The Penn Plaza East complex takes it name for its location near 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...

 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...

. Fronting Raymond Boulevard

Raymond Boulevard

Raymond Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in Newark, New Jersey. The eastern portion of the road acts as the westbound member of a one-way pair; eastbound traffic uses Market Street and Ferry Street...

 on the banks of 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,...

, the two office buildings were constructed during a period in the late 1980s/early 1990s when they and numerous postmodern skyscrapers

Postmodern architecture

Postmodern architecture began as an international style the first examples of which are generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture...

 were built near the station and Gateway Center

Gateway Center (Newark)

The Gateway Center is a commercial complex in Newark, New Jersey. Located downtown just west of Newark Penn Station between Raymond Boulevard and Market Street, skyways and pedestrian malls interconnect all of the office towers, a Hilton Hotel, the train station, and the Newark Legal Center...

. While others went up between the station and traditional 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...

, Penn Plaza East is on the Ironbound, or east, side of the major transportation hub. As of 2010, the buildings were occupied by two high-profile, long-term Newark headquarters, New Jersey Transit

New Jersey Transit

The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...

 and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, which owns their building
Originally developed and owned by Hartz Mountain Industries

Hartz Mountain Industries

Hartz Mountain Industries is a private family-owned and -operated company known for its vast real estate holdings in the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan Area. Its former parent Hartz Mountain Corporation , was founded by German-American businessmen Max and Gustav Stern. Leonard N. Stern is...

 the two towers sit above a four-story parking facility and lobby that joins them. A park and promenade along the banks of the river in the shadow of the Dock Bridge

Dock Bridge

Dock Bridge is a pair of vertical lift bridges crossing the Passaic River at Newark, New Jersey, used exclusively for railroad traffic. Sometimes known as the Amtrak Dock Vertical Lift, the bridges cross the river between Newark and Harrison and carry Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and Port Authority...

 and across from Red Bull Arena, may incorporate land that is also used for parking.