Essex Park is a municipal park in Montclair, in Essex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States.

Facilities

Essex Park is mostly occupied by sports and recreational facilities. These facilities are used often by the Montclair High School's gym classes and athletic teams and are closed to the public at some times. It has: * a

Swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

* a

soccer field A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural tu ...

made of

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

* a quarter mile

running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

* an

ice skating rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

* a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

field made of

* three

baseball field A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

s * a field house with locker rooms and bathrooms, et.c. * a playground * bleacher seating * footpaths/bikeways * benches and tables * a small

sledding Sledding, sledging or sleighing is a winter sport typically carried out in a prone or seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sled (North American), a sledge (British), or a sleigh. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, skele ...

hill * open field space

Location

Essex Park is in central Montclair. It is bordered on the west side by

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

Montclair-Boonton Line The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations in the United States. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R ...

, on the north by Champlain Terrace, on the east by Essex Avenue, and comes to a point in the south next to the Walnut Street station. Going through it is Chestnut Street, separating the Pool, playground, and skating rink from the rest of the park.

Parking Issues

For football games, spectators would park along Essex Street, often breaking laws by blocking corners, driveways, fire hydrants, even streets. At one point a fire truck was parked in front of a driveway and was asked to move, which it did, to a 'no parking' sign. This was protested by local residents and a decision by the Montclair Town Council banned parking on parks of Essex Street. For the Ice rink and pool, signs direct motorists to a parking lot which connects to a parking lot of the Walnut Street Railway Station.

Playground

A small, densely wooded playground abuts Essex Park's public pool and ice rink. The playground has swings and numerous jungle gyms for children ages 3 and up. Approximately 15 picnic tables are available for public use.

Ice Rink Privatization

In 2008, the township of Montclair was looking for ways to lower its budget and as part of a series of budget cuts and cancellations decided that the ice rink at Essex Park, the

Clary Anderson Clarence Oscar "Clary" Anderson (July 7, 1911 – August 19, 1988) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He was the head baseball and football coach for the Montclair State University in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. In seven sea ...

Arena, should be privatized. Montclair residents worried that entry fees might increase and that the quality of service would go down, and the township decided to retain authority in some way over the rink while having it operated privately. The operation of the arena was taken over by a company called United Skates of America in September 2008

References

External links

RinkAtlas listing for Clary Anderson Arena
Montclair, New Jersey Parks in Essex County, New Jersey {{EssexCountyNJ-geo-stub