As part of my tour of Historic Bars and Pubs on Day One Hundred and Thirteen with the Cornell Club on May 9th, 2018, we toured the famous ‘Stone Street’ one of the original paved streets of Manhattan. You will not find architecture or pavings like this left in New York City. Here and there are streets or buildings that represent these times during the early to mid-1800’s but they are few and scattered in remote spots all over the island. Here the street still represents a different era of Manhattan.
The stores in the 90’s had been either boarded up or were used but in horrible shape. During the business hours not too many people inhabited this area of Lower Manhattan and it was ignored. The neighboring South Street Seaport was being transformed in the mid 80’s into a type of historic theme park and entertainment center by the Rouse Corporation. It put these old neighborhoods back into vogue and people started to return again.
Over time, especially after 9/11 and the changes in downtown Manhattan, the street is now home to many trendy bars and restaurants and a hang out for the downtown business crowd. During the recent walking tour, the place was hopping with people spilling out of restaurants, ordering drinks during happy hour and eating pizza at the local pizzeria.
During ‘Happy Hour’ after work, the place is mobbed with people milling around having a good time. The tables toward the end of the street are filled with tourists taking pictures and at one end of the street is the famous “India House” and at the other is the Frances Tavern where George Washington gave his troops his farewell address.
Stone Street’s India House
It is not only a historical neighborhood but loaded with things to see and do. The buildings which were once in horrible shape have been brought back to life and repositioned to use for the meals and entertainment. It is interesting to see how a neighborhood comes back in full circle in a 150 years.
The Stone Street dining area in the warmer months.
History of the area:
Stone Street is a short street in Manhattan’s Financial District. It originally ran from Broad Street to Hanover Square but was divided into two sections by the construction of the Goldman Sachs building at 85 Broad Street in the 1980’s. Today the cluster of historic buildings along Stone, South William, Pearl Streets and Coenties Alley form the Stone Street Historic District.
The area burned during the Fire of 1835
Stone Street is one of New York’s oldest streets. It was originally known by its Dutch name, Hoogh Staet (High Street). In 1632, the Dutch West India Company built the first commercial brewery in North America there. Around 1656, Hoogh Straet was shifted about twenty to twenty-five feet to align it with Brouwer Street, the extension of Hoogh Straet west of the Gracht and which in 1658 became the first paved street in Nieuw Amsterdam. Following the British conquest of the colony, the name Hoogh Straet was translated to High Street. It was then called Duke Street for the Duke of York during most of the 18th century. Leveled in 1771 and 1790, it was renamed Stone Street in 1794 because of it’s cobblestone paving as New Yorkers abandoned reminders of British Rule.
The Fire of 1835
The street’s stores and loft were built for dry-goods merchants and importers, shortly after the Great Fire of 1835, which destroyed many remnants of New Amsterdam. Most buildings were used as storage. The building at 57 Stone Street was rebuilt in 1903 by C.P.H, Gilbert in Dutch Colonial Revivial architecture at the behest of the owner, Amos F. Eno as son of Amos R. Eno. The buildings to the back on South William 13-23 also were reconstructed in the Dutch revival style, evoking New Amsterdam.
Stone Street at night
Today is a busy series of bars and restaurants.
Following many decades of neglect, a joint partnership between the Landmarks Preservation Commission and other city agencies, the Alliance for Downtown New York and Stone Street owners has transformed Stone Street from a derelict back alley into one of Downtown’s liveliest scenes. Restored buildings, granite paving, bluestone sidewalks and period lights set the stage for the half dozen restaurants and cafes, whose outdoor tables are very popular on warm summer nights.
The eastern portion of the street and the surrounding buildings have been protected since 1996 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as the Stone Street Historic District and is pedestrian only. The historic district is now populated by several restaurants and bars and has a outdoor dining when the weather permits. The India House historic landmark is located at the Hanover Square end of the street.
(This information was taken directly from Wikipedia and I give them full credit)
Admission: $5.00 for Adults/$3.00 for Seniors & Students/Children under 12 are free/General Admission is free on Wednesdays. Guided and group tours are available.
