Four Corners (Newark)
Encyclopedia
Four Corners at the intersection of Broad and Market Streets in Newark, New Jersey
is site of the city's earliest settlement and the heart of Downtown
that at one time was considered the busiest intersection in the United States. A twenty-two square block area radiating from the crossroads is a state
and federal
historic district
.
The crossing become the center of the town soon after establishment in 1666, the home of founder Robert Treat
located at the southwest corner. During the next centuries it remained the focal point of the city which grew around it. By 1834 the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company
had established a terminal to the south and in 1869 the Newark and New York Railroad
had one to the north. During the period of massive expansion at the turn of the century
the district became city's modern business district, and site of its first skyscraper built by the Fireman's Insurance Company
at the southest corner in 1910.
The Newark Public Service Terminal
on Broad Street opened in 1916. Though faded in its former glory, the Four Corners district remains Newark's traditional center for commerce and business and since the late 2000s the focus of much interest in revitalizing retail, residential, and restaurant activity downtown.
, such as Paterson
and Trenton
and the United States
, such as Philadelphia. In Newark, Broad Street, as the name suggests, is a wide avenue which runs north to Military Park
and Broad Street Station, while to the south it passes Government Center and Symphony Hall
. Market Street to the east passes Gateway Center
and Newark Penn Station, while to the west are the Essex County Courthouse
and the many university campuses located in the city. It has long been a busy crossroad. 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, 2,657 taxis, 3,474 commercial vehicles, and 23,571 automobiles. Between 1925 and 1939 a manned 24 feet (7.3 m) traffic control tower stood at the intersection.
is one of seven in Newark. The Four Corners Historic District is roughly bounded by Raymond Boulevard
, Mulberry Street, Hill, and Washington Streets and University Avenue. The district established in 1999–2000 encompasses an area of 85 acres (343,983.1 m²) and includes many buildings which themselves are listed on the national and state registers of historic places. The area is considered vital in the redevelopment of the city, located between city attractions, residential neighborhoods, educational and commercial institutions. In 2010, in order to promote the restoration of facades in the district the city has implemented stricter signage policy for any renovations.
In the southwest quadrant of the district some buildings, though more than 100 years old, are considered expendable in the greater development planning. To that end the demolition and replacement of some will lead to the creation of retail corridor between the Prudential Center and University Heights
along Halsey Street.
The four-block-long project will be designed by native son Richard Meier
.
A new hotel and retail complex at Broad and Lafayette Streets is also planned.
The northwest quadrant of the district has been home to Prudential Headquarters
since its founding. Three buildings built by the finance company, including the Gibraltar Building on Halsey Street, are found there, as is the original flagship store of the department store Bamburgers.
The city's two tallest buildings, the neoclassical National Newark
and Art Deco
Eleven 80
, are found in the northeast quadrant near the abutting historic district of Military Park
.
The southeast quadrant is home to the Kinney Building, Old First Presbyterian Church, the First National State Bank Building
, the Newark and New York Railroad
terminal, and Newark City Hall
at Government Center
. The Prudential Center borders this section at Mulberry Street.
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
is site of the city's earliest settlement and the heart of Downtown
Downtown Newark
Downtown Newark is Newark, New Jersey's major central business, retail, and cultural district. It is located at a bend in the Passaic River.Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark. The first settlers, led by Robert Treat, landed not far from the present site of the New...
that at one time was considered the busiest intersection in the United States. A twenty-two square block area radiating from the crossroads is a state
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the Historic Preservation Office of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.The register was...
and federal
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
historic district
Historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries, historic districts receive legal protection from development....
.
The crossing become the center of the town soon after establishment in 1666, the home of founder Robert Treat
Robert Treat
Robert Treat was an American colonial leader, militia officer and governor of Connecticut between 1683 and 1698....
located at the southwest corner. During the next centuries it remained the focal point of the city which grew around it. By 1834 the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company
United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company
The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in New Jersey, including their main line to New York City...
had established a terminal to the south and in 1869 the Newark and New York Railroad
Newark and New York Railroad
The Newark and New York Railroad was a passenger rail line that ran between Downtown Newark and the Communipaw Terminal at the mouth of the North River in Jersey City, bridging the Hackensack River and Passaic River just north of their mouths at the Newark Bay in northeastern New...
had one to the north. During the period of massive expansion at the turn of the century
Turn of the century
Turn of the century, in its broadest sense, refers to the transition from one century to another. The term is most often used to indicate a non-specific time period either before or after the beginning of a century....
the district became city's modern business district, and site of its first skyscraper built by the Fireman's Insurance Company
Home Office Building
The Home Office Building is located adjacent to Military Park at 10 Park Place in Newark, New Jersey. The building was built in 1928 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 17, 1982.-History:...
at the southest corner in 1910.
The Newark Public Service Terminal
Newark Public Service Terminal
The Public Service Terminal was a two-level streetcar station in Newark, New Jersey, owned and operated by the Public Service Corporation. It served as the terminus for streetcar lines from as far as Trenton, New Jersey, and the six office stories above became company headquarters...
on Broad Street opened in 1916. Though faded in its former glory, the Four Corners district remains Newark's traditional center for commerce and business and since the late 2000s the focus of much interest in revitalizing retail, residential, and restaurant activity downtown.
