North Ward Streets!

Join us for a walking tour of the North Ward, where Newark's industrial barons used to reside in style on hilltop mansions with views of their factory domains down below. Come to an area rich in history, culture, struggle, and grit.

Join us at 2:30 on Sunday, June 14th, 2009 for a walking tour of Broadway and Mt. Prospect Avenue, two of Newark's finest boulevards. We will be meeting in front of the old New Jersey Historical Society building at 230 Broadway (shown in background). From there, we will see the old Mutual Benefit Building, Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, the old Rutgers School of Pharmacy and various Puerto Rican Sites. At Elwood we'll climb uphill to see the prospect of Mt. Prospect. We will take a look at some of Newark's finest apartment buildings and surviving mansions. Two highlights will be the Mt. Prospect Manor apartments and the Clark Mansion, now the North Ward Center's headquarters. Finally, we'll descend the hill again to Broadway, where we will visit Ahavas Shalom, the oldest functioning synagogue in Newark and the Clinton AME Zion Church, the oldest black congregation in Newark, and a gem of Victorian Gothic architecture. Along the way, we will learn about the different ethnic groups that have lived in the North Ward, such as the Italians who dominated the neighborhood mid-century, as well as the area's industrial history.

Total walking distance will be slightly over two miles. Any questions, please email me at jsbennett70@yahoo.com (remove the REMOVETHIS spamblocker).

The tour will run in all weathers except heavy rain. We will walk in drizzle, but if the forecast is questionable please check the front page of Newarkhistory.com for any news of cancellation.

Although we are meeting at the old New Jersey Historical Society building, this tour has no affiliation with that organization.