Eminem does Newark.
by Carly on Aug.01, 2010, under Newark Culture, Ruins
Although this is old news (by a few months, at least), I thought it would be appropriate to mention Newark’s recent starring role in Eminem’s newest music video, “Not Afraid”.
Newark’s tarnished elegance serves as a backdrop to Eminem’s hopeful, “look, I’m not addicted to prescription drugs anymore” tune. The Newark Paramount is featured prominently in the background as various Newarkers mill about. I thought it was pretty appropriate. If Detroit represents someone’s past mistakes, then Newark is a good step up (if we can get rid of the guys who openly sell drugs on the corner of Broad and Market, that is).
The Paramount is on my short list of urban ruins to profile. Funny how Newark’s ruins can bring this sort of pop culture recognition to the city.
DTG Field Trip: Eastern State Penitentiary (Philly)
by Carly on Aug.01, 2010, under Ruins
In late May, we took a trip to Philadelphia, PA. Along with enjoying fabulous company (hi, Kate and Adam!) and food (read: beer) we took time out to explore the Eastern State Penitentiary located in the heart of the city. ESP was the first modern prison in the fledgling United States, and became the model for dozens of prisons built after it. It also is a fine example of a preserved ruin in the heart of urban America.
The prison is left pretty much as-is, letting nature take its course on the paint, metal, and wood.
Justified questions come to mind – how can a city, especially one with fairly high rental prices and a large residential population downtown, justify letting a decaying structure occupy a huge swath of prime real estate, right on the edge of fancy-schmancy museum and historic districts? Wouldn’t the city be better served by tearing the thing down and building high-density condos? If this thing were on the edge of Brooklyn and near the subway, it would have been swept up and developed long ago (Flushing Meadows in Queens is an exception to this rule, probably because it is in city-owned parkland).
Philly is a huge, historic city with a booming tourism industry, like a slice of New York. However, Philly has room to breathe, to expand, much like Newark. Philly residents also took care of the property, and the city did a reasonably good job at securing it. There was even a guy who routinely came into the compound to feed the stray cats that congregated there for years. An art installment featuring cement “ghost cats” is scattered throughout the site to commemorate that time period.
There is an abandoned jail right here in the middle of Newark (follow the link – the photos are fantastic). Granted, it is not as historically important as Eastern State, but it has some nice bones. It makes me wonder if it could ever be converted into a small urban tourism site, or at least secured and cleaned up for future re-use. I’m making a mental note to visit the jail and do some research.
South Park Presbyterian Church
by Carly on Jun.07, 2010, under Ruins
Might as well start by cataloging the ruins close to home.
This structure dominates the South Broad Street area near Lincoln Park and causes many a visitor/new transplant to remark: what the hell is that?
Front facade of South Park Presbyterian Church, as seen from Broad Street.
Turns out “that” is the remnants of a burned-out Greek Revival-style church, the South Park Presbyterian Church.
via OldNewark.Com, Library of Congress image
The church was completed in 1855 for a total cost of $27,000 (I know, right? Some folks in Newark pay more than that in yearly rent). Shortly after the church was opened, Abraham Lincoln gave some short remarks on the front steps of the church. After President Lincoln’s untimely encounter with a disgruntled Shakespearean actor, Newark renamed the adjacent park “Lincoln Park” because of his short visit to the church.
Like many other Presbyterian churches of the time, South Park Presbyterian Church was involved in combating both the evils of drunkenness and betting on the ponies. It was also more progressive than many other churches of its day, being one of the first in Newark to invite black ministers to preach. Over time, the focus and congregation of the church changed – it became a Pentecostal establishment focused on helping the homeless, giving out free meals and clothing. The free clothing came from open racks that lined “the Mall”, located on the sidewalk of the adjacent block of Lincoln Park. Now, that sidewalk is lined by a sketchy, buggy SRO hotel and a burned-out duplex that is half-populated with feral cats. Racks of abandoned clothing might just add to the ambiance.
Sapling growing from the ruin.
The church experienced problems throughout its history. On November 23, 1902, the congregation was evacuated when a “sinking sensation” was felt during a wedding ceremony, and the church was braced with timbers. A cat got into the ventilation system and decomposed, “so nauseating did the stench become that many were made sick, and finally everyone in the building made a rush for the street”. Over time, the second level of the towers was removed, probably due to structural issues. Eventually, the entirety of the church was declared unsound In 1989, and the owners were unwilling to undertake the massive costs necessary to stabilize the structure. The Presbyterian Church, which still owned the building, evicted the Pentecostals, exacerbating the rifts and distrust between the two sects. The building sat empty until 1992, when it caught fire. After the fire, the remaining interior structure of the church was demolished, leaving only the front facade.
Stained glass melted from the fire.
There has been talk of converting the church into a Smithsonian Museum of African-American Music, but those plans seem to have vaporized. The Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District has touted the facade in their photo opportunities and news articles for years, but the most that has been done so far is some scaffolding work. On a positive note, we recently noticed that the Brick City Urban Farms program is coming back to Lincoln Park (which, coincidentally enough, was founded by a fellow College of Wooster grad). They are setting up their operations right behind the church facade. And just a few months ago, Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield pledged nearly half a million dollars to restore the facade.
