- For other places with the same name, see Newark.
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
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
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 plastic — Celluloid — 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.
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.
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
-
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
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.
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
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
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
-
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
