Weequahic
Weequahic (pronounced WEEK-wake or wee-KWAY-ic) is a neighborhood in
Newark, New Jersey's south ward. It is separated from the
central ward by Hawthorne Avenue on the north, and bordered by the townships of
Irvington and Hillside on the west,
Newark Liberty International Airport on the east, and the city of
Elizabeth on the south.
The name "Weequahic" is
Lenni-Lenape for "head of the cove." The area was farmland until the late nineteenth century when it was developed into a middle-class, non-industrial neighborhood of detached single-family homes oriented around
Weequahic Park.
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A residential street in Weequahic |
Weequahic was largely a middle class
Jewish neighborhood prior to the 1960s, home to many
synagogues,
yeshivas, and Jewish restaurants. The tallest building on Newark's South Side, Newark Beth Israel hospital, was built under auspices of the Jewish community. Author
Philip Roth grew up in Weequahic and many of his novels are set there.
Nationally, Jewish neighborhoods tended to have short life spans and Weequahic was no exception. The post-World War II growth of suburbs and Northern migration of African Americans altered the demographic make-up of Newark in general and the Weequahic section in particular. The neighborhood might have stayed middle class if not for devastating effects of real estate 'block busters' and the construction of
Interstate 78. I-78 tore Weequahic's fragile urban fabric and separated the neighborhood from the rest of Newark. The 1967 riots were also devastating to the district, though the riots themselves were in the Central Ward.
The jewel of the neighborhood is the 311 acre (1.3 km²)
Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Weequahic Park. This lovely park has a 2.2 mile rubberized jogging path around its 80 acre (324,000 m²) lake, and the oldest public golf course in the United States.
Part of the Weequahic neighborhood has been designated a historic district. The neighborhood's major streets are Lyons Avenue, Bergen Street, and
Chancellor Avenue.
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Newark history
