Military Park is a 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) city park in downtown Newark

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...

, New Jersey

New 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...

. 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. In 1869 it became the town commons

Village green

A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...

.

The New Jersey Historical Society

New Jersey Historical Society

The New Jersey Historical Society is a historical society and museum located in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The Historical Society is housed in the former headquarters of the Essex Club. It has two floors of exhibition space, a gift shop, and a hall for lectures. The NJHS offers occasional...

 and the Military Park Building

Military Park Building

The Military Park Building in Newark, New Jersey is one of the earliest skyscrapers built downtown. Designed by the architectural firm Polhemus & Coffin of New York, it was the tallest building in New Jersey upon its completion in 1926 until being surpassed in 1930 by the Eleven 80. Extensively...

 are located across from the park.

Features

In the southwestern part of the park is the colossal Wars of America

Wars of America

Wars of America is a "colossal" bronze sculpture by Gutzon Borglum containing "forty-two humans and two horses" , located in Military Park, Newark, New Jersey. The sculpture sets on a base of granite from Stone Mountain....

 monument, created by Gutzon Borglum

Gutzon Borglum

Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum was an American artist and sculptor famous for creating the monumental presidents' heads at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, the famous carving on Stone Mountain near Atlanta, as well as other public works of art.- Background :The son of Mormon Danish immigrants, Gutzon...

, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States...

. The sculpture itself forms the base of a large concrete sword built into the ground. The sword from the ground resembles a large dry fountain and from the air its shape is easily distinguished. The sword is about eighty yards long from the end of the statue to its tip; the blade is over ten feet across at its base. A bust of John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

 was erected in 1965. The park also has an old drinking fountain with the phrase "My cup runneth over" carved around its base, and statues of Frederick Frelinghuysen and Philip Kearny

Philip Kearny

Philip Kearny, Jr., was a United States Army officer, notable for his leadership in the Mexican-American War and American Civil War. He was killed in action in the 1862 Battle of Chantilly.-Early life and career:...

.
A three-level underground parking garage is beneath the park. A subway station, Military Park Station

Military Park (NCS station)

Military Park Station is an underground station on the Newark City Subway Line of the Newark Light Rail. The station is owned and service is operated by New Jersey Transit. The station is located at the intersection of Raymond Boulevard, Park Place and Broad Street in Downtown Newark at Military...

, lies under the southwest end of the park at Raymond Boulevard and Park Place.

Doane Park

Doane Park is a tenth-acre triangular piece of land north of Military Park, where Broad Street and Park Place veer off and is separated from Military Park by Rector Street. A statue of Monsignor George Hobart Doane, for whom the park is named, was unveiled in 1908. Doane was a rector at St. Patrick's Pro-Cathedral

Pro-Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Newark

The Pro-Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Newark is a former cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It was built in 1846. It served as the seat of its prelate bishop until the completion of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Clifton Ave. It is located in Newark, New Jersey on...

and did much for the city including his work with the Essex County Park Commission.

Events

• The annual Africa-Newark Festival celebrates African culture.
• Jazz concerts are sometimes performed in Military Park.
• On Thursdays during the fall, a farmers market is held on Park Place.