Brick City Urban Farms
Hopefully we will see a significant amount of preservation work as a result of the grant. It’s easy to be skeptical of restoration projects, in light of the Krueger Mansion tragedy. But, we’ll keep our fingers crossed. In the meantime, we can count on fresh summertime produce.
Sources:
City and Suburban News, New York Times, January 22, 1883 (PDF)
Great Rally in Newark – Three Thousand Persons Listen to Anti Race-Track Speeches, New York Times, November 6, 1893 (PDF)
Church Braced With Timbers – Presbyterian Trustees Alarmed by Sinking Sensation During Newark Wedding, New York Times, November 24, 1902 (PDF)
“Newark Ministry to Homeless is Losing its Home”, New York Times, January 8, 1989
Reviving a Pillar of Newark – ‘Heartbreaking Ruin’ to Become a Grand Gateway, Newark Star-Ledger, July 31, 2008
http://www.newarkhistory.com/southpark.html
http://www.oldnewark.com/churches/denoms/presbyterian/southparkpres.htm
http://www.horizon-bcbsnj.com/news_room/news_releases/article.html?id=23481
“The Lottery”
by Andrew on Jun.07, 2010, under Education
This week, a new documentary opens that illustrates the fight for poor urban families to enroll their children into good schools. “The Lottery,” a film by Madeleine Sackler, started when Ms. Sackler witnessed thousands of families packed into a small auditorium to enter their children into a lottery drawing in hopes they would be admitted at the Harlem Success Academy, a charter school in Harlem.
The film follows a few families through their struggle to find a place for their children to get a good education, and exposes the kind of stupid politics that screws up public schools and keep kids in poor neighborhoods down.
Here’s a piece from the WSJ editorial blogs:
These are parents who don’t have the means to move to a richer neighborhood with better public schools, so instead they have to rely on luck. When demand for a charter school exceeds supply, the random drawing is required by law. Some schools inform parents by mail, but Harlem Success holds a public lottery. “Harlem Success is very explicit about why they do it,” Ms. Sackler says. They want to show demand. “I’ve heard them say to parents ‘We hope that you’ll come and show that this is something that you want. Because if you don’t, we’re not going to get more schools.’”
Our own Mayor Cory Booker makes an appearance in the film.
In the film, Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker says he can’t go to lotteries anymore because they break his heart. “A child’s destiny should not be determined on the pull of a draw.” Nothing drives home this point more than seeing the parents and kids, perched at the edge of their chairs, hoping their names flash on the big screen.
See additional comments by Mayor Booker HERE.
I believe that education is really the first and strongest priority if we want to defeat the factors that keep cities like Newark in the dark. If kids stay in school and build hope for a better future for themselves and their families, they are much less likely to fall prey to the double-edged promises of brotherhood, profit, and danger offered by gangs or fall into the near hereditary cycle of drug use, underage pregnancy, abuse and violence that follows so many families.
Places like Harlem Success Academy have a solid program and an agenda to do good. Support “The Lottery” and take the time to see what schools are like in your community. Public and charter schools alike need the support of the parents and neighbors.
“The Lottery” is playing at Big Cinemas on E. 59th in Manhattan this weekend.
Detox the Ghetto.
by Carly on Jun.06, 2010, under Uncategorized
Offensive? Maybe. Relevant? Definitely.
Our title comes from a piece of artwork atop a building in the Ironbound. In short, it sums up Newark’s plight and potential – Newark has become a ghetto through depopulation, after decades of segregation. Newark was a center of industry and culture until the middle of the 20th century, when it began it’s decline fueled by a variety of factors, culminating in the riots of 1967. As the income base moved out of Newark, the urban decay set in.
A bit of internet digging revealed that the mural was painted by Jerry Gant, a renowned artist who formerly lived in the subject building. Internet digging also revealed a discussion by white supremacists about a supposed lawsuit arising from the graffiti, but they are just assholes, and it’s not worth believing a single thing they say, anyways.
We think Newark has a lot of great potential. We don’t want to see it whitewashed and overpriced (like Hoboken) or a soulless suburb full of WASPs. Clean out the gangs, the drugs, and the guns, give it a good scrub and a coat of paint. A detox, if you will. Attract folks who will contribute to the city’s income base and make it a diverse, mixed-income, self-sustaining city. Encourage people to pick up their damn trash instead of treating Newark like a dumpster. Of course, none of this will get done unless someone is willing to speak up. As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. And we’re perfectly willing to be the squeaky wheel for the benefit of Newark.
Taken by Flickr user “david sine” (who has some utterly fantastic film photography, BTW). We will add our own image soon as soon as we are able to get a good shot.
Testing, Testing… 1 2 3 Testing.
by Andrew on Jun.06, 2010, under Uncategorized
Is this thing on? Hello?
Newark, New Jersey, 2010. There are layers upon layers of history here. From the original Puritan settlers to the riots in the 1960s, there have been tremendous changes in this city. In the past, it looks like the city thrived, built, rebuilt, and moved on each time a major shift occurred. Since the 1960s, though, there are more abandoned and crumbling old buildings than new construction. Almost the entire downtown is uninhabited above the 1st or 2nd storey of each building. Monuments burned down, leaving only their skeletal facades to be wondered at.
We see decay, but also history, and potential for the future. Right now, we just want to catalog and archive some of these great old buildings, so we can get a sense of what has been before. Eventually, maybe we’ll see what is being done to restore, preserve, or condemn them.
Keep in touch.
