COUNTY OF ESSEX
Office of Public Information
Hall of Records, Room 408
465 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Newark, New Jersey 07102
973.621.2542 ~ 973.621.6136 (fax)
www.essexcountynj.org Anthony Puglisi, Director
Office of Public Information
Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr.
Essex County Executive Lauren Shears
Public Information Officer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Anthony Puglisi
December 22, 2014 973-621-2542
Lauren Shears
973-621-1590
ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO AND THE BRANCH BROOK PARK ALLIANCE ANNOUNCE THE COMPLETION OF PROJECT TO STABILIZE STONE WALLS OF ORIGINAL NEWARK RESERVOIR IN ESSEX COUNTY BRANCH BROOK PARK
Newark, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. and the Branch Brook Park Alliance announced on Monday, December 22nd that the project to stabilize and repair the walls of the old Newark Reservoir in Essex County Branch Brook Park has been completed. The project is a collaboration between Essex County and the Alliance to revitalize Essex County Branch Brook Park and preserve a historical feature of the park.
“The reservoir formed the nucleus of Branch Brook Park when it was created 120 years ago. Stabilizing and repairing the walls were essential to preserve this important historical site where the first land was acquired for our Parks System,” DiVincenzo noted. “Repairing the Reservoir walls is another successful project that we have completed with the Branch Brook Park Alliance to revitalize Essex County Branch Brook Park. Our partnership is a model for how the government and the community can work together to restore our parks and public spaces so they continue to fulfill the needs of our residents,” he noted.
“I am happy that this has been renovated so that it will last into the future and help preserve the rich history of Essex County,” Freeholder Vice President Patricia Sebold said. “It’s always a pleasure to work with the County Executive and the Branch Brook Park Alliance to continue the revitalization of Branch Brook Park,” she added.
“The work done here addresses an eyesore by stabilizing the reservoir walls and making them safe, and preserves an important part of our past,” Branch Brook Park Alliance Co-Chair Barbara Bell Coleman said. “We thank the County Executive for partnering with us on a multitude of projects to complete the first major overhaul of Branch Brook Park,” she added.
Over time, the walls of the former reservoir began to break and crumble. The site was stabilized by rebuilding or making repairs to sections of the reservoir, based on the conditions of the stone walls. Contractors worked with historians to rebuild the walls as close to the original construction as possible. The project began in June and was completed ahead of schedule earlier in November.
The circular stone walls were once the foundation of a reservoir that was operated by the city’s Aqueduct Board. In 1889, the board donated about 60 acres of land surrounding the reservoir for park use. The land was left undeveloped and became known as Reservoir Park. This became the nucleus for the original development of Essex County Branch Brook Park in 1895.
The Reservoir was drained after 1915 and the land inside the walls was used for several recreation facilities, including a baseball field, bicycle track and outdoor ice skating rink. In 1995, on the centennial anniversary of the Essex County Parks System, an indoor roller skating rink was opened on the site.
Rhodeside and Harwell from Newark was commissioned by the Branch Brook Park Alliance to design the project to stabilize the walls of the old reservoir. Zenith Construction Services from Orange was awarded a publicly bid contract for $642,500 to perform the construction work. The Essex County Department of Public Works monitored the project to ensure delays were avoided. The improvements were funded through the Essex County Capital Budget.
Revitalizing Essex County’s Branch Brook Park
In 2013, the Clifton Avenue entrance to Branch Brook Park was upgraded to enhance safety. In addition, a multi-phase project to revitalize Concourse Hill with new landscaping, ornamental fencing, bluestone staircases and a visitor’s center was undertaken. The improvements totaled about $3 million and were funded with grants from the NJ Green Acres program, Branch Brook Park Alliance and Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund.
In 2012, Essex County dedicated two bronze statues to honor the late tennis legend Althea Gibson and the late baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. Also that year, the 20-court Althea Gibson Tennis Complex received a complete makeover and the field house in the tennis complex was renovated. The total cost of the tennis court upgrades was $1.5 million. In addition, a multi-phase project to upgrade the lakefront in the Southern Division was completed. It included the restoration of the historic Prudential Lions statues and balustrade, the rehabilitation of two buildings for restrooms and public meeting space, updating the music court with new pavers and landscaping, and revitalizing a memorial cherry blossom grove honoring Prudential Financial and the late Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, Prudential’s late chairman in Japan. The four phases cost about $3.1 million and was funded with a contribution from Prudential Financial and grants from the NJ Green Acres program and the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund.
The renovation of the historic Octagon Fieldhouse in the Essex County Stephen N. Adubato, Sr. Sports Complex cost $423,900 and was completed in April 2011. Completed in 2010 were a $926,000 project to pave the park roadway, upgrade walking paths, and install historic lighting in the section of the park from the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center to Heller Parkway, the planting of 600 Cherry Trees and other trees throughout Branch Brook Park as part of a $416,889 upgrade and the paving of the park roadway from Mill Street to Washington Street as part of a $680,000 project.
In September 2009, the Middle Division Recreation Complex was renamed as the “Essex County Stephen N. Adubato, Sr. Sports Complex,” in honor of the founder of The North Ward Center and Robert Treat Academy. In August 2009, a synthetic surface football/soccer field was constructed for $917,662 and named after NFL Hall of Famer and Barringer High School alumni Andre Tippett. Earlier in 2009, a $2.46 million facelift in the Branch Brook Park Extension was completed. This "demonstration project" enhanced landscaping, added Cherry Trees, improved pathways and modernized entranceways into the park from Franklin Avenue. In addition, a $3 million project to rehabilitate the Bloomfield Avenue Bridge that passes over the Middle Division was finished in April 2009.
An $840,000 renovation of the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center was finished in April 2008 and the building was transformed into a year-round showplace to raise awareness about the Japanese Flowering Cherry Blossom Trees. A replica of the historic Octagon Shelter in the Southern Division of Essex County Branch Brook Park was built for $353,510 and opened in November 2007 and $1.5 million was invested to modernize and reconfigure the baseball field complex known as the "three diamonds" in October 2007. The baseball/softball complex in the Branch Brook Park Middle Division was reopened in April 2005 after an $11 million remediation and modernization project, and the historic restoration of the Park Avenue Bridge was completed in 2005. Entrance enhancements, new fencing and landscaping on Clifton Avenue and Mill Street, and an improvement project on Lake Street have made the park more inviting.
Through an extraordinary public/private partnership, the Branch Brook Park Alliance and the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs work collaboratively to restore and help program the Park for the enjoyment of thousands of children and families who utilize it each year.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system established in the United States. The Park System consists of more than 6,000 acres and has 22 parks, five reservations, an environmental center, a zoo, Treetop Adventure Course, ice skating rink, roller skating rink, three public golf courses, a miniature golf course, golf driving range, three off-leash dog facilities, a castle and the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. Branch Brook Park was created in 1895 and is the first park in Essex County’s system. At 359.72 acres, it is the largest county park in Essex.
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