Founded and incorporated as a township in 1666, then as a city in 1836—the third oldest city in the nation.

ACREAGE
10.77

LOCATION
Market St. & Van Buren St., Newark
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HISTORIC PROFILE

A TEMPORARY PLAYGROUND, 1907

Riverbank Park is located off Raymond Boulevard, Market, Van Buren, and Somme Streets, within the east side section of Newark. A portion of the park across Raymond Boulevard has 1000 feet of waterfront access on the Passaic River, and includes land which once held the old Morris Canal .

At 10.77 acres, it is the smallest Essex County park. The demands on it are great nevertheless, and it is intensely developed for recreation with very little unused natural area.

The acreage for this park was acquired in 1907 and the plans were designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm. The concrete footpaths are dotted with large trees, and plantings of small shrubbery on the slopes have successfully helped in the prevention of erosion.

Raymond Boulevard, a major road, separates the heavily used main body of the park from the open waterfront section. There the land is left undisturbed, and provides a rare stretch of open waterfront amid a largely industrial area.

In earlier years the famous "Newark Bears," a semi-professional baseball team, used the baseball diamond in this park.

In recent years the park became a subject of controversy due to a proposal to redevelop the park as a baseball stadium—a plan opposed by the community and subsequently abandoned—and the simultaneous discovery of contamination in the soil, causing the park to be closed for environmental cleanup. The positive results of these events are that the park is now listed on both the New Jersey and the National Registers of Historic Places, and a multi-million dollar restoration and upgrade of the park was completed in 2003.
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CURRENT IMPROVEMENTS

• Remediation & Restoration
Included: synthetic soccer field, scoreboard, fencing, landscape improvements
Cost: $2,266,428 Completed in 2003

• General Improvements
Cost: $678,181 Status:Completed in 2006

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DISTINGUISHING FEATURES

• Elaborate grandstand overlooks the baseball field.
• Playground and playground shelter of architectural interest.
• Lighted tennis & basketball courts.
• 1/5 mile running track.
• Synthetic turf soccer field.
• Fieldhouse used for summer playground activities.

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DRIVING DIRECTIONS

From New Jersey: Take Route 21 South/McCarter Highway. Turn left onto Raymond Blvd. Merge onto Market Street. 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 for Route 21 South. Follow above directions.

Use the intersection of “Market Street and Somme Street” when obtaining driving directions from the Internet.

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