Roseville Avenue
It's about time we took a tour of Roseville. Roseville is a great neighborhood, full of nice streets and history, but I've hesitated about covering it until now. One reason for my caution is that Roseville has its own website up, the Canteen, and I didn't want to move in on somebody else's turf (and John just started doing recent pics); another reason is that there was a mansion or two in Roseville that I couldn't find any background on until recently; finally, Roseville is in northwest Newark, and I wasn't sure whether or not to put it in the West Ward or the North Ward. I've resolved that issue by just listing it in both.
Click here for location.
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There are several competing stories about how Roseville got its name. One version is that Roseville was named for all the roses that used to grow there. Another version is that Roseville was named after "James Rowe," an Irish farmer and alderman known for his genial spirit. A third, and less well known story, is that Roseville was named for the rose that attorney Frank McDermit wore in his lapel.
Along with Vailsburg, Weequahic, and Woodside, Roseville developed into one of Newark's suburban-style neighborhoods. No single ethnic group dominated. Seen at right is the Episcopal St. Barnabas Church, after whom the hospital system was named. St. Barnabas was founded in 1852, around the same time that the name "Roseville" first appeared on maps of Newark.
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The Roseville Presbyterian Church was designed by Frank F. Ward of Ward & Davis, the same architect of Roseville Methodist. |
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| The heart of Roseville is the intersection of Roseville and Orange Avenues. This pharmacy used to be a bank. |
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Another view of the intersection. |
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| Here is the aforementioned Roseville Methodist Church, now a Latino Pentecostal congregation.
The Roseville Avenue Church was founded in 1855. It built its first building in 1859/1860, on Warren and Gray Streets. This structure was begun in 1889.
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| This funeral home, widely advertised in Newark, is a symbol of the Latinoization of Roseville. |
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The Baptist Home of New Jersey has been in Roseville since 1882. This stone building dates to 1912. |
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This mansion, with shamrocks in the windows, is Newark Training and Business Institute, part of the North Ward Center, Steve Adubato's social service empire which we last encountered in A View of Mt. Prospect.
Because of his involvement in politics, some people like to label Steve Adubato a "boss," but I think that "boss" has too negative a connotation. In my mind, a "boss" is a person for whom politics come first, helping people second. Steve Adubato endorses candidates, and gets involved in corrupt dealings with UMDNJ, but I think that Adubato's involvement in politics springs from a genuine desire to see Newark succeed. It is not as if Newark has any shortage of elected politicians deserving of defeat.
This mansion used to be Megaro's funeral home.
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| Not quite the end of Roseville Avenue, but this is where our tour will end. Seen here are some very fine Roseville Avenue homes. |
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