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| -The Ironbound |
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The Ironbound is a large working-class neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. This close-knit, multi-ethnic community covers approximately four square miles (10 km²). Historically, the area was called "Dutch Neck," "Down Neck," or simply "the Neck," because of the way the Passaic River curved to form what looked like a neck. Today, the neighborhood is sometimes referred to as "Little Portugal" or "New Jersey's Portugal" owing to its large Portuguese community.[1] The Ironbound is part of Newark's East Ward and is directly east of Penn Station and Downtown Newark, and south and west of the river.
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The name "Ironbound" was once said to have originated from the many forges and foundries that were found in this area during the latter half of the 19th century, however, the name probably came from the rail tracks that surrounded the area when the railroads were constructed during the 1830s.
The Ironbound was an industrial neighborhood in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Workers at Benjamin Moore paints, Ballantine Beer, the Murphy Varnish Company and Conmar Zippers lived next to railroad and port workers. The neighborhood was also home to Hensler's Beer Brewery and Pride of Newark ("P.O.N.") beer by the Feigenspan Brewery. The Ironbound was poorer than was the rest of Newark at that time. A legacy of that 19th century poverty can be seen in the neighborhood's architecture - there are very few brownstones or even brick-faced buildings in the district. The inhabitants were considered to be in such need of help that Protestant reformers established the Bethel Mission there in 1850. Today however the Ironbound is one of more affluent neighborhoods in Newark.
As it does today, the Ironbound had inhabitants of many ethnic groups in the 19th century, with Germans, Lithuanians, Italians, and Poles being prominent. Lithuanians built the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in 1894 and Trinity Church in 1902. St. Casimir's Church was founded under Polish auspices in 1908. As an example of the size of the German community in the Ironbound, prior to World War I, Wilson Avenue was called Hamburg Place.
Saloons were major meeting places for Ironbound workers in the era before radio and television. A 1912 survey found 122 saloons in the neighborhood. "The men, after eating a hasty supper in a dirty, crowded home or boarding house," a social worker noted, "quite naturally leave such unattractive surroundings to spend the evenings playing cards and drinking in a warm, well lighted saloon. Friends find it a convenient meeting place, work and wages are discussed, political arguments are frequent, and recent immigrants discover it an admirable school in which to learn English rapidly and gain an acquaintance with things American."
The Ironbound had a large African American population in the mid Twentieth century. Locally famous jazz singer Miss Rhapsody was born in the Ironbound. Sarah Vaughan grew up in Lincoln Park, but attended church at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church on Thomas Street.
In 1983, dangerous levels of dioxin were discovered at an abandoned chemical factory in Ironbound. Diamond Alkali Company was largely responsible for this pollution through their heavy production of Agent Orange between 1951 and 1969. The off-site cleanup was completed by 1986. In 1989 the site received a permanent impermeable cap. As recently as 1990, testing of fin and shell fish in Newark and Raritan bays and the Atlantic Ocean near Sandy Hook showed the highest levels of dioxin contamination that had ever been detected in potential human foods.
Today, the Ironbound is known for being a Portuguese neighborhood. Portuguese roots in the area run deep, with the first immigrants having arrived in the 1910s. By 1921 there was a large enough Portuguese population to found Sport Club Portuguese, the first of over twenty Portuguese social clubs that would call the Ironbound home. Every year, people flock to the annual Portuguese Festival, known as Portugal Day, "Dia de Portugal" (typically held the first or second weekend in June), an enormous celebration of Portuguese culture which attracts nearly half a million people, and within the past few years reaching even higher. To put this into perspective, fewer than 300,000 people live in all of Newark.
Galician Spanish immigrants also settled in the Ironbound. In the 1930s Spanish Catholics built elaborated catacombs underneath the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The catacombs are indeed underground, but instead of being real burial places, they are the depositories of lifelike wax effigies of saints and martyrs. The walls, ceilings, and floors of the catacombs are decorated with mosaics and murals. The church itself that is above the catacombs was built in the 1850s for a German Baptist congregation, an example of ethnic succession.
The great influx of Portuguese came in the latter part of the 1950s. Today, immigration from Portugal is practically nonexistent, but the Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) population is stable thanks largely to immigration from Brazil and several Lusophone countries in Africa, especially Cape Verde. There is the Portugal Day festival every June and a Brazilian festival in September. Brazilians and Portuguese are joined by immigrants from Ecuador and Mexico and a growing non-immigrant community working in New York City or Downtown Newark. The Brazilians have brought churrascaria restaurants, and schools for capoeira and samba music, to the neighborhood. The first capoeira academy in Newark, New Jersey Capoeira Arts Center, was founded by Mestre Cigano of Grupo Liberdade de Capoeira in 1996.
