University Heights is a neighborhood in Newark 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. It is so named because of the four academic institutions located within its boundaries: Rutgers University (Newark Campus),

New Jersey Institute of Technology {{Infobox university , name = {{nowrap, New Jersey Institute of Technology , image = New Jersey IT seal.svg , image_upright = 0.9 , former_names = Newark College of Engineering (1930–1975)Ne ...

(NJIT),

New Jersey Medical School New Jersey Medical School (NJMS)—also known as Rutgers New Jersey Medical School—is a medical school of Rutgers University, a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It has been part of the Rutgers Division of Biomedical and Healt ...

(Rutgers) and

Essex County College Essex County College (ECC) is a public community college in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. History In August 1966, the Essex County Board of Freeholders approved the creation of Essex County College and in September 1968, more than a ...

. In total, the schools enroll approximately 32,000 degree-seeking students. The University Heights neighborhood is roughly bounded by University Avenue to the east, Orange Street to the north, Bergen Street to the west, and South Orange Avenue to the south. The schools are involved in the development of University Heights Science Park, a major research complex to be located between their campuses. The Public Health Research Institute on Warren Street relocated there in 2002. The area is home to Science Park High School as well. BioTrials, a French biological research company is one of the first firms to locate there. They are located in a seven story newly constructed building on Norfolk St. Rutgers and NJIT were expanded considerably beginning in the 1960s. Prior to this expansion, University Heights was a relatively affluent residential neighborhood of Newark. The area has one of Newark's few concentrations of brownstones. The gym at Essex County College was home of the American Basketball Association team, the Newark Express, which moved to

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three sch ...

and became the

Jersey Express The Jersey Express is a team in the American Basketball Association based in Paterson, New Jersey. The team was formed in 2005 as the Newark Express. Marsha Blount is the owner of the team. Inaugural season (2005–06) The Express ended the r ...

after averaging some 150 fans per game in Newark, though it attracted even fewer at Drew. The area is home to the

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

Galleries at Rutgers University and the

Weston Museum Weston Museum is a museum in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England. It was established in 1861. and is home to North Somerset Council museum collection with exhibits relating to Weston-super-Mare and the surrounding area from 400 milli ...

in the Van Houten Library at NJIT, which includes artifacts from inventor

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." ...

, an early challenger of

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

. One of the main north-south thoroughfares of University Heights is Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. (formerly High Street) home to many historic buildings. Eberhardt Hall at NJIT, St. Mary's Abbey Church, Essex County Hall of Records, and Essex County Courthouse are among Newark's

registered historic places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, as is the former

Essex County Jail The old Essex County Jail is located in the University Heights section of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The jail is Essex County's oldest public building and a national landmark of value for its architectural and social hist ...

. The neighborhood is served by the Washington Street, Warren Street/NJIT, and Norfolk Street stations of Newark's Light Rail which links to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

via the

PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desire p ...

and NJTransit rail systems at Newark's Penn Station. University Heights east to Eleven80 Newark

History

Before the expansion of the universities in the 1960s, the area was modestly affluent and home to many brownstones (as evidenced by the nearby James Street Historic District Downtown). University Avenue was formerly known as Plane Street, as seen in the Washington Street Subway Station where signage directs riders to "Plane Street". High Street, one of the main streets, was renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in honor of the civil rights leader .

New development

After the civil unrest in 1967, the University Heights area fell into sharp decline (as with many neighboring areas in the city). Revitalization came through the expansion of all 4 universities/colleges in its boundaries; K. Hovnanian's Society Hill, a market-rate, 13 acre townhouse development just behind

UMDNJ The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) was a state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States. It was founded as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954, and by the 1980s was both a majo ...

and expansion of nearly all the high schools. Recently, the Essex County Parks Commission created and built Veterans Memorial Park on the former site of a parking garage, as part of a renovation of the adjacent county complex, which itself was upgraded with a new parking deck, streetscape improvements, walking paths and various building upgrades to the Hall of Records, Essex County Court House and former jail, creating a more curb appealing entrance to Downtown Newark. Baxter Park, a mixed-use development started in July 2011 that will include 400 apartment units along with shopping and recreation space, will replace the 500 units in the original Baxter Terrace development, which was demolished starting in 2008. Bio-Trials, a French pharmaceutical research and development company constructed a modern eight story office and research facility on Norfolk St. in 2018. The US Public Health Research Institute is located on Warren St. It was constructed several years ago. There are a host of other projects planned or under construction.

Education

Colleges and universities

* Rutgers–Newark *

Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) is the umbrella organization for the schools and assets acquired by Rutgers University after the July 1, 2013 breakup of the former University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. While its variou ...

(Formerly University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) *

High schools

The neighborhood is also home to many high schools (public and private) including:

Public

* Central High School (moved south to a new campus in the Springfield/Belmont neighborhood) *

Newark Arts High School Newark Arts High School is a four-year magnet public high school, serving students in Ninth through twelfth grades in Newark, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Newark Public Schools. The school is located in ...

Newark Tech High School Newark Tech High School is a regional public high school located in Newark, that offers occupational