A Walking Tour: Newark Broad Street
Thursday, December 15, 2011
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Market Street in Newark, NJ (Stephen Nessen/WNYC)
- Join the Discussion [12]
The central shopping district of Newark features of row of discount clothing stores, an off-brand fried chicken place and lots of beauty supply shops. Most of them hawk their wares with huge, brightly-colored plastic signs that stretch upwards two or three stories. But, peeking out from behind those signs, or towering above them, etched into the buildings are the names that represent Newark’s storied shopping past.
“You had huge department stores. The Haynes Department store, the Bamberger’s, were two of the largest,” said Adam Zipkin, deputy mayor for economic development in Newark. “You had S. Klein, and they were centers and attractions, not just for people living in Newark, but for the region.
Zipkin attended Seton Hall Law School in the 1980s and has worked and lived in Newark ever since. But his connection goes back even further. His parents were born and raised here, and his grandparents lived in Newark’s Weequahic neighborhood, once home to a large Jewish community.
Zipkin grew up hearing stories about shopping trips to Broad Street.
“In the 1920s, the intersection of Broad Street and Market Street was known as the busiest intersection at rush hour in the country, busier even than Times Square,” Zipkin said. “So it certainly has been an important retail district in the city for a long time.”
(Courtesy of the New Jersey Historical Society)
Broad Street storefronts now rent for about $15 a square foot. At the opposite end of the spectrum, storefronts on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan rent for $2,000 a square foot.
Newark lost half its population during the middle part of the 20th century, when new super highways, malls and desegregation of schools led to a white and middle class exodus out of the city.
But the low-rent discount stores on Broad Street serve the needs of many Newark residents.
“I’m just looking for sales,” said Jessica Flores, who was flipping through the clothing racks at Jackie’s Kids on Broad Street. “Pajamas are on sales, clothing are on sales. I got kids you know. Things are rough.”
The economic development plan for Newark focuses on converting empty office buildings into apartments. By bringing new residents downtown, city officials hope to encourage a wider mix of retail to Broad Street. But it remains to be seen if people will be drawn back to live in a neighborhood where stores’ main sellers are individual cigarettes out of the pack, wigs and discounted kids clothes.
Comments [12]
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i remember newark as it was in the 50's and even 60's. i worked at bambergers. its was a great place, i use to walk to work, lived on west market st. it was the center of attraction, we had eight movie theaters. now you risk your life if you go there. you young people will never know what a beautiful place it was. with all the urban renewal money the city received it still did not help.
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Hello to all,
My Name is Karriem, I was born an raised in this wonderful city called Newark.(aka)Brick City! it's a shame that Miss Nancy Solomon. would place a disrespectable! perspective on Our Great City. where Hundreds of actors were born raised & schooled as well. We are all intitled to our own opinions.but don't look at our shopping district under a Microscope.we invite you to Come eat,shop & Support our downtown vendor's.google downtown Newark and look at the Rebulding of Downtown Newark. We ask all who live,shop & work in our Great City. to please continue your much needed support to our Vendor's & business. In this great City Newark.
Peace!
Karriem North Newark.
I've been here all my life and still am. Downtown Newark is nothing, for the most part, but a bunch of junk stores and a haven for drug dealers, scam artists, sidewalk vendors that pay no rent and sell all bootleg items and of course, the pickpockets. Feel lucky if you shop there and you get in and out without some type of incident. It is what it is and it's very sad.
The same people who are degrading Newark's downtown shopping area are the same people who have not shopped in Newark for the past 20 years. These are the reasons why there are not more upscale shopping outlets. Come to the Devil's game & don't spend money nowhere except the arena. If you are not part of the soultion you are part of the problem. That is for those with the negative comments.
I think Nancy pretty much hit the nail on the head in this brief article. Only she was probably a little to generous to the area. Nothing but cluttered, down scale ghetto shops to serve the same down scale ghetto clientele that has brought Newark to it's knees.
Wow i know that Newark CSD is not great but i never knew that radio shack,
modells,urban terrain, foot locker,game stop,rainbow, gean's place, the childrens place, payless shoes, (which our all on broad and market) were discount stores. Nancy have you ever been to broad and market ? Or are you just bashing the brick city ? Downtown shopping in NWK is far from great but not every store in downtown is a wig shop or a dollar discount store so please get your facts straight !!!
First floor shops, nothing on floors above and all junk stores, this is not attracting anyone. Newark used to be a place where all the rich would come to shop, just think of the firriers and jewelers that used to be uptown. The area boomed until 8 or 9 o'clock at night, now it is filled with emptiness!
Adding to downtown Newark's former shopping greatness were Orbach's and Kresge's department stores and a bevy of boutique shops including haberdasheries, women's clothing stores and just about every other type of retail business. Lest we forget three first run movie houses, live theater and terrific eateries at all price points. "Downtown" was our destination on weekends and Broad and Market, our Times Square.
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