Halsey Street (Newark) Facts for Kids

A street sign for Halsey Street

Looking south on Halsey Street from Central Avenue

Halsey Street is a busy street in downtown Newark, New Jersey. It runs from north to south, located between Broad Street and Washington Street. This street goes through four important historic areas of the city: James Street Commons-Washington Park, Military Park, Four Corners, and Lincoln Park. For many years, Halsey Street and its nearby streets have been a popular place for shopping, dining, and entertainment. Since the early 2000s, the street has become even more active with new homes, cultural spots, and businesses, including a special area with many restaurants. This growth is part of a plan to make downtown Newark a lively place.

History of Halsey Street
Modern Developments
South of Market Street
Gallery
See also

History of Halsey Street

Looking north on Halsey Street from Cedar Street

Halsey Street in the Teachers Village area

Halsey Street is located in the original area where Newark was first settled in 1666. The land was given to the first settlers. It became a street in the early 1800s when the city was growing fast. The street is named after William Halsey (1770–1843). He was the very first Mayor of Newark from 1836 to 1837, after Newark officially became a city.

North of Market Street, you can still see many old row-houses on Halsey and nearby streets. A building at 31 Central is home to artists and the LGBTQ Center. There are plans to build new homes and shops there. Since 2010, the area between Central and New Street has hosted fun street festivals. Rutgers-Newark, a university whose campus is nearby, plans to build a new Honors Living/Learning Center on Halsey Street between New and Linden Streets. This building is expected to be finished in 2019.

Around the early 1900s, during a time of great growth for the city, many smaller homes were replaced by new business buildings. These included several large department stores like Hahne and Company, Kresge-Newark, Bamberger's, S. Klein, and Orbachs.

Modern Developments

In 2015, work began to update the old Hahne's building. It was changed to include spaces for education, homes, and shops. A new six-story part was added on the Halsey Street side, with nearly 100 apartments and underground parking. In 2017, Rutgers University opened a new arts and cultural center inside the Hahne's building. It's called "Express Newark" and has an 'arts incubator,' a media center, a design group, a print shop, a photo studio, and a lecture hall. It also has places for art shows and performances.

This project also brought in a Whole Foods grocery store, a Barnes & Noble bookstore, a Petco pet supply store, and a restaurant by famous chef Marcus Samuelsson called Marcus B & P. Halston Flats, an old factory building on Raymond Boulevard that was turned into apartments with shops and restaurants on the ground floor, opened in 2017.

The Kresge building, which is now used by Newark Public Schools, was once a stop on the Cedar Street Subway. This subway was part of Newark's large streetcar system. The S. Klein building was taken down to make room for a new tower that is part of the Prudential Headquarters complex. Prudential has been in this area since the 1800s. The old Bamberger's building, now called 165 Halsey, has become a major hub for computer systems, including DE-CIX New York.

South of Market Street

The area south of Market Street is sometimes called SoMa by developers. It includes the Teachers Village neighborhood. This area is being developed following a plan designed by Newark native Richard Meier. This plan has encouraged other building and renovation projects. It is home to Hobby's, a famous delicatessen, and new restaurants, shops, and a planned food marketplace similar to Eataly. For much of the 1900s, this neighborhood was a fun entertainment area with movie theaters and music clubs like The Key Club and Sparky J's. The Newark Female Charitable Society has a group of historic buildings on Halsey at Hill Street.

Halsey Street stops for two blocks because the street layout was changed during a time of city renewal near Nevada Street. It then continues into the Lincoln Park neighborhood. This part of the street is more residential, meaning it has more homes. Since the year 2000, many new apartment buildings have been built here. Some projects even used shipping containers for homes, and other housing developments are "fully affordable." New two-family homes have also been built on nearby streets. There are plans for an outdoor performance space called the Facade, on the grounds of the South Park Calvary United Presbyterian Church. At its very southern end is the Catedral Evangelica Reformada.

In June 2020, a section of Halsey Street was painted with the words All Black Lives Matter.