Here are some images of downtown Newark, NJ on the day I reported this story, about Cory Booker and Chris Christie's efforts to convince teachers and other white-collar professionals to move to the neighborhood.
This is the retail corridor along Market Street, walking from Penn Station to the area of the proposed SOMA development.
The art deco Paramount Theater, opened in 1886 and shuttered in 1986. It was sold in 2007 for $2 million, but has yet to be developed. You can check out the gorgeous interior, which is set to be demolished, here.
Turning south onto Halsey Street, approaching the site of the proposed SOMA and Teachers' Village developments. The building below will be demolished to make way for new construction by Richard Meier. (See renderings of the project here and here.)
The future of these handsome buildings, some of them abandoned, remains in question. A lot depends on whether the SOMA developers can attract enough financing to the project.
This is 17 Williams Street, a historic building next to the Teachers' Village site that is set to be rehabilatated. Here in 1939, the book Alcoholics Anonymous was written by Dr. Bob Smith, in an office donated by his friend Bill Wilson, a publisher.
A wall.
Fascinating! I was born and raised in Newark and all these landmarks are familiar. Yes, architecturally these buildings are significant. However, Mayor Booker's doing a great job making my home town again viable and vibrant. Change can be good, necessary and inevitable.
Posted by: Ken Caputo | February 27, 2012 at 02:29 PM