Ironbound
Encyclopedia
- For the studio album by American thrash metal band Overkill, see Ironbound (album)Ironbound (album)Ironbound is the fifteenth full length studio album by American thrash metal band Overkill, which was released on January 29, 2010 in Europe on Nuclear Blast Records and in the U.S. on February 9, 2010 on E1 Music...
.
The Ironbound is a large working-class neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. 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
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
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
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
community. The Ironbound is part of Newark's East Ward and is directly east of Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station (Newark)
Pennsylvania Station is a major transportation hub in Newark, New Jersey. Located at Raymond Plaza, between Market Street and Raymond Boulevard, Newark Penn Station is served by the Newark Light Rail, New Jersey Transit commuter rail, Amtrak long distance trains, the PATH rapid transit system, and...
and Downtown Newark
Downtown Newark
Downtown Newark is Newark, New Jersey's major central business, retail, and cultural district. It is located at a bend in the Passaic River.Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark. The first settlers, led by Robert Treat, landed not far from the present site of the New...
, and south and west of the river.
History
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
Franklin Murphy (governor)
Franklin Murphy was an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 31st Governor of New Jersey, from 1902-1905. He was the founder of the Murphy Varnish Company in Newark, New Jersey.-Civil War Service:...
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
Christian William Feigenspan
Christian William Feigenspan was president of Feigenspan Brewing Company in Newark, New Jersey; president of Federal Trust Company; and president of the United States Brewers' Association.-Birth:...
. 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 brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
s 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.
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
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
population in the mid Twentieth century. Locally famous jazz singer Miss Rhapsody was born in the Ironbound. Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
grew up in Lincoln Park
The Coast, Newark, New Jersey
The Coast or Lincoln Park is a neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey, bounded by the Springfield/Belmont, South Broad Valley, South Ironbound and Downtown neighborhoods. It is bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. to the west, Kinney St. to the north, the McCarter Highway to the east and South...
, but attended church at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church on Thomas Street.
Superfund Site
In 1983, dangerous levels of dioxin were discovered at an abandoned chemical factory in Ironbound. Diamond AlkaliDiamond Alkali
Diamond Alkali Company was an American chemical company incorporated in 1910 in West Virginia by a group of glass industry businessmen from Pittsburgh. The company soon established a large chemical plant at Fairport Harbor, Ohio, which would operate for over sixty years. In 1948, the headquarters...
Company was largely responsible for this pollution through their heavy production of Agent Orange
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...
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.
Present day
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
Catacombs
Catacombs, human-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place can be described as a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman empire...
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.
Lusophone
A Lusophone is someone who speaks the Portuguese language, either as a native, as an additional language, or as a learner. As an adjective, it means "Portuguese-speaking"...
(Portuguese-speaking) population is stable thanks largely to immigration from Brazil and several Lusophone countries in Africa, especially Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
. There is the Portugal Day festival every June and a Brazilian festival in September. Brazilians and Portuguese are joined by immigrants from Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and a growing non-immigrant community working in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
or Downtown Newark
Downtown Newark
Downtown Newark is Newark, New Jersey's major central business, retail, and cultural district. It is located at a bend in the Passaic River.Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark. The first settlers, led by Robert Treat, landed not far from the present site of the New...
. The Brazilians have brought churrascaria
Churrascaria
A churrascaria is a Brazilian steakhouse. Churrasco is the cooking style, which translates roughly from the Portuguese for 'barbecue'.-History:...
restaurants, and schools for capoeira
Capoeira
Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...
and samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
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
Brazilian Press
Brazilian Press is a Brazilian, Portuguese language newspaper in the United States, with the largest circulation of any US Brazilian newspaper in 11 states. Their offices are at 78 Fillmore St, in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey...
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
Interstate 78
Interstate 78 is an Interstate Highway in the Northeast United States, running 144 miles from Interstate 81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown, Pennsylvania, and western and northern New Jersey to the Holland Tunnel and Lower Manhattan in New York City.I-78 is a major road...
and the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
, went around it. The Ironbound was also spared construction of the massive public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
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.
Cityscape
Ironbound, 4 square mile large, is in the East Ward of Newark. Ironbound is east of Pennsylvania StationPennsylvania Station (Newark)
Pennsylvania Station is a major transportation hub in Newark, New Jersey. Located at Raymond Plaza, between Market Street and Raymond Boulevard, Newark Penn Station is served by the Newark Light Rail, New Jersey Transit commuter rail, Amtrak long distance trains, the PATH rapid transit system, and...
and is between the Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
and the Passaic River
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
. 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.
Public schools
Newark Public SchoolsNewark Public Schools
Newark Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves the entire city of Newark, New Jersey. The district is one of 31 Abbott Districts statewide....
operates area schools. Six elementary and K-8 schools,
PK-8 schools serving Ironbound include Ann Street School, Hawkins Street School, Lafayette Street School, and Oliver Street School, In addition the K-8 Wilson Avenue School and the K-5 South Street School serve Ironbound. East Side High School
East Side High School (Newark, New Jersey)
East Side High School is a four-year public high school in Newark, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Newark Public Schools. The school serves the Ironbound community...
