St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School
About this property
St. Joseph Plaza is an event venue in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, which formerly served St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, a parish of the Archdiocese of Newark of the Roman Catholic Church. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 8, 1980, for its significance in architecture and religion. The church was a traditional Gothic Revival brownstone church, with a tall central nave flanked by lower aisles and transepts, oriented with the apse facing east and the three entrance doors facing west, one for each aisle and another along the nave. The nave has a steep slate gable roof. The front façade is asymmetrical, with a square bell tower with flat top on one side. The interior was extensively renovated in the early 1980s, but the exterior, having been registered as a landmark, remained unchanged. The congregation was established in 1859 by James Roosevelt Bayley, first bishop of Newark. The construction of the Morris Canal had bisected the parish of St. Patrick's Pro-Cathedral, and also attracted Catholic immigrant workers to the area, necessitating a new worship space. A two-story brick building was built to serve as the parish's church and school. Fr. James F. Dalton was named its first pastor in 1868, and a stone he had brought back from Glendalough, Ireland was laid as the cornerstone for a new stone church on Thanksgiving Day in 1872. Irish-American architect Jeremiah O'Rourke designed the new church in the Gothic Revival style. Construction was repeatedly delayed, and it was not dedicated until April 18, 1880. A 3-story brick rectory was built in 1885. St. Joseph's School, a 4-story brick building, was constructed north of the church in 1894. The neighborhood was depopulated by urban renewal projects which cleared out residential areas and saw the expansion of neighboring university campuses, and by white flight after the 1967 Newark riots, accelerating a post-World War II decline in enrollments as parishioners decamped for the suburbs. The congregation had declined to about 30 when the archdiocese closed the parish in 1980, the same year the complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places. A local housing non-profit, the New Community Corporation, acquired the complex for $105,000 shortly thereafter and began redeveloping it. The church was converted into a restaurant, offices, and performance space, and the rectory into commercial offices; the school building was demolished for parking. It was New Community's first commercial office venture. National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, New Jersey
Location
Categories
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.
Everything a full report reveals about St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School
This page lists St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School. 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:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School listed on the National Register?
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 8, 1980.
What type of historic resource is St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School?
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School?
The period of significance for St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School?
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 St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Essex County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Essex County.
Explore EssexCounty ›More historic places in New Jersey
Browse all historic places in New Jersey.
View New Jerseyhistoric sites ›New Jersey history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
New Jerseyhistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church Rectory and School will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.