Belleville was once called "Second River." The Passaic River town separated from Bloomfield Township in 1839. It was here, in 1794, that Nicholas Roosevelt built the first steam engine produced entirely in America.

ACREAGE
32.70

LOCATION
Belleville Ave., Belleville
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HISTORIC PROFILE

Belleville Park is a mid-sized, 32.70-acre park of wooded greenery bordered by Belleville and Parkside Avenues and Mill Street along the Second River, which was once a part of the Morris Canal.

The park forms an extension of Branch Brook Park, creating a continuous green strip over 2½ miles long. Some of Branch Brook's famous "Cherry Blossom Land" overflows into this park. Also adjacent to the park is Hendricks Field Golf Course, extending the green landscape further northward.

The land was acquired in 1915 and construction completed in 1922—the delay owing to the difficulty of obtaining labor during the war. The park was designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm and even today retains some of the original landscaping in its sweeping lawns and winding paths. Coniferous trees divide the park into sections and isolate it from the city streets. Its semi-formal character is derived from plantings of native, rare, and ornamental trees and shrubs. Open fields provide feeding habitats for small mammals and migratory birds. In 1917, to aid in the war effort, these fields were planted with corn.

The park represents an early example of urban rehabilitation, as there are a number of former industrial sites within its boundaries. A shallow depression by the south side of the park represents all that is left of an old rock quarry.
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CURRENT IMPROVEMENTS

Playground and Bathroom Building
Cost: $950,000 Completed in 2005

Seniors Building Improvement           
Cost: $52,445   Completed in 2006

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DISTINGUISHING FEATURES

• Senior citizens center
• Playground
• Bocce courts
• Four softball fields
• Two soccer fields
• ¼-mile jogging path
• Connects to Hendricks Field Golf Course and Branch Brook Park to form a continuous green strip

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DRIVING DIRECTIONS

From New Jersey: Take Route 280 East to First Street/Exit 13. Turn left onto First Street. Turn right onto Orange Street. Turn left onto Clifton Avenue. Turn right onto Bloomfield Avenue. Turn left onto Mt. Prospect Avenue. Turn left onto Belleville Avenue. Park is on the left.

From New York: George Washington Bridge or Lincoln Tunnel to New Jersey Turnpike South. Take Exit 15W for Route 280 West. Take Exit 14. Turn right onto Clifton Avenue. Follow above directions.

Use the intersection of “Belleville Avenue and Parkside Avenue” when obtaining driving directions from the Internet.

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