National Historic Landmark

Radburn

Fair Lawn, Bergen County, New Jersey
Listed
April 15, 1975
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
75001118

About this property

Radburn is an unincorporated community located within the borough of Fair Lawn in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Radburn was founded in 1929 as "a town for the motor age". Its planners, Clarence Stein and Henry Wright, and its landscape architect Marjorie Sewell Cautley aimed to incorporate modern planning principles, which were then being introduced into England's Garden Cities, following ideas advocated by urban planners Ebenezer Howard, Sir Patrick Geddes and Clarence Perry. Perry's neighborhood unit concept was well-formulated by the time Radburn was planned, being informed by Forest Hills Gardens, Queens, New York City (1909–1914), a garden-city development of the Russell Sage Foundation. Radburn was explicitly designed to separate traffic by mode, with a pedestrian path system that does not cross any major roads at grade level. Radburn introduced the largely residential "superblock" and is credited with incorporating some of the earliest culs-de-sac in the United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 2005, in recognition of its history in the development of the garden city movement in the 20th century.

Location

Fair Lawn, Bergen County, New Jersey
40.94024, -74.11796

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTLANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORYPOLITICS/GOVERNMENTARCHITECTURE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Everything a full report reveals about Radburn

This page lists Radburn. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks and old features hidden in the landscape.
Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
The old books, county histories and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from first peoples to the present day.
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Nearby Historic Sites

Berdan, Richard J., House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Radburn-Fair Lawn Station
Industrial
0.2 mi
Cadmus-Folly House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Berdan, G. V. H., House
Industrial
0.9 mi
Vanderbeck, Jacob, Jr., House
Industrial
1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Radburn listed on the National Register?

Radburn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 15, 1975.

What type of historic resource is Radburn?

Radburn is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Radburn a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Radburn has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Radburn?

The period of significance for Radburn is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Radburn?

Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Radburn will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.

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