|
Downtown Newark is Newark, New Jersey's central business and cultural district. It is located at a bend in the Passaic River. Modern Interstate 280 was built just north of it.
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 Jersey Performing Arts Center.
Most of Newark's office buildings are located downtown. In the immediate post-World War II era, downtown seemed to be moving north, in the direction of Washington Park. Since the 1967 riots, downtown has been moving east in the direction of Newark Penn Station, the locally famous "Gateway" development.
Downtown Newark is the home to Newark's major cultural venues - the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), the Newark Museum, and the New Jersey Historical Society. Downtown is also home to Aljira, an emerging artists gallery.
Though it has a number of buildings of great architectural significance, downtown Newark has very few housing units and its storefronts are typically not well maintained. The area is vacant at night and shops are closed. The City of Newark is publicly committed to turning downtown into a "24-hour city," but many developers have been afraid to take a risk on Newark.
However, things are finally beginning to come together on the 24 hour city front. The former Hahne's and Lefcourt buildings are going to be converted into condominiums beginning in 2005. Rutgers-Newark is building a six hundred bed dorm on Central Avenue. An old office building on Clinton Avenue has already successfully been converted to lofts.
| 