Broad and Market
The names and the crossing of streets named Broad and Market is seen in many of the colonial cities in New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, such as Paterson
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
and Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, such as Philadelphia. In Newark, Broad Street, as the name suggests, is a wide avenue which runs north to Military Park
Military Park (Newark)
Military Park is a city park in downtown Newark, New Jersey. It is a nearly triangular park located between Park Place, Rector Street and Broad Street. From 1667, when the city was planned, until 1869 it was a training ground for soldiers...
and Broad Street Station, while to the south it passes Government Center and Symphony Hall
Newark Symphony Hall
Newark Symphony Hall at 1020 Broad Street in Newark, New Jerseywas built in 1925 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It was known for many years as The Mosque Theater.-Design and construction:...
. Market Street to the east passes Gateway Center
Gateway Center (Newark)
The Gateway Center is a commercial complex in Newark, New Jersey. Located downtown just west of Newark Penn Station between Raymond Boulevard and Market Street, skyways and pedestrian malls interconnect all of the office towers, a Hilton Hotel, the train station, and the Newark Legal Center...
and Newark Penn Station, while to the west are the Essex County Courthouse
Essex County Courthouse
The Essex County Courthouse is located in Newark, New Jersey. It was built in 1904 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 26, 1975.The building, designed by Cass Gilbert, has a four-story rotunda topped with a Tiffany skylight...
and the many university campuses located in the city. It has long been a busy crossroad. In 1915, Public Service
Public Service Railway
The Public Service Railway, owned by the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey, operated most of the streetcar lines in New Jersey by the early 20th century. Public Service lines stretched from northeast New Jersey to Trenton, and then south to Camden and its suburbs...
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, 2,657 taxis, 3,474 commercial vehicles, and 23,571 automobiles. Between 1925 and 1939 a manned 24 feet (7.3 m) traffic control tower stood at the intersection.
Historic district
The historic districtHistoric district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries, historic districts receive legal protection from development....
is one of seven in Newark. The Four Corners Historic District is roughly bounded by Raymond Boulevard
Raymond Boulevard
Raymond Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in Newark, New Jersey. The eastern portion of the road acts as the westbound member of a one-way pair; eastbound traffic uses Market Street and Ferry Street...
, Mulberry Street, Hill, and Washington Streets and University Avenue. The district established in 1999–2000 encompasses an area of 85 acres (343,983.1 m²) and includes many buildings which themselves are listed on the national and state registers of historic places. The area is considered vital in the redevelopment of the city, located between city attractions, residential neighborhoods, educational and commercial institutions. In 2010, in order to promote the restoration of facades in the district the city has implemented stricter signage policy for any renovations.
In the southwest quadrant of the district some buildings, though more than 100 years old, are considered expendable in the greater development planning. To that end the demolition and replacement of some will lead to the creation of retail corridor between the Prudential Center and University Heights
University Heights, Newark, New Jersey
thumb|left|200pxUniversity Heights is a neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, so named because of the location of four academic institutions within its boundaries — Rutgers University , the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey , and Essex County...
along Halsey Street.
The four-block-long project will be designed by native son Richard Meier
Richard Meier
Richard Meier is an American architect, whose rationalist buildings make prominent use of the color white.- Biography :Meier is Jewish and was born in Newark, New Jersey...
.
A new hotel and retail complex at Broad and Lafayette Streets is also planned.
The northwest quadrant of the district has been home to Prudential Headquarters
Prudential Headquarters
Prudential Financial, as it is known today, began as The Widows and Orphans Friendly Society in 1875. For a short was called the Prudential Friendly Society, and for many years after 1877 was the Prudential Insurance Company of America, a name still widely in use...
since its founding. Three buildings built by the finance company, including the Gibraltar Building on Halsey Street, are found there, as is the original flagship store of the department store Bamburgers.
The city's two tallest buildings, the neoclassical National Newark
National Newark Building
The National Newark Building is a neo-classical office skyscraper in Newark, New Jersey. It has been the tallest building in Newark since 1931 and was tallest in New Jersey until 1989. At thirty-five stories, it has a height of . It is located in the heart of Downtown Newark just north of Four...
and Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
Eleven 80
Eleven 80
Eleven80 is a tall skyscraper in Newark, New Jersey. It was completed as an office building in 1930, has 35 floors, and was the tallest building in Newark until 1931...
, are found in the northeast quadrant near the abutting historic district of Military Park
Military Park (Newark)
Military Park is a city park in downtown Newark, New Jersey. It is a nearly triangular park located between Park Place, Rector Street and Broad Street. From 1667, when the city was planned, until 1869 it was a training ground for soldiers...
.
The southeast quadrant is home to the Kinney Building, Old First Presbyterian Church, the First National State Bank Building
First National State Bank Building
The First National State Bank Building is located at 810 Broad Street in Newark, New Jersey. The building was designed by Hirons and Dennison and was built in 1926 as the Federal Trust Company Building. The building is twelve stories tall with a steel frame and with a facade of applied masonry. It...
, the Newark and New York Railroad
Newark and New York Railroad
The Newark and New York Railroad was a passenger rail line that ran between Downtown Newark and the Communipaw Terminal at the mouth of the North River in Jersey City, bridging the Hackensack River and Passaic River just north of their mouths at the Newark Bay in northeastern New...
terminal, and Newark City Hall
Newark City Hall
Newark City Hall, is located at Government Center in Newark, New Jersey. The building was built in 1902 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 17, 1978.-History:...
at Government Center
Government Center, Newark, New Jersey
Government Center is an area of Downtown Newark that is named for the presence of government buildings centered around a plaza known as Federal Square....
. The Prudential Center borders this section at Mulberry Street.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, New Jersey
- List of tallest buildings in Newark
- Government Center (Newark)