The entrance of the Van Cortlandt House decorated for the Revolutionary era Christmas
I visited the Van Cortlandt House Museum for the their Annual Christmas Decorated House event. The mansion was decorated for Christmas in the 1700’s so it was not overdone as it would during the Victorian times. The front of the house entrance was done with sprays of holly, mistletoe above the door and garlands of pine around the banister and fireplaces. The windows had candles in them and the dining room was set for Christmas luncheon in post-Revolutionary War era.
Van Cortlandt House for Christmas is Post-Revolutionary War in 2019
The entrance hall welcomes you to a Revolutionary era holiday season
While most of the house is represented during the Dutch era with floors with no rugs, vintage furniture and decorations and the second and third floors are set for family entertainment. The first floor is set for entertaining for the holidays with the formal dining room, family parlor and the formal living room for games and dancing. The formal dining room was the only room decorated post-Revolutionary War era.
Van Cortlandt Mansion at Christmas 1800’s
The current entrance to the house from the back of the building
Until the Victorian era, Christmas was a more religious affair with church service in the morning and luncheon in the afternoon. Things were formal and less elaborate. The acts of gift giving, sleigh rides, tree decorating and card giving came during the affluence of Queen Victoria’s reign in the post Civil-War era. This is the reason why the house is decorated so simply and elegantly.
Dining Room set for Christmas lunch circa 1780’s
In 2019, the site celebrated the holidays with a Sinterklaas, a Dutch Christmas celebration, a candlelight tour and a reading from Santa Claus. Please check their website for more information on future events. The house was closed for most of the COVID years and nothing had been planned. The house was open in December of 2022 for touring again for the holidays but was not decorated as much as in the past.
In 2022, when the house reopened after a long period of COVID, the self-guided tours were back and you could tour the house at your own pace ($5.00 donation) and tour the three floors of furnished rooms. You can see how the family lived from the three generations that lived in the residence.
The tour starts at the front hallway where guests would be received for formal affairs and for business meetings with the head of the household.
You would be greeted by servants at the entrance of the home
On either side of the front hallway is the East and West Parlors where you would be directed where the family would receive you. The West Parlor would have been used for business calls and more informal meetings when meeting with the Van Cortlandt family. The family’s wealth would be on display with fine furniture, china and bric-a-brac that would show off the family’s merchant roots and business.
The West Parlor
The West Parlor decorated for Christmas
The East Parlor on the other side of the entranceway would have been used for more formal affairs. The East Parlor is where the family would formally entertain guests with dancing, music and card playing. This is where long evenings of entertaining would take place and the family would enjoy their holiday celebrations.
The East Parlor
The East Parlor decorated for the Christmas holidays
The Dining Room was toward the back of the hallway and was decorated in the Empire Design of the late 1700’s to early 1800’s. The look is very similar to styles used today and the wallpaper is a copy from one of the styles used by the family that was imported in from France. The table was set for Christmas luncheon circa the late 1780’s.
The Dining Room
The Dining Room at the Van Cortlandt House
There are two sets of stairs to the second level of the house where the family bedrooms were located. There was the formal stairs and then there was the stairs that the servants used to go from floor to floor so that they would not be seen.
The steps upstairs to the second floor
On the second floor of the home are the bed chambers of the family. The main bedrooms for the family were located here and then the nursery and servants quarters were located on the Third floor of the home.
The West Chamber:
The bedroom
The ‘Washington Bedroom’ in the Van Cortlandt House
The East Chamber Bedroom:
The Bedroom:
The Landing of the stairs to the third floor lead to the Nursery, an additional guest room and the enslaved servants quarters. These were kept out of site from the other members of the household. It is a reminder of the pecking order of the household and the conditions that people lived under at this time.
