Ironbound Tour!

Hello, join Newarkology on 12:15 Sunday, March 21st, 2010 for a tour of Newark's celebrated, historic, beautiful, colorful Ironbound.

Join us as we explore the Ironbound's fascinating history of industry and ethnic succession. From the Dutch and Deutscher Ironbound of the Nineteenth Century to Italian, Polish, and Jewish turn of the Twentieth Century to the Iberian Ironbound of the present.

The tour will begin at at the former Second Dutch Reformed Church (seen in background), at the intersection of
Ferry and McWhorter Streets. From that Antebellum Church we will walk down McWhorter Street to the old Murphy Varnish Company building, one of the largest 19th century industrial buildings in Newark. From the Murphy Varnish Company we will walk east on Chestnut Street to Independence Park and enjoy that park's fascinating collection of ethnic churches - the Italian Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the Russian St. Michael's, and the Polish St. Casimir's. Along the way we will learn about each ethnic group's patterns of urban settlement.

We'll return via Pulaski and Ferry Street. We'll pause for some reminders of the old German Ironbound speckling the Portuguese Ironbound of today. We will even see Torah Emes, the Ironbound’s synagogue.

Parking is harder in the Ironbound than it is in any other Newark neighborhood, but finding a spot in the Ironbound isn't as challenging as parking in Hoboken. We are starting very close to Penn Station, so public transit access will be easy for anyone who needs it.

The cost is $10 per person, $5 for anyone 10-18.

Heavy rain, snow, or weather below 20 degrees will cancel the tour. There is no official raindate, but I would reschedule the tour for some time in late April.

Any questions, please email me at jsbennett70@yahoo.com (remove the REMOVETHIS spamblocker).