From the roof of the Hahne building at 40-62 Halsey Street in Newark, one sees a city under construction. A stand of newly planted trees and a farmers market in the recently refurbished Military Park.
The shiny mirrored façade of the new Prudential Building partially obscures the old Prudential Plaza headquarters at the corner of Broad and Market Streets, where the Prudential Insurance Company of America has held down Newark’s commercial center since it first set up shop there in 1877.
Concrete is being poured for a foundation slab across from the new cafes and restaurants on Halsey Street, and the Hahne building itself is getting a gut renovation after years of disuse and neglect.
Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo Photo by Chris Zranchev Photo by Chris Zranchev Photo by Chris Zranchev Photo by Chris Zranchev
Halsey Street is in transition, and the Hahne building is at the center of that transformation. One of the “Big Three” department stores that drew shoppers from across the region to downtown Newark, Hahne conjures the city’s bright commercial past and is an integral site within the collective memory of the region.
Hahne & Co 1800s Hahne & Co 1901 Hahne & Co early 1900s Hahne & Co December 1947 Hahne & Co interior This towering figure of Santa Claus stood in the rotunda of Hahne & Co. in December 1961 to greet Christmas shoppers.
“We’d go to Bamberger’s, Kresge’s and Hahne’s. . . We were very fortunate downtown, and I say this as a Newarker, we were very fortunate in having all these stores that opened all on Halsey Street. And at one time, there were some plans afoot to open an arcade on Halsey Street so that people would be able to walk without the fear of traffic. But that never came to a reality.”
James Churchman, Newarker
“There are some people that we have here [renovating Hahne’s] that are Newark residents who have some tie to the building. They were here as children when their parents took them to get graduation clothes, or for christenings, or weddings, bar mitzvahs or whatever. I’ll often hear stories that begin, ‘I remember when my parents took me here.’”
Michael Handler, L&M Developers project manager
Hahne project manager Michael Handler on the roof of the building. (Photo by Chris Zranchev) Construction worker waiting for materials to be delivered from below. (Photo by Chris Zranchev)
Scheduled to be completed by the end of December 2016, the repurposed Hahne building (outfitted with market rate apartments, retail, a Whole Foods, and a university/community arts collaborative) is expected to contribute to the revival of downtown Newark, link the University Heights neighborhood to the downtown commercial and arts districts, and convince Millennials who go to school or work in Newark to live in the city.
The Hahne renovation is one piece of a larger transformation of downtown Newark. Developers have returned after a long absence. Urban villages are springing up everywhere. Teachers Village and Makers Village are two of several recent downtown development projects that aspire to bring young creatives to Newark to live and work alongside the 60,000 students pursuing degrees in the adjacent University Heights neighborhood. And Newark just got its first boutique hotel. With a rooftop bar, no less. A recent Politico article posed the question, “Is Newark the Next Brooklyn?”
Marty Weber, who opened Green Chicpea restaurant with his wife Ronit at 51 Halsey in 2013 after a decade of operating a restaurant in Manhattan (Photo by Gareth Smit) Lunch at Green Chicpea, which serves kosher Middle Eastern and North African food (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo)
“Why would these small businesses be here if they didn’t think they had a chance at success? “It’s not just the Rutgers students anymore, whether they’re graduate or undergraduate. It’s business people who are realizing not only we can work in Newark, we can live in Newark.”
Mark Bonamo, editor of Newark Inc.
A woman at Martha’s Dominican Unisex hair design looks at her phone while her hair sets in rollers on Halsey Street, Newark, New Jersey on September 15, 2015. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo) Anthony Smith, 29, the nephew of the owner of Cut Creater, a barbershop on Halsey street established in 2009, in Newark, New Jersey on September 15, 2015. The store has another branch nearby that has been open since 1998. Sitting with Anthony are Beneva Travers (white top), the manager, and Georgia Lowe (in apron), an assistant stylist. Asmith.nwemg@gmail.com
The Halsey Street neighborhood is the border between University Heights with its 60,000 students and the city’s largest commercial and cultural districts.
Halsey is at the epicenter of downtown Newark’s revival and a microcosm of the city Newark is becoming.
Justinya Stachowicz, the owner of Art Kitchen Cafe, works the lunch rush, on Halsey Street, Newark, on September 2, 2015. Ms. Stachowicz opened the cafe in 2009. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo) Justinya Stachowicz, the owner of Art Kitchen Cafe, works the lunch rush, on Halsey Street, Newark, on September 2, 2015. Ms. Stachowicz opened the cafe in 2009. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo) Bill Amprazis (no mustache) and his co-owner Angelo Parmakis (mustache) work the register and phone at Central restaurant, a greek diner that has been on Halsey Street for 40 years, in Newark, New Jersey on September 15, 2015. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo) People walk on Halsey Street, Newark, on September 2, 2015. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo) Riding down Halsey Street (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo) A woman with sore legs takes a break at Halsey Street and Market Street, Newark, on September 3, 2015. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo) A wig shop, on Halsey Street, Newark, on September 1, 2015. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo) The Wig World store below an old sign for “Wide Style Shoes” on Halsey Street, Newark, on September 3, 2015. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo)
Lenzy Hall, owner of Lenzy’s Nutrition Center at 55 Halsey. When Lenzy’s opened 30 years ago, the Hahne building was still a functioning department store. Every morning, Mr. Hall places a speaker on the street in front of his store and tunes his radio to WBGO, Newark’s legendary jazz station (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo) Amadou Dillo, owner of Afia Tailor, at his store situated in the rear of Lenzy’s Nutrition Center. Mr. Dillo moved to Newark from Liberia twenty years ago to open his tailor shop (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo)
A Cut Creaters’ stylist braids a customer’s hair at the Halsey Street Block Party. (Photo by Gareth Smit) Cut Creaters’ Georgia Lowe shows a customer her new hairstyle at the Halsey Street Block Party. (Photo by Gareth Smit)