The Second Floor Landing leads to the nursery and servants quarters
The Dutch Chamber was formerly a guest room that is used to show life in early Colonial New York City:
The Dutch Chamber:
The Dutch Chamber shows early life in Colonial America
The Second Floor Setup:
The Nursery:
The nursery set up room:
The servants quarters were to the back of the house and were not the most glamorous place to live in the house. There were drafty and not insulated. The amount of time a servant would be here would have been minimal.
The servants quarters:
The servants quarters:
History of the Van Cortlandt’s:
The Van Cortlandt House Museum, also known as Fredrick Van Cortlandt House or Van Cortlandt House, is the oldest surviving building in New York City’s borough of The Bronx. The Georgian style house, begun in 1748, was build of fieldstone by Fredrick Van Cortlandt (1699-1749) on the plantation that had been owned and farmed by his family since 1691. Fredrick intended the house to be a home for him and his wife, Francis Jay and daughters, Anna Maria, 14 and Eve, 13. His sons, Augustus, 21 and Fredrick, 19, were not intended to be permanent residents of the house.
Sadly, Fredrick died before the new house was completed. In his will written in 1759, Fredrick left the house to his son, James Van Cortlandt (1726-1781) and a lifetime tenancy to his widow, Francis Jay Van Cortlandt (1701-1780).
The Van Cortlandt House gardens in the Summer
The Van Cortlandt’s were a mercantile family prominent in New York affairs. Fredrick’s father, Jacobus, established a thriving wheat growing and processing business on the plantation including a grist mill for processing the wheat into flour and a fleet of shallow draft boats to carry the flour from the south end his lake down Tibbet’s Brook and out to the Harlem and Hudson Rivers to market. During the Revolutionary War, the house was used by Rochambeau, Lafayette and Washington.
(From History of Van Cortlandt House and Museum)
In 1887, after 140 years of occupancy by the Van Cortlandt family and the community of plantation workers, the property was sold to the City of New York and made a public parkland. Before the house became a museum, it saw a variety of uses including as a temporary police precinct house and as a dormitory for ranch hands responsible for taking care of a herd of buffalo.
Van Cortlandt House historic marker
By 1895, The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York expressed their interest in restoring the house as a museum open to the public. There was only one obstacle keeping the Colonial Dames from this important project, there was no provision in the New York State Law allowing the stewardship of a publicly owned building by a private organization. Undaunted, the first Society President, Mrs. Townsend, took the Society’s cause to Albany where on May 22, 1896 in the 199th session of the New York Legislature, Chapter 837 was approved by the governor and passed by a 3/5 majority to become law.
The Van Cortlandt House dollhouse
After nearly a year if repairs and restoration, Van Cortlandt House Museum was opened to great fanfare on May 25th of 1897. The original license agreement grained custody of the house to the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York for a period of 25 years at a ‘peppercorn’ rent of $1.00 per year. Although the Society no longer pays the city rent, they remain, to this day as dedicated to Van Cortlandt House as they were in 1896.
Van Cortlandt Park in the Summer Months
In 1967, Van Cortlandt House was added to the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967. The house was declared a New York City Landmark on March 15, 1966, recognizing the historic and architectural importance of both the exterior and interior.
(From the Van Cortlandt House Museum NSCDNY)
The Van Cortlandt House gardens during the winter of 2022
Hours: There are free house tours at 10:30am, 12:00pm and 1:30pm on Mondays only. Check their website for availability. This is one of the few rare treats of New York if you can snare one of the tours of Gracie Mansion. It is a really interesting tour of the first floor rooms and entrance to the gardens of this historic home and the Mayor of New York City’s residence.
This was really a wonderful tour of the mansion given by a woman who has been a docent for twenty years and has seen the changes of the administrations. We went room by room and discussed how the Gracie’s then the Wheaton’s and the other families who lived here use the house until Robert Moses, the great City Planner, decided this should become the Mayor’s residence.
The front of the mansion at the start of the tour in the Summer of 2025
The formal gardens in front of the house in full bloom
The formal gardens to the side of the house near the parking lot
We started the tour on the front porch of the old Gracie Mansion
The tour consists of the first floor only and you can not take pictures inside with the exception of the Wagner Ballroom. We saw the formal entrance, the Living Room, Library, Dining Room and then the hallway leading to the front of the house to the Susan Wagner Ballroom, the newest extension of the house (the front section is the original section of the home built during the Gracie period).
