Philip Roth, the protagonist Swede Levov says:

Newark used to be the city where they manufactured everything, now it's the car theft capital of the world ... there was a factory where somebody was making something on every side street. Now there's a liquor store on every street — a liquor store, a pizza stand, and a seedy storefront church. Everything else is in ruins or boarded up.

In January 1975, an article in Harper's Magazine ranked the fifty largest American cities in twenty-four categories, ranging from park space to crime. Newark was one of the five worst in nineteen out of twenty-four categories, and the very worst in nine. According to the article, only 70% of Newarkers owned a telephone. The city ranked second worst, St. Louis, was much farther from Newark than the cities in the top five were from each other. The article concluded:


The city of Newark stands without serious challenge as the worst city of all. It ranked among the worst cities in no fewer than nineteen of twenty-four categories, and it was dead last in nine of them... Newark is a city that desperately needs help.[17]

In the 2006 survey, Newark was ranked as the 22nd most dangerous city in the United States overall, out of 371 cities included nationwide in the 13th annual Morgan Quitno survey.[18]

Newark did have several achievements in the two and a half decades after the riots. In 1968, the New Community Corporation was founded and was one of the most successful community development corporations in the nation. In 1987, the NCC would own and manage 2,265 low-income housing units.

Broad Street from the Prudential Financial Building.
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Broad Street from the Prudential Financial Building.

Newark's downtown also saw growth in the post-riot decades. Less than two weeks after the riots, Prudential announced plans to underwrite a $24 million office complex near Penn Station, dubbed "Gateway." Today, Gateway houses thousands of white-collar workers, though few live in Newark. The buildings themselves were not designed with consideration for pedestrians. In the mid-1980s, plans were developed to build the 121-story Grant USA Tower, with 100 stories of offices topped by a 21-story hotel and atrium, which would have been the world's tallest structure, but the developer went bankrupt before it could be built.[19]

Before the riots, there had been an issue over whether the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey would be built in the suburbs or Newark. The riots and Newark's undeniable desperation made definite that the medical school would be in Newark. However, instead of being built on 167 acres (676,000 m²), the medical school would be built on just 60, part of which was already city owned. Students at the medical school soon started the "Student Family Health Clinic" to provide free health care for the underserved population, along with other community service projects.

In politics, Kenneth A. Gibson was elected as one of the first African-American mayors in the nation in 1970. The 1970s were a time of battles between Gibson and the shrinking white population.

Gibson admitted that "Newark may be the most decayed and financially crippled city in the nation." The higher taxes may have been necessary to pay for services like schools and sanitation, but they did nothing for Newark's economic base; the CEO of Ballantine's Brewery even asserted that Newark's $1 million annual tax bill was the cause of the company's bankruptcy.[20]

Newark's Renaissance

Downtown

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center
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The New Jersey Performing Arts Center

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center, which opened in the downtown area in 1997 at a cost of $180 million, is seen by many as the first step in the city's road to revival. It has brought some 1.6 million people to Newark who otherwise might never have visited. NJPAC is known for its acoustics and has seen, on its stages, a diverse group of artists including Itzhak Perlman, Sarah Brightman, Sting, 'N Sync, Lauryn Hill, the Vienna Boys' Choir, Yo Yo Ma, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.[21]

Since then, the city has built a baseball stadium called (the Riverfront Stadium) for the Newark Bears, the city's minor league team. Newark has also constructed a rail connection to its airport (AirTrain Newark), and numerous commercial developments in the downtown area. The city is currently constructing the Prudential Center for the New Jersey Devils, which is expected to be completed by October 2007. The Passaic Waterfront downtown is being refurbished to provide citizens with access to the river. The Newark Public Library is also in the planning stage of a major renovation and expansion.

Much of the city's revitalization efforts have been focused in the downtown area, however adjoining neighborhoods have, in recent years, begun to see some signs of development, particularly in the Central Ward. Nevertheless, the "Renaissance" has been unevenly felt across the city and some districts continue to have below-average household incomes and higher-than-average rates of poverty.

Since 2000, Newark has actually gained population, its first increase since the 1940s. Crime in the mid 2000s have fallen by 58% from its historic highs in the mid 90s, though murders remain high for a city of its size.[citation needed]

A few of Newark's nicknames are related to the attempts to revitalize its downtown. In the 1950s a term New Newark was given to the city after the former-mayor Leo Carlin made efforts to convince major corporations in the city to remain in Newark. In the 1960s Newark was nicknamed Gateway City after the redeveloped Gateway Center area downtown, which shares its name with the tourism region of which Newark is a part. It has more recently been deemed Renaissance City by the media and the public in an attempt to gain recognition for its revitalization efforts. [22]

Lincoln Park/The Coast

The Lincoln Park/Coast neighborhood is the second district of Newark that is seeing large-scale development efforts. The area once referred to as The Coast and referred to as Lincoln Park today, was deemed the Lincoln Park/Coast Cultural District by the city and future additions include the development of a Museum of African American Music, an Arts Park, new housing, stores, a restaurant, a nightclub, a music studio and a dance studio.[23] This area is already home to the Theater Cafe and the City Without Walls gallery and Symphony Hall, as well as other important cultural sites. Symphony Hall is likely to see renovations in the near future. After much of the development in the Downtown/Arts district and the ongoing need for a link between Newark Penn Station and Broad Street Station, the first link of the light rail was built. With the development anchored around the museum in the Coast and the need for a second link to Newark Airport, this neighborhood has already become a candidate area for a future light rail system with a stop for Lincoln Park/Symphony Hall.

