Weequahic, Newark
The community of Weequahic is named after the park which it borders and is located in the south ward. The South Ward was created when people left the Central Ward. When Weequahic Park was developed the area surrounding it was mostly farmland. The name "Weequahic" is derived from a Lenape word "wee-qua-chick," which means "head of the cove." According to tradition, the cove of Weequahic Park, now the lake, was the border between the Hackensack and Raritan bands of the Lenni-Lenape. Up until the 1960’s Weequahic was largely a middle class Jewish neighborhood made up of homes which were designed in the Colonial Revival style. It was home to many synagogues, yeshivas, and the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. Weequahic experienced more "white flight" than almost any other section of the city. 1950-1970 saw the biggest change as more and more Jews escaped to the suburbs. The area transformed from 98% white to 95% black and became a center of urban decay and slums. Many believe that the Riots of 1967 was the main reason for the shift in exodus from Weequahic but that was just the final nail in the coffin. The exodus started long before that. The yeshivas are now gone having been converted into churches and schools.
The great wave of Jews began with the German Jews in 1836. The second wave came in the 1880s with eastern european jews. By 1924 two million jews immigrated here and 45 thousand of them were in Newark. 35thousand of them found their home in Weequahic.
Facing Weequahic Park is a "T"-shaped plan, Colonial Revival which was constructed in 1923 as the L. Bamberger Department Store's "Ideal Home". Bamberger was one of the largest downtown Newark department stores. It was designed by architect Francis A Nelson. It showcased furniture and household accessories which were sold in his store.
Elizabeth Avenue-Weequahic United Presbyterian Church
In 1902, the first Beth-Israel Hospital opened at the intersection of High Street and was originally a wood house equipped with 21 hospital beds. By 1908 a second building was built housing 84 beds. The hospital came around not because one was needed but because of the difficulties in jewish physicians finding places of employment.
Today, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is only piece left of the Jewish population that once inhabited Weequachic.
Up until 1960, Weequahic High School graduated more PHDs than any other school in the United States. The school abruptly changed into one of the most dangerous schools in New Jersey where grades plummeted and the Bloods and Crips ruled campus and the streets. In 2009 Montclair filmmaker Beth Toni Kruvant documents the remarkable story of African American principal Ron Stone who single-handedly, along with the support of the school's alumni, changed the lives of former gang members in New Jersey through a groundbreaking program in the movie "Heart of Stone". For many years, Weequahic offered more foreign languages than any other high school in the city which included French, Spanish, Latin, German, Russian, Hebrew and had a Swahili language club in the 60's.
Along Elizabeth Avenue is the start of Weequahic Park.
Weequahic Park is the second largest of Essex County’s seven parks. Once known as an mosquito-laden bog, the 311 acre park was designed by the Olmsted Brothers Design Firm and was planned in 1885. From the years 1866 to 1899 it was home to the New Jersey Agricultural Fair. The fair was started by a local farmer James Jay Mapes a professor at a New York City establishment called the American Institute . He had purchased a run down farm and used superphosphate fertilizers and the sub-soil plow to turn the farm into a success. The state fair was an opportunity for farmers to meet other farmers and share information. By 1904, a 9-hole golf course was added to the park designed by noted golf course designer George Low Sr.
The park was also host to many events including the Historical Pageant which had a recreation of the Puritans landing on the Passaic River for four consecutive nights in May and June of 1916.
Built in 1916 for Newark´s 250th anniversary is the "The Divident Hill Pavilion". The hill was the site of the conference between representatives of Elizabethtown and Newark in 1668. The meeting declared dividing lines between the two newly formed cities.
The Divident Hill site had been used by the Lenape Indians to hold "pow-wows.
It was designed by architects Carrére and Hastings. The structure sits on a hill, the highest point of the park. A cement staircase leads up to the structure.
The Elizabeth Avenue Children's Building Pavillion which also has restrooms is a terra cotta-clad building. On the day I visited the facilities were closed.
On the north side of the park stands the massive Carmel Towers. Built in 1970, the 22nd tallest building in Newark stands at 25 floors with 185 rent-assisted units. Opening in 1971, Carmel Towers, also known as the Tavern Apartments in Newark was a model of the sort of high-rise urban development that the federal government was encouraging through generous subsidies but the ideal quickly went downhill as it became known as a haven for drugs and gang warfare.
Links:
A block in Newark known for drugs and gangs is safe, for now.
As Newark High-Rise Loses Aid, Fear Sweeps Through Its Tenants
Carmel Towers
Heart of Stone
A block in Newark known for drugs and gangs is safe, for now.
As Newark High-Rise Loses Aid, Fear Sweeps Through Its Tenants
Carmel Towers
Heart of Stone
Laura Gonzalez
December 2015
December 2015
All images © 2012-2016 Laura Gonzalez