The front rooms you are not allowed to take pictures so as you tour the Living Room, the Dining Room and Parlor rooms, you can not take pictures. When we left the older section of the home and entered the hallway to the Susan Wagner Ballroom added in the Wagner Administration, then you could take pictures in this room only (outside the gardens).
The inside of the Susan Wagner Ballroom
The Chandelier in the ballroom was from an old mansion downtown
The Bayard Fireplace from the Bayard Mansion once located in lower Manhattan
The Wagner Ballroom details
History of the Mansion and Gracie Family:
Gracie Mansion, built in 1799 by shipping merchant Archibald Gracie, is the last of the elegant county estates that once lined Manhattan’s East River shore. Gracie hosted elegant dinner parties at his country estate for visitors including Alexander Hamilton, Rufus King, Joseph Bonaparte and Washington Irving.
Major losses during the years after the War of 1812 forced Gracie to sell his estate in 1823 to Joseph Foulke. In 1857, the Mansion was bought by Noah Wheaton. After Wheaton’s death in 1896, the City of New York appropriated the estate, incorporating ts 11 acres of grounds into the surrounding park that was renamed Carl Schurz Park in 1910.
After years as a comfort station and ice cream stand, Gracie Mansion became the first home of the Museum of the City of New York. When the museum moved to a larger building, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses convinced City Authorities to designate the Mansion as the official residence of the Mayor. In 1942, Fiorello H. La Guardia moved into Gracie Mansion.
In 1966, the Mansion was enlarged with the construction of the Susan E. Wagner Wing, which includes a ballroom and two additional rooms. Under the guidance of the Gracie Mansion Conservatory, major restorations to the Mansion were undertaken between 1981 and 1984 and in 2002.
The 2002 restoration transformed Gracie Mansion into the “People’s House” and increased accessibility to the public and City agencies. First Lady Rosalyn Carter and South African President Nelson Mandela are among the many notable visitors.
Gracie Mansion at the turn of the last century
Gracie Mansion is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, operated by the Gracie Mansion Conservatory and is a member of the Historic House Trust.
(Gracie Mansion Pamphlet)
Gracie Mansion Conservatory:
After years of neglect and continual erosion of any trace of history, Mayor Edward I. Koch and founding Chair Joan K. Davison, established the Gracie Mansion Conservatory in 1981. as a public./private partnership.. Under its guidance, the first major restoration of the house was undertaken between 1981 and 1984. Besides creating a connection between the original house and the Wagner Wing, this effort included the display of art, furniture and decorative objects either purchased or more often, lent by the City’s many cultural institutions. The Charter mandate of the Conservatory was not to seal the residence in the past (especially as there is no record of how it originally appeared inside) but to protect its history while accommodating change and progress by successive generations of New Yorkers.
The Gracie Mansion Conservatory continues to operate as a charitable organization dedicated to enhancing and enlivening its namesake. Its mission is to preserve and honor Gracie Mansion’s Federal Period origins while also making sure it remains as forward-looking and welcoming as the city it serves. An increasing share of this work focuses on exploring the many different people and cultures whose contributions to Gracie Mansion and the New York at large gone unrecognized for far too long. The Conservatory also works to improve the surrounding landscape and gardens and provide public programming and educational services, including publications and tours for local school students, especially those studying in New York State’s 7th grade social studies curriculum.
(Gracie Mansion Conservatory pamphlet)
Disclaimer: This information was taken from the Gracie Mansion Conservatory pamphlet press kit given on my tour and I give the Conservatory full credit for it. Please check the website for tour information or call them to find out about group tours.
I have visited Branch Brook Park many times over the past thirty years and during the Annual Cherry Blossom the park is especially nice. The City of Newark still has the reputation as a rough place and parts of the City I still would not like to walk around in after dark (as are all cities). Branch Book is separated from the rest of the City and sits on the border of Newark sharing the park with the town of Belleville.