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.
Private schools
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of NewarkRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark
The Archdiocese of Newark is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and schools in the New Jersey counties of Bergen, Union, Hudson and Essex .-History:Originally established as the Diocese of...
operates the Ironbound Catholic Academy, a PK-8 school in Ironbound. As of 2004 many residents of Ironbound send their children to parochial schools. Ironbound used to have two other Catholic elementary schools, including Academy of St. Benedict, a PreK-8 school, and St. Lucy Filippini Academy. 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. There is also the Our Lady of Fatima Nursery, a Pre-K institution and one Portuguese Language School known at Escola Luis de Camões.
Public libraries
Newark Public LibraryNewark Public Library
The Newark Public Library is the public library system for the city of Newark, New Jersey.-History:In 1902 John Cotton Dana became employed at the Newark Public Library in Newark, New Jersey from until his death in 1929. He established foreign language collections for immigrants and also developed...
'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.
The Ironbound in popular culture
- Singer-songwriter Suzanne VegaSuzanne VegaSuzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...
paid homage to this neighborhood in her 1987 song entitled "Ironbound/Fancy Poultry." - The neighborhood was featured in the 2005 motion picture, War of the WorldsWar of the Worlds (2005 film)War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
, in which director Steven SpielbergSteven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
used special effects to destroy Five Corners and St. Stephen's Church. - Jersey Shore singer-songwriter, John Padovano, aka "the Ironbound Crooner" was born in the Ironbound Section of Newark. His album The Return Of Rainy Day Hobo has a song entitled "Oliver Street" that is about his early childhood in the Ironbound.
- Tony SopranoTony SopranoAnthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
grew up in Ironbound, as seen in Episode 7 of the first season of The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, "Down Neck". - Deborah LaVeglia is a poet who grew up the Ironbound section and often includes the Ironbound in her work.
- The beginning of The Karate Kid was filmed in the Ironbound.
- Ironbound has a counterpart in Grand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
s Alderney City where a neighborhood called Leftwood appears to have a large Portuguese population including heritage and language deriving from Portugual.
Ferry Street
Ferry Street was named after the ferry that would travel between Newark and points east. In 1849, "The Newark Plank RoadNewark Plank Road
The Newark Plank Road was a major 19th century artery between New Jersey's Hudson Waterfront and the burgeoning city of Newark, further inland across the New Jersey Meadows. As its name suggests, a plank road was constructed of wooden planks laid side-to-side on a roadbed. A charter to construct...
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
Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County is the smallest county in New Jersey and one of the most densely populated in United States. It takes its name from the Hudson River, which creates part of its eastern border. Part of the New York metropolitan area, its county seat and largest city is Jersey City.- Municipalities...
section changed "Plank Road" to the Lincoln Highway
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...
while the Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
section was changed back to "Ferry Street."
Ferry Street and East Ferry Street were stations on the Newark and New York Railroad
Newark and New York Railroad
The Newark and New York Railroad was a passenger rail line that ran between Downtown Newark and the Communipaw Terminal at the mouth of the North River in Jersey City, bridging the Hackensack River and Passaic River just north of their mouths at the Newark Bay in northeastern New...
, which ran between the Broad Street terminal and Communipaw Terminal
Communipaw Terminal
Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, sometimes known as Communipaw Terminal was the Central Railroad of New Jersey's waterfront passenger terminal at the mouth of the Hudson River at the Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey.-Designation:...
. 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
Portugal Day Festival in Newark
The Portugal Day Festival in Newark, New Jersey is a street festival celebrating the Portuguese people, language, and their culture. First organized in 1979 by the Bernardino Coutinho Foundation, since 2010 the Festival has been organized by the Union of Portuguese American Clubs of New Jersey ,...
during the month of June. During Portugal Day
Portugal Day Festival in Newark
The Portugal Day Festival in Newark, New Jersey is a street festival celebrating the Portuguese people, language, and their culture. First organized in 1979 by the Bernardino Coutinho Foundation, since 2010 the Festival has been organized by the Union of Portuguese American Clubs of New Jersey ,...
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 Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
an club.
External links
- Ironbound Community Corporation
- "Portugal in Newark" - The Star-LedgerThe Star-LedgerThe Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
and The Newark Museum - OLA Official Ironbound District Magazine
- Ironbound Business Improvement District
- The New York Times: If You're Thinking of Living In The Ironbound
- Ironbound Community Corporation - a non-profit organization in the community
- Star-Ledger Article about the Ironbound catacombs
- A tour of the Ironbound's Riverbank Park
- A tour of McWhorter Street
- A tour of Fleming Avenue
- "Ferry Street." Newarkology! September 29. 2007 October 14.
- "EXPLORING THE CULTURAL PLEASURES OF NEWARK; April in Portugal is Waiting Just Across the Hudson." The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
1982 March 26. 2007 October 14.