Broadway, Newark, New Jersey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Broadway is a neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. It is located on the west bank of the Passaic River, in Newark's North Ward, east of Forest Hill and north of Seventh Avenue. Its western border is made up of Bloomfield Avenue, Mt. Prospect Avenue, Summer Avenue. The neighborhood extends from I-280 to Belleville. Its central portion is sometimes called "Mt. Pleasant." The term "Broadway" has only come into use recently, most Broadway residents simply refer to their area as part of the North Ward, in the past parts of the neighborhood were known as Woodside and Riverside. The street itself "Broadway" was called "Belleville Avenue" until the early twentieth century.
Before the 1960s, the neighborhood was predominantly Italian. Today, the area is predominantly Puerto Rican, with a growing population from other parts of Latin America. The neighborhood is poor and there are many facilities that provide assistance and public housing to the indigent. Interestingly, Broadway is home to the oldest functioning synagogue in Newark, Ahavas Shalom. Currently, the New Jersey Jewish Museum is planned for the synagogue's second floor.
Landmarks in Broadway include Mt. Pleasant Cemetery and the neo-classical Mutual Benefit building constructed in 1927. The district has many old brownstones in various states of repair. There are high-rise apartment buildings overlooking Branch Brook Park. The New Jersey Historical Society was located here from the 1930s to 1997. The southern portion of the neighborhood is called Mount Pleasnt and is bounded by Arlington Ave and Herbert Place to the north, Mount Prospect Ave and Bloomfield Ave, Broadway and Broad St to the west, I-280 to the south and the Passaic River to the east. The area to the north bounded roughly by Mount Prospect Ave is often referred to as North Broadway and contains the old neighborhoods of North Newark, Woodside and Riverside (from north to south). The North End branch of the Newark Public Library is located in the Woodside/North Broadway neighborhood.
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Municipalities of Essex County, New Jersey (County Seat: Newark) |
|---|---|
| Boroughs | Caldwell | Essex Fells | Glen Ridge | North Caldwell | Roseland |
| Cities | East Orange | Newark |
| Towns | |
| Townships | Belleville | Bloomfield | Cedar Grove | City of Orange | Fairfield | Irvington | Livingston | Maplewood | Millburn | Montclair | Nutley | South Orange Village | Verona | West Caldwell | West Orange |
| Neighborhoods | Broadway | Downtown Newark | Fairmount | Forest Hill | Ironbound | Llewellyn Park | Roseville | Seventh Avenue | Short Hills | Springfield/Belmont | University Heights | Vailsburg | Weequahic |
