Branch Brook Park’s Cherry Blossom Festival turns 50
Today, Branch Brook Park claims the most cherry blossoms in the United States with 5,300 compared to D.C.’s 3,800.
Covering the arts and historic preservation in Essex County
NJPAC’s history of broken promises began with an African-American Burial Ground
In January, NJPAC got permission from the Landmarks Commission to demolish the Cathedral House at 24 Rector Street. The building would become the sixth historic building within the Military Park Historic District that the arts organization has torn down. But…
Montclair Public Library hosts bake-off to demonstrate rank-choice voting
The League of Women Voters hosted an information session at the Montclair Public library to demonstrate how rank-choice voting works.
The Newark Building Where Bamberger’s Department Store was Founded to Become Apartments
The project to convert the long-vacant upper floors of the building at 141-149 Market Street into 99 apartments, received unanimous approval from the city’s Landmarks Commission.
Controversial Plan to Redevelop Newark’s Iberia Restaurant Returns to Planning Board After Lawsuit
Critics of the proposal are hoping the chance to cross-examine the developer's experts will sway the voting members of the Planning Board.
These Century-old Plaques at the Newark Museum of Art Have an Interesting Story
Most visitors pass by these 100-year-old plaques without a second thought but they tell a fascinating story.
Louis Bamberger’s Forgotten Newark Landmark Signaled a Cultural Shift a Century Ago
This forgotten landmark on Elizabeth Avenue signaled a shift in Bamberger's business model and shaped American culture.
Giving Hope to Troubled Movie Theaters, Montclair’s Historic Bellevue Theater Reopens
The movie theater industry has found a way to reinvent itself in every generation. Now, theaters are turning to the nonprofit model to once again save local arthouses.
Maud Munn’s Grave in Newark Cleaned in Time for Mount Pleasant Cemetery’s Tours
The cleaned-up statue fits the mission of the newly founded Friends of Mount Pleasant Cemetery to give the cemetery a new face.
This Author’s Italian Great-Grandmother from Newark was Registered as an ‘Enemy Alien’ in WW2
Andrea Van Benschoten’s wish to learn about her family tree brought her to the National Archives where she found a file of great-grandmother with the ominous sounding name—Alien of Enemy Nationality.