The Cherry Blossoms were in peak blooming today
The Cherry Blossom Festival, which takes place every Spring with the coming of the blooming of all of the Cherry Trees which cover the whole length of the park, is always anticipated by people all over the State of New Jersey. They bloomed a little late this year due to the unseasonably cold weather this year. It was snowing up to two weeks earlier so the buds opened later this year. In come cases, the peak of the blossoms came about two weeks late.
The Cherry Blossom Festival at Branch Brook Park goes on for the two weeks of the blooming of the trees
It was well worth it as spread over thirty two acres of land are over 2,000 cherry trees that bud every year at slightly different times due to the different species of plants. You day will start in the park at the Visitor’s Welcome Center located in the eastern section of the park, where you will read about the history of the park and have a chance to check into the activities of the annual Festival or just relax and go to the bathroom. The Visitor’s Center has just been renovated and is a nice starting point to walk around the park during the festival. There is a lot of public parking in this area and your car will be safe with all the people walking around.
The park was awash with colors
Walking among the paths of blossoming Cherry Trees is quite spectacular. It is Mother Nature showing here best with all sorts of hues of light and dark pink. It is something to walk around the trees as the petals in some cases rain down on you. Because the Festival is such a tradition with visitors some even wear their kimono’s or their wedding gowns in the park for pictures.
Walking along the stream that runs through the park
The park is in the process of a decade long renovation after years of neglect. The Branch Brook Park Alliance in partnership with Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, is working to restore the park’s historic design and adapt it to today’s lively use. Our park holds claim to many firsts: America’s first county park opened to the public; first to be listed on both the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places and the first to surpass Washington DC in the number and variety of cherry trees (Branch Brook Park Alliance).
Cherry Blossom Festival in Branch Brook Park Newark, NY 2010
Completed projects set the stage for the park’s full restoration. The County has refurbished historic bridges, renovated the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center and created the Cherry Tree Memorial Grove to promote the “Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure”. Extensive plantings of cherry trees, soon to number 4,000, complement the park’s 78 other tree varieties. Restoration of historic sites include the Octagon Shelter and park entrance ways (Branch Brook Park Alliance).
The views by the steam were especially beautiful in 2023
In 2022, the warmer weather that has been coming in earlier in the month keeps moving the blooming up a few weeks. The cherry blossoms seem to be flowering in the three main areas I visited, Newark, Brooklyn and Washington DC came out almost two weeks earlier than usual. With all the rains that we have had in the last three weeks have also done a number on the trees. Most lost their petals earlier than their planned festivals so even in DC they had their cherry blossom festival without cherry blossoms. When I came home from that celebration, even Newark was looking bare compared to my quick trip last weekend when you could not even enter the park. I think more people in these COVID days want to communicate with nature more than ever.
People were taking pictures by this spot for their weddings and parties
The Branch Brook Park lawn later in the day
When I visited the park in 2023, the place was mobbed with people. The Cherry Blossoms were at their full peak on April 8th, 2023 and I had never seen them this brilliant before. They were gorgeous and such colors of pink, white deep pink and the brilliant yellows from other flowering trees really complimented one another. Walking along the paths through this part of the park was a delight to the eyes.
The brilliance of the flowering trees
The only problem I saw was the visitors behavior towards the trees. People were climbing on the trees, pulling on the branches and tearing off the cherry blossoms. Either it is all the tourism classes that I am taking at NYU or I just am really noticing how obnoxious people are getting. There was so little respect towards nature. People were disrupting the very thing everyone came to see.
The Cherry Blossom Festival signs lined the park
Still I had a wonderful time and it was nice day to walk around and enjoy Branch Brook Park. It was just disappointing when the skies got cloudy and it got a little cooler. That did not stop people from lining the paths, walking their dogs and just enjoying the day out. I have never seen the park this vibrant before!
