I’m surprised Ken hasn’t blogged on this already, but the NYTimes has a really long, well-done article up about Newark’s Renaissance. This article is on Martin Luther King Boulevard (my favorite street in Newark, see my tours Martin Luther King Blvd: 1 and Martin Luther King Blvd: 2)
Check it out the Times article.
Did anyone here know that Barnes & Noble was looking to set up shop downtown? The article also contains the crucial bit of intelligence that Cogswell is looking to start renovation work on the Hahnes and Griffith buildings next year. Once Hahnes is refurbished, how long will it be before something can be done with the old Lincoln Motel site? Does anyone know if anything is happening with the old Westinghouse factory by Broad Street Station?
Anyway, everyone who knows Newark knows that the Renaissance is both real and hyped. In the late 1950s/early 1960s, people were talking Newark about a Newark revival with exactly the same vocabulary that they’re talking about a Newark revival now.
In the July 31st, 1961 issue of the NYTimes, the Times said the following about the Colonnade Apartments:
[the Colonnade is] attracting young professional and white collar families. The group had previously been drifting to the Newark suburbs or commuting to the city from New York and other places.
The development has also been attracting older couples and families with homes in the suburbs, whose children have grown and moved away.
As evidenced by all the fine apartments built on Mt. Prospect Ave and Elizabeth Ave then, there was certainly more redevelopment going on in Newark in the 1950s and 1960s than there is today.
2 Comments
Thanks for the historical perspective… the media suffers badly from short-term memory, and it’s hard to tell reality from the hype, particularly when the lines between the two are so blurred.
Good catch JSB.
Thanks for posting the article!