North Broad Street Historic District

North Broad Street Historic District

The North Broad Street Historic District consists of an urban residential neighborhood of eight rowhouses located in the North Ward of Newark. Seven of these rowhouses were built in the Renaissance Revival style and dressed with limestone while the last on the northern corner was built in the Queen Anne style with brownstone. This housing complex was constructed by the George Brown and Company, one of the most important firms in Newark concentrating in stone cutting and products. The street facade maintains a tripartite division of base, body and attic. The houses are three stories tall and are fronted by a brownstone porch with steps leading to individual entrances for each block. These stairs are separated by planted beds framed by brownstone retaining walls. The limestone-facade houses display an elegant image articulated by the rusticated ground floor, bare friezes and cornices that create a horizontal linear continuity across the blocks and enforce their unity. Some of these blocks stand out for their semi-hexagonal oriel windows and Michelangesque windows of scrolled bracket-supported pediments and bracket-supported sills. The bronwnstone corner house has a round bay culminating in a slate-covered conical roof. All these rowhouses, with their fine architectural detailing, contribute to the historical significance of this neighborhood.

1890-1893

extant

In the 19th century, the neighborhood of Woodside was flourishing and had become a prime real estate location appealing to Newark's wealthy class. The Mutual Benefit Life had its headquarters in this area before relocating in 1926 to Broadway. Later as the neighborhood deteriorated, the North Broad Street Historic District houses suffered from the general disinvestment. Fire damaged completely the interior of all the rowhouses, except for one, while the facades were preserved intact. Efforts were later made to renovate these houses and turn them into low income housing.

Files:

National Register of Historic Places, North Broad Street Historic District, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, National Register #96000813

Books:

Cunningham, John T. Newark. Newark, N.J: New Jersey Historical Society, 1966.

Gordon, Mark W., and Anthony Schuman, editors. Newark Landmark Treasures: A Guide to the Landmark Buildings, Parks, Public Art & Historic Districts in New Jersey’s Metropolis. Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee, 2016, p. 93-94.

Articles:

Lamb, Martha B. "Newark,"Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Oct. 1876, pp.  661-678.

Renaissance Revival

Queen Anne