There was a nice crowd this afternoon at the park
I was able to sneak out of the park for lunch and go to Pizzatown Pizzeria in Newark for lunch. This old pizzeria has been around since about the 1960’s and has the most amazing cheese pizza. I got for a slice when I am visiting the park. The restaurant is a holdover when this was still an Italian enclave (it is now more Spanish) but still popular with the locals.
Pizzatown Pizzeria & Restaurant at 883 Mount Pleasant Avenue in Newark, NJ
The place is really full of character and the best part is that the pizza is delicious! I always enjoy coming here for lunch or a snack. I had a slice of Sicilian pizza ($3.50) and a Coke and at $4.50 is was a reasonable lunch. This in comparison with the food trucks in the park which are much more expensive. I highly recommend it.
The Sicilian slice at Pizzatown in Newark, NJ
The inside of the restaurant is so old that is looks retro
I like the painting on the restaurant. It’s classic.
It was a nice lunch and it gave me the energy to continue walking the length of the park further than I had before. Talk about getting some get pictures. As it got later, the crowds thinned out a bit more so there was more room to take some great shots.
It was a wonderful afternoon!
Branch Brook Park in its prime
The History of Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ:
The Cherry Blossom Display at Essex County Branch Brook Park:
In 1928, Caroline Bamberger Fuld, after seeing the cherry trees in the Nation’s Capital, offered a gift of 2000 trees for Essex County Branch Brook Park. To showcase the park’s newly acquired Extension, the renowned Olmsted Brothers landscape architectural firm created a planting design using dark evergreen trees as a backdrop for the mix of white and pink cherry blossoms from varieties such as Higan, Yoshino and Kwanzan (Branch Brook Alliance).
The entrance to Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ
After a 2004 inventory showed 1.000 cherry trees remaining, an ongoing initiative to replace and expand the collection was undertaken by Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. and the Branch Brook Alliance. By 2016, the number of cherry trees was expanded to over 5,000. Cherry trees in 27 varieties now adorn all sections of the park, from the Southern Division at Clifton Avenue in Newark to the park’s Extension at Washington Avenue in Belleville (Branch Brook Park Alliance).
The History of Branch Brook Park (Branch Brook Park Alliance):
1862: The land we know now as Branch was then the property of the Newark Aqueduct Board. Much of that land was commandeered in July of 1862, at the outbreak of the Civil War; known as Camp Frelinghuysen, it was used as a training ground for New Jersey volunteers. Between 1862 and 1864, six regiments encamped there before fighting in every important battle from Antietam to Appomatox.
1867: The New Jersey State Legislature authorized a Newark Park Commission, with a mandate to locate grounds for a municipal park. Fredrick Law Olmsted, the famed landscape architect and designer of Central Park in New York, visited Newark and Essex County and recommended a site encompassing what is now Branch Brook Park, Olmsted and his partner, Calvert Vaux, envisioned Branch Brook Park to be a “grand central park” for the City of Newark. They understood that American cities of the 19th Century were growing quickly and changing rapidly. The parks they designed embodied their view that all people, regardless of their position in society, were entitled to fresh air, quiet places and the beauty that only nature can provide.
The colors were amazing in April of 2023
1889: The Newark Common Council donated 60 acres of the Aqueduct Board property surrounding the circular holding reservoir to “park use”. Known as Reservoir Park, the land was left undeveloped. Much of the surrounding neighborhoods were crowded with bleak, unhealthy tenements. To the north lay a dismal march known as Old Blue Jay Swamp.
1895: The Essex County Park Commission was formed to enable the creation of a county-wide park system, the first in the nation. The City of Newark transferred Reservoir Park, which would become the nucleus of Branch Brook Park to the Commission at ta cost of $350,687. The surrounding properties were acquired by the County while donations of land from prominent Newark families extend the park northward. The Ballantine Family donated 32 acres of their property and another 50 acres were given by Z.M. Keene, William A. Righter and the Messrs. Heller. John Bogart and Nathan Barrett were chosen to provide plans and advise on the development of the park. Their design was gardenesque in style, dominated by the geometrically patterned gardens and numerous architectural elements including arbors, viaducts, gazebos and shelters that shaped the park’s Southern Division.