The Portuguese-language newspapers 24horas Portuguese Daily Newspaper, Brazilian Voice, Brazilian Press and Luso-Americano are published here.
The Ironbound avoided the economic decline of most of the rest of Newark for several reasons. First, the Ironbound was spared highway construction. Rather than going through the neighborhood, highways, such as Interstate 78 and the New Jersey Turnpike, went around it. The Ironbound was also spared construction of the massive public housing high-rises. The Ironbound did see some public housing construction, but it was low-rise and consistent with the fabric of the neighborhood.
Finally, the qualities of immigrant merchants, such as the Portuguese, should be given credit for the Ironbound's preservation. Many Portuguese-owned businesses— restaurants, cafes, bakeries, jewelers, sports clubs, grocery stores, and more— line or surround Ferry Street. In particular, the neighborhood is often visited by both Portuguese and non-Portuguese for its many well-known Portuguese, Spanish, and Brazilian restaurants. Additionally, the Ironbound has a vivacious night life and an increasing variety of bars and cocktail lounges.
The Ironbound is one of Newark's most vibrant neighborhoods. There are almost no vacant stores along Ferry Street, its commercial heart. The neighborhood has a mix of different home styles, from apartments in multifamily dwellings to single-family houses on small lots to two family homes. Many old industrial sites have been converted to modern detached townhouses.
Ironbound, 4 square miles (10,000,000 m2) large, is in the East Ward of Newark. Ironbound is east of Pennsylvania Station and is between the Newark Liberty International Airport and the Passaic River. Arthur Rosa, president of an area real estate firm named Rosa Agency, said in 2004 that 60% of the housing in Ironbound consists of two and three family houses. Rosa added that 15% consists of single family houses, and the rest of the housing consists of apartment buildings that each have four or more units.[2]
Newark Public Schools operates area schools. Six elementary and K-8 schools,
PK-8 schools serving Ironbound include Ann Street School, Hawkins Street School, Lafayette Street School, Oliver Street School In addition the pK-8 Wilson Avenue School which is considered to many to be one of the best schools in the city. and the K-5 South Street School serve Ironbound.[3][4] East Side High School serves Ironbound high school students. As of 2004 most of the elementary schools were built over 100 years prior to the time. In the 2000s, an increase in housing lead to an overcrowding of Ironbound-area schools. At the time the school district planned to replace several of the elementary schools and build a new east side high school in the former Ballantine brewery site.[5]
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark operates the Ironbound Catholic Academy, a PK-8 school in Ironbound.[5][6][7] As of 2004 many residents of Ironbound send their children to parochial schools.[5] Ironbound used to have two other Catholic elementary schools, including Academy of St. Benedict, a PreK-8 school, and St. Lucy Filippini Academy.[5][8] In 2005 the archdiocese announced that St. Casimir, St. Benedict, and St. Lucy Filippini would merge into the Ironbound Catholic Academy on the St. Casimir site.[8] There is also the Our Lady of Fatima Nursery, a Pre-K institution and one Portuguese Language School known at Escola Luis de Camões.
Newark Public Library's Van Buren Branch Library serves the Ironbound neighborhood. The library opened on September 23, 1923. A renovated and expanded branch opened on November 19, 1997.[9]
Ferry Street was named after the ferry that would travel between Newark and points east. In 1849, "The Newark Plank Road Company" was hired to fix the road with planks to provide a smoother form of travel. Ferry Street was then changed to "Plank Road." It was not completed within the fifty year charter that it was given to accomplish the work. A legal dispute occurred and the Hudson County section changed "Plank Road" to the Lincoln Highway while the Essex County section was changed back to "Ferry Street." Ferry Street and East Ferry Street were stations on the Newark and New York Railroad, which ran between the Broad Street terminal and Communipaw Terminal. Infrastructure for the route has been mostly removed, though portions of the bridge crossing the avenue remain.
Today, Ferry Street is the home to many small business owners. Some of these small businesses have been running since the 1930s. Restaurants, mini markets, and clothing stores are some of the types of businesses that offer their goods to the consumers. Ferry Street is the location for the Portuguese festival during the month of June. During Portugal Day Weekend, many people come out to celebrate the Portuguese-American culture. Ferry Street is also the location for most soccer fans to come and celebrate. Fans walk up and down the street while others decorate their cars and celebrate the victory of their soccer team. In September, there is also a Brazilian festival, although it does not always take place directly on Ferry Street. The night life is also of interest while people attend some of the bars that are located along the strip. Ferry Street is still well known throughout northern New Jersey and adds to Newark's popularity. In the 21st century, Ferry Street has been the site of Portuguese, Spanish, Brazilian, Ecuadorian, and Mexican restaurants and formerly one Cape Verdean club.
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