Geography and climate

Geography

Map of the Newark metropolitan area, including adjacent suburbs
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Map of the Newark metropolitan area, including adjacent suburbs

Located at 40° 44' 14" north and 74° 10' 55" west, Newark is 24.14 square miles (63 km²) in area. It has the second smallest land area among 100 most populous cities in the U.S, after neighboring Jersey City. The city's altitude ranges from 0 to 273.4 feet (83 m) above sea level, with the average being 55 feet (17 m).[24] Newark is essentially a large basin sloping towards the Passaic River, with a few valleys formed by meandering streams. Historically, Newark's high places have been its wealthier neighborhoods. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the wealthy congregated on the ridges of Forest Hill, High Street, and Weequahic.

Until the 20th century, the marshes on Newark Bay were difficult to develop. The marshes were essentially wilderness, with a few dumps, warehouses, and cemeteries on their edges. In the 19th century, Newarkers mourned that a fifth of their city could not be used for development. However, in the 20th century, the Port Authority was able to reclaim much of the marshland for the further expansion of Newark Airport, as well as the growth of the port lands.

Newark is surrounded by residential suburbs to the west (on the slope of the Watchung Mountains), the Passaic River and Newark Bay to the east, dense urban areas to the south and southwest, and middle-class residential suburbs and industrial areas to the north.

Neighborhoods

Map of Downtown Newark and surrounding areas
Enlarge
Map of Downtown Newark and surrounding areas

Newark is New Jersey's largest and second-most diverse city, after neighboring Jersey City. Its neighborhoods are populated with people from various backgrounds, such as African Americans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Italians, Spaniards, Jamaicans, Haitians, West Africans, Brazilians, Ecuadorians, and a sizable Portuguese population.

The city is divided into five political wards, which are often used by residents to identify their place of habitation. In recent years, residents have begun to identify with specific neighborhood names instead of the larger ward appellations. Nevertheless, the wards remain relatively distinct. Industrial uses, coupled with the airport and seaport lands, are concentrated in the East and South Wards, while residential neighborhoods exist primarily in the North, Central, and West Wards.

The geography of the city is such that only the predominantly poor Central Ward shares an unbroken border with the downtown area (the North Ward is separated from the downtown by Interstate 280 and the East Ward is separated by railroad tracks; the South and West Wards do not share a border with the downtown area).

Newark's North Ward is the ridge to the east of Branch Brook Park. The still-affluent Forest Hill is in the North Ward, as are heavily Latino areas east of Mount Prospect Avenue. The Central Ward contains much of the city's original history including the Lincoln Park, Military Park and the James Street Commons Historic Districts. The Ward also contains the University Heights Neighborhood. In the 19th century it was inhabited by Germans. The German inhabitants were later replaced by Jews, who were then replaced by blacks. Newark built many public housing projects on superblocks in the Central Ward in the 20th century [2]; hence, many of the streets in this ward are no longer arranged in a grid. The West Ward comprises the neighborhoods of Roseville and Vailsburg. Vailsburg is largely black, while Roseville is mainly Latino and Italian American. The South Ward comprises poor areas and the low-income Weequahic district. It was the last part of Newark to be developed. At the southern end of the ward is Weequahic Park. Finally, the East Ward consists of Newark's downtown commercial district, as well as the heavily Portuguese Ironbound neighborhood, where much of Newark's industry was located in the 19th century; the area was then poorer than the rest of the city. Today, due to the enterprise of its immigrant population, the Ironbound is the most commercially successful part of Newark.

Climate

Newark has a humid continental climate, although its proximity to the ocean has a moderating effect. Also, being near to the Altantic means Newark tends to be warmer than cities at a similar latitude or even somewhat further south, such as Chicago, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis (although St. Louis is usually hotter in summer). Temperatures below 0 °F (-18°C) are rare, but temperatures between 10 °F (-12°C) and 20 °F (-7°C) are not uncommon during winter nights. The average high temperature during the winter ranges from 38 degrees to 42 degrees. Accumulated snow on the ground does not usually remain for very long. Springs in Newark are quite mild, with average high temperatures ranging from the 40s°F (4°C) in March to the 70s/80s °F (21/27°C) by early June. Summers are particularly hot and humid, with day temperatures usually in the 80s °F (27°C) and exceeding 90 °F (32°C) on many days. Heat advisories are not uncommon during the summer months, particularly July and August, the hottest months of the year when temperatures can reach 100°F (38°C) with high humidity. The city cools off during autumn, with high temperatures ranging between the 50s °F (10°C) and 70s °F (21°C). Depending on the time of year and localized winds, Newark is a few degrees warmer than midtown Manhattan during the day, because it is more inland. Though this also means it is usually a few degrees cooler at night but not always, more often in the wintertime

The city receives precipitation ranging from 3" to 4.5" monthly. Measurable snowfall occurs each winter, but in lesser amounts than cities in the midwest at a similar latitude.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F 74 76 89 97 99 102 105 105 105 92 85 76
Norm High °F 38.1 41.1 50.1 60.8 71.4 80.2 85.2 83.2 75.7 64.7 53.7 43
Norm Low °F 24.4 26.6 34.2 43.7 54.1 63.5 69.1 67.7 59.9 48.2 39.1 29.8
Rec Low °F -8 -7 6 16 33 43 52 45 35 28 15 -1
Precip (in) 3.98 2.96 4.21 3.92 4.46 3.4 4.68 4.02 4.01 3.16 3.88 3.57
Source: USTravelWeather.com [3]

Demographics

Newark, New Jersey
Census Pop.
1790
1800 500.0%
1830
1840 57.9%
1850 125.0%
1860 85.0%
1870 46.0%
1880 29.9%
1890 33.2%
1900 35.3%
1910 41.2%
1920 19.3%
1930 6.7%
1940 -2.8%
1950 2.1%
1960 -7.6%