The drive in the entrance of the park
1896: Demolition and grading began following Bogart and Barrett’s plans.
1898: Dissatisfied with Bogart and Barrett’s work, the Commission hired the Olmsted Brothers firm; John Charles Olmsted and Fredrick Law Olmsted Jr. were Fredrick Law Olmsted Sr’s nephew/stepson and son. While their work continued that naturalistic style of landscape design championed by their father, in Branch Brook Park, they were required to incorporate the elements of Bogart and Barrett’s plan that had already been constructed. This led to the Olmsted firm’s design concept consisting of three divisions: the Southern, from Sussex Avenue to Park Avenue, incorporating the elaborate ‘gardenesque’ elements from Bogart and Barrett’ the middle from Park Avenue to Bloomfield Avenue, which would be a transitional zone, mixing the exotic with the indigenous and as the culmination, the Northern Division, the largest and most naturalistic area of the park.
The views were spectacular in April of 2023
1900: The first Chrysanthemum Show was held in the newly constructed greenhouse in the Northern Division. This annual event brought thousands to the park every fall until 1969.
1903: The United Singing Societies donated the bust of composer Felix Mendelssohn they won in Baltimore, MD at that year’s ‘saengerfest’, the annual, nationwide German singing competition that generated excitement comparable to today’s Super Bowl.
1906: The gran boathouse, designed by the firm of Rossiter and Wright, was added to the southern end of the lake, replacing an earlier structure.
The crowds were large in April 2023
1916: The Essex County Park System build its Administration Building on the parkland that had been set aside to provide a view from Concourse Hill. Designed by New Jersey native Harold Van Buren Magonigle, the exterior has eight different shades of coarse-textured terra brick and expensive terra cotta reliefs especially notable around the main entrance. Under the wide overhang of the tile roof are colorful, allegorical decorations executed by Mrs. Edith Magonigle.
1924: Industrialist and philanthropist Harmon W. Hendricks, owner of a copper rolling mill on the Second River, donated his family home and the adjoining 23 acres to the north of Branch Brook Park. An additional 94 acres were acquired by the county to link Hendricks Field Golf Course and Belleville Park in an unbroken swath of green. This land included what was the first landing site for the U.S. Postal Service where bi-winged airplanes landed on a short field with bales of hay rimming the end of the runway to prevent accidents.
One of the side paths in April 2023
1927: Caroline Bamberger Fuld donates 2,000 Japanese flowering cherry trees to a display in Newark that would rival that in Washington DC. The Olmsted Brothers’ firm laid out the trees naturalistically on the tiered slopes along the narrow valley of the Second River, evoking the way the trees would be seen in Japan and distinguishing Branch Brook Park’s display from all others. Eventually the collection would grow to more than 3,000 trees.
1928: The Morris Canal that ran from Jersey City to the Delaware River and formed the park’s western boundary was abandoned and became the Newark City Subway. Now Newark Light Rail, there are six stops along the park that provide easy access by mass transit.
1940: The Rossiter and Wright boathouse was deemed unsafe and dismantled. A smaller building replaced the grand structure.
1956: More than 3,000 people attended the Fall Chrysanthemum Shoe in the greenhouses.
The crowds along the pathways at Branch Brook Park
1967: Riots broke out in Newark and devastated the community. Many buildings were burned, boarded up and sections of the city were deserted. The National Guard was called in to maintain order and bivouacs in Branch Brook Park, where Civil War volunteers mustered 100 years earlier.
1974: Community members rallied to save their beloved park and the Friends of Branch Brook Park was formed.
1976: The Newark Cherry Blossom Festival was established.
1980: Branch Brook Park was placed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.
1981: The Park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
1986: The Boathouse was destroyed by fire and replaced by a concrete block structure.
One of my favorite shots of the park in 2023
1999: Branch Brook Park Alliance (BBPA) was formed.
