Riverbank Park
About this property
Riverbank Park is a park in the Ironbound section of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The park was opened in 1910 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 1998. It is the smallest and one of the most heavily used parks in the Essex County Park System. The park was designed by the Olmsted Brothers, the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted. The park land was acquired in 1907 and construction finished in 1910. A driving force behind the building of the park was Franklin Murphy (governor) who wanted his workers at the Murphy Varnish Works to have open space. An expansion took place between 1926 and 1931. The baseball fields are on the former location of the Balbach Smelting & Refining Company, one of the largest metal processing companies in the country, which closed in the 1920s. In 1996, there was an attempt to build the Newark Bears, Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium at the site of the park, demolishing the park. SPARK (Save the Park At RiverbanK) is a community group formed to save the park from destruction. After an unsuccessful attempt to save the park via referendum, they were able to protect it through inclusion in the National Historic Register. SPARK's work also resulted in the remediation of contaminated soil, which was completed in 2003. In August 2011, plans were announced to create Newark Riverfront Park, next door to Riverbank Park along the Passaic River which opened in August 2012. A further extension of parkland along the river was announced in June 2016. Work proceeded in 2017. Eventually it will reach Bridge Street Bridge. Currently, SPARK hosts programs in the park including a Learning Program with the New Jersey Historical Society and Greater Newark Conservancy, movie nights and Music and Art Day. National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, New Jersey
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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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Questions about this property
When was Riverbank Park listed on the National Register?
Riverbank Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 15, 1998.
What type of historic resource is Riverbank Park?
Riverbank Park is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Riverbank Park?
The period of significance for Riverbank Park is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near Riverbank Park?
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 Riverbank Park will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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