A horse-drawn carriage travels on Broad Street in 1892

A horse-drawn carriage travels on Broad Street in 1892

Broad Street was laid out in 1666. At times the street has been referred to as Main Central and High Street as well as Broadway. But by 1790, it had come to be known by its present name. Originally it extended from Clay Street on the north to Chestnut Street on the south and was 132 feet wide. Paralleling it was East Back Street, today Mulberry Street, and West Back Street, now Washington Street. Crossing it in the middle was Market Street which formed the 'Four Corners.’ In the original street survey, two English-style commons or greens were laid out and today are Military and Washington parks. Lincoln Park on South Broad Street in the 18th century was still farmland and was to remain so until the 1830s. In its first two centuries, Broad Street was literally the most important part of Newark. Washington Park, first known as 'The Market Place,' was for a brief time the center of a small industrial development, and during the Revolutionary War was the site of the first Newark Academy. A large boulder marks its old location today.

1892

The Newark Public Library

The Newark Public Library

https://knowingnewark.npl.org/thoroughfare-offers-broad-view-of-history-in-downtown-newark/

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