2002: BBPA hired Rhodeside & Harwell (RHI), nationally recognized landscape architects, to produce a Cultural Landscape Report, Treatment and Management Plan, to serve as a blueprint for the park’s restoration.
2003: The lake edge near the boat house in the Southern District was replanted to recreate the original Olmstead plan; this pilot project was designed by RHI and funded by BBPA.
2004: A tree inventory was conducted by BBPA as part of the Cultural Landscape Report and revealed that less than 1,000 cherry trees remained from the original gift of 2,000 trees and subsequent plantings.
2005: Responding to community interest, the first farmers’ market took place, along with other activities to help reactivate the park.
2006: BBPA, together with the Essex County, the North Ward Center and the Newark Boys and Girls Clubs developed the Middle Division ball fields, now home to 7,500 ballplayers annually.
A grant from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund enabled the first planting of what would total more than 3,000 new cherry trees over the next four years.
2007: The Ball fields in the Extension were redesigned and upgraded while the surrounding landscape is restored. The Cherry Tree Demonstration Project showed what a fully restored collection should look like with extensive companion plantings and appropriate hardscaping.
2008: The Octagon Shelter was reconstructed. The Waterway Rehabilitation Feasibility Study was completed, setting forth a path for the restoration of one of the park’s most salient features.
2009: Prudential Global Volunteer Day drew more than 300 participants from diverse sectors of the community. A Maintenance Plan for the park was completed and implementation begun at six volunteer days.
2010: Design work was completed for project that will transform western lake edge in the Southern Division. The rehabilitation of the Octagon Field House in the Middle Division was completed.
The Cherry Blossom Festival in Branch Brook Park, Newark, NJ 2010
(The History of Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ by the Branch Brook Park Alliance)
Disclaimer: This information was taken from the Branch Brook Park Alliance and I give them full credit for their work. Don’t miss the Cherry Blossom Festival each Spring April/May depending on the weather.
Branch Brook Park in 2025:
I had a chance after work on afternoon when the Cherry trees were in peak form. The park was quiet on a Thursday afternoon and was perfect time to walk around and see the beautiful trees.
I walked along the paths on a gloomy afternoon where the rain always threatened us the whole time but I would not have wanted to miss this display.
The paths along the stream at Branch Brook Park
The start of the Cherry Blossom Festival in 2025
Branch Brook Park Cherry Blossom trees at peak in Spring 2025
The banners line the roads in the park for the festival and walking tours in 2025
The Cherry trees on a gloomy day
The Cherry Blossoms path
The beauty of the trees in 2025
The river that runs through the park
The water rushing through the park
The flowering plants in the park
The bridge in the park
The flowering trees by the river
The paths along the river on a gloomy day
The flowering bushes along the river in 2025
The flowering trees around the river
Entering the core of the park
The County’s Cherry Blossom festival in 2025
The beautiful trees along the paths
The flowering canopy
The flowering Cherry Trees in peak form
The flowering trees in the park
The core of the park in bloom
The pathway through the core of the park
The pathway in the park in full bloom
Entering the Visitors Center
The Cherry Blossom Visitors Center in the park
The unusual trees in Branch Brook Park
I even had time to really walk through this section of Newark and look at some of the old and beautiful mansions that dot this part of the park. With a little TLC, these houses will be spectacular again.
Walking through the Branch Brook Park neighborhood
The beautiful old mansions in the neighborhood
The walk back to the car
The pathway back along the river
It was so beautiful on a gloomy day
The walk back through the park
Even on a gloomy day the park was spectacular
Getting back to the car before it started to rain hard that afternoon
After the tour of Branch Brook Park in 2015, it was time for some lunch and I visited Rutt’s Hut at 417 River Road in Clifton, NJ.
I was in the mood for one of their Cheeseburgers and their Onion Rings
The cheeseburger was perfectly cooked
They give you a nice sized portion of Onion Rings
The burger hit the spot on a gloomy day
Going to the park on any type of day is spectacular. It is best when it is sunny and warm out. Still it is one of the most impressive displays of Cherry Blossoms in the country.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 