Posted October 16, 201212 yr I pass through Newark all the time, and even make a work-related stop downtown once or twice a year. But I've never really wandered around and taken pictures other than a brief stop a few years ago to add the courthouse to my collection (86 out of 88 so far) and get some shots of the Louis Sullivan bank. The first few shots in this set are from that earlier visit. The rest are from a stroll two weeks ago when I was amazed by the quality of some of the buildings and the general desolation of anything beyond the courthouse square. Great courthouse from 1881 Detail on the wonderful Old Home bank by Sullivan More detail Broader view Detail from the side Infill. Close, but no cigar From the more-recent visit: Sculpture and gazebo on courthouse square Restored Midland Theater, which attracts lots of great second-tier big-name acts The most lively stretch of downtown Historic courthouse with cars on what should be the lawn More of the square Ditto Sullivan's Old Home bank again What passes for a skyscraper in Newark -- near the former site of a much older, taller tower The old and the new Nice door A real attraction for me ... ... I've got an arcade fetish I hadn't been inside this 1905 arcade in about 30 years, back when I was writing an article (never published) about Ohio's seven (at the time) glass-roofed arcades Another view Out the other side Lonely building across the street A gem around the corner with storefronts that open onto the arcade in the back Across the street And in context Telephone building. Probably built like a fortress Misc. The gem again Another view Peek-a-boo! I spy an arcade! Empty, or might as well be Ditto More misc. Courthouse vista at the end of a wide street A half block off the courthouse square, a sea of asphalt with a few cars bobbing on the surface A very handsome police station ... ... near the brutal City Hall A mix of styles, with a side entrance to the arcade in the middle An odd remnant of the old newspaper office, between an empty lot and horrid 1960s cladding on what probably is a venerable building Arcade side entrance -- off yet another parking lot (more to come) The newspaper entrance again, in context Nice lonely building Sullivan lurking again A nice line of buildings that face the courthouse from the west A stunning line of 19th Century buildings Close up Closer Closest Not sure what this is, but once was no doubt the downtown home of Somebody Important. Now lonely and surrounded by asphalt A sampling of said asphalt Old trackside hotel A handsome set of buildings A set of handsome buildings Ghost sign and future ghost sign Canal remnant and mural, a block from the courthouse Lots of parking lots Nice building Historic bridge just east of downtown Board of Education building -- former Post Office, I assume Back to the courthouse. You can tell it's an Important Building because there's a Wendy's drive-thru across the street
October 16, 201212 yr My hometown! There used to be a second theater, the Auditorium, which my parents were on a campaign to save in the 80s. Alas. More recently there was a strip club on the courthouse square, which thankfully appears to be gone.
October 16, 201212 yr Newark has endless potential and a surprisingly large downtown. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 16, 201212 yr Fascinating. And like so many of these threads, totally depressing. Awesome arcade.
October 16, 201212 yr ^ "Endless potential" -- you got that right! ^^ Master copy of the arcade article is lost from my files. But I have a draft that I will piece together and post. And I'm putting together a photo thread of arcades in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Milan, London, Cardiff.
October 16, 201212 yr I'm actually quite fond of most brutalist architecture I see (UC College of Law, Cincinnati Public Library Main Branch, Seattle's Freeway Park, etc.) but I think the Newark City Building is atrocious.
October 16, 201212 yr If you're gonna use the local pronunciation of "Ohio" in the title, you've got to use local pronunciation of "Newark". Lots of ups, lots of downs. Great tour.
October 17, 201212 yr I'm actually quite fond of most brutalist architecture I see (UC College of Law, Cincinnati Public Library Main Branch, Seattle's Freeway Park, etc.) but I think the Newark City Building is atrocious. When it stands all alone, independent of any surrounding influences, it can be cold, sterile, and harsh. Sometimes it helps to have surroundings that soften it a little bit. For example, Maag Library at Youngstown State University:
October 17, 201212 yr Not sure what this is, but once was no doubt the downtown home of Somebody Important. Now lonely and surrounded by asphalt That building is the former Sherriff's Residence and Jail. Locals are working toward restoration, and held tours this summer: http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20120615/NEWS01/206150326/Tours-old-jail-raise-funds-restoration
October 17, 201212 yr Interesting. Most sheriff's residences/jails seem to be adjacent to the courthouses. This one is a block or so away -- and a cut or so above.
October 17, 201212 yr I'm actually quite fond of most brutalist architecture I see (UC College of Law, Cincinnati Public Library Main Branch, Seattle's Freeway Park, etc.) but I think the Newark City Building is atrocious. I am also a fan of brutalist architecture but agree that something is off about the Newark City Hall. It's too symmetrical and the top is too flat. One of my favorites is the main library in Niagara Falls: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aneurysm9/2402579762/#.
October 17, 201212 yr I'm actually quite fond of most brutalist architecture I see (UC College of Law, Cincinnati Public Library Main Branch, Seattle's Freeway Park, etc.) but I think the Newark City Building is atrocious. I am also a fan of brutalist architecture but agree that something is off about the Newark City Hall. It's too symmetrical and the top is too flat. One of my favorites is the main library in Niagara Falls: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aneurysm9/2402579762/#. it would seem the most obvious inspiration for the Newark City Hall was the Boston City Hall (which even to this day a lot of people in Boston hate too)-- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Boston_City_Hall.JPG http://www.mainstreetpainesville.org/
October 17, 201212 yr If you're gonna use the local pronunciation of "Ohio" in the title, you've got to use local pronunciation of "Newark". How 'bout, in these tough economic times, "No Work, Ohio?"
October 17, 201212 yr I have family there and this thread and the comments really hit the nail on the head. The downtown is, in spots, visually unique and fascinating, and I always gravitate to the spots mentioned like the courthouse when taking pictures. You get a few blocks out of downtown and it's a nasty s***hole with biker bars and tats. Nurk is a gutted economic wasteland - almost all of the truly value-added industries like the AF base and Rockwell are long gone or downsized. Apparently very tough to raise kids on the straight and narrow there - lots of gang and street influences. I have traveled to Newark since the mid 70s to the present. Newark has progressed from a sleepy, prosperous, independent city in the 70s to today's low-rent exurban fringe city of Columbus with nothing to show for it except some chain restaurants and a lot of sprawl for no good reason. I'd take the 1976 Newark in a heartbeat and it's a damned shame that it's gone for good.
October 17, 201212 yr I was just watching the news the other day and some little kid was molested or propositioned or something in Newark. The witnesses the news interviewed looked like big time troublemakers out of the year 2000. You could hear the gears turn in their head agonizingly slowly as they talked to the camera. I was like "Yep, that's Newark"
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