Vailsburg is a neighborhood in the West ward of
Newark, New JerseyBrick City redirects here. For the township in Ocean County, see Brick Township, New Jersey.Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, and the county seat of Essex County. Newark has a population of 281,402, making it the largest municipality in New Jersey and the 65th largest city in the U.S...
elevation 280 ft. As of 2000, Vailsburg has a population of 34,348. There are 8,386 families living in 12,270 housing units, of which 11,456 are owner-occupied. There are 814 vacant units in Vailsburg. Vailsburg is divided into Upper and Lower Vailsburg by Sanford Ave (Lower Vailsburg is to the east).
Vailsburg had existed as an independent municipality, and was incorporated as a
boroughA Borough in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government....
by an Act of the
New Jersey LegislatureThe New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
on March 28, 1894, from portions of
South Orange TownshipSouth Orange Village is a suburban district of the New York Metropolitan Area located in South Orange township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 16,964...
. Vailsburg was annexed by Newark on January 1, 1905.
In the mid-1890s, Vailsburg had been proposed as one of the municipalities that would form a "Greater Orange", in an effort to avoid piecemeal annexation by an expanding Newark.
Vailsburg was the last independent suburb to be annexed to Newark, in 1905, during a failed attempt by the mayor of Newark to absorb
KearnyKearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 40,513. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
,
East OrangeEast Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, USA. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 69,824. The United States Census Bureau's 2005 population estimate for East Orange was 68,190....
,
BellevilleBelleville is a Township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 35,928....
, and
HarrisonHarrison is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 14,424. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark.-Geography:Harrison is located at ....
. The district today stands out from the rest of Newark like a peninsula and is separated from the rest of the city by the trench of the
Garden State ParkwayThe Garden State Parkway is a 172.4-mile limited-access toll parkway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the New York state line at Montvale, New Jersey, to Cape May at the southern tip of the state. Its name refers to the state nickname, the "Garden State." Most New Jersey residents...
.
One major landmark of Vailsburg is
Vailsburg Park. The land for Vailsburg Park was originally "Electric Park," an amusement park owned by the Krueger brewing family. The residents of Vailsburg believed that Electric Park harmed the peace of the neighborhood and lobbied to have the amusement park converted into a park for passive recreation. A velodrome across from the park was built at the turn of the century and was taken down in the late 1920's.
Vailsburg has a significant stock of Dutch Colonial and Victorian inspired homes, most of them having been built between 1945 and 1947. Upper Vailsburg consists largely of single-family homes, while Lower Vailsburg consists of both single-family and two-family housing units. The area is also home to the
Ivy HillIvy Hill is a neighborhood in the West Ward of Newark, New Jersey. Ivy Hill is actually not part of Vailsburg. It had been part of Newark since 1890 when Newark bought most of it from South Orange Township...
Apartments, New Jersey's largest rental complex. Vailsburg has some abandoned property and other signs of urban decay, but many parts of it feel suburban. Its commercial streets, particularly South Orange Avenue, have undergone street-scape improvements recently and many businesses have renovated their storefronts. Many mom-and-pop businesses line the avenue, giving the sense that entrepreneurial activity is greater than most other neighborhoods of Newark.
The Vailsburg branch of the
Newark Public LibraryThe Newark Public Library is the public library system for the city of Newark, New Jersey.-Branches:*Main Library *Branch Brook Branch *Clinton Branch *First Avenue Branch...
is located in this neighborhood.
Recording artist Lauryn Hill mentions the neighborhood in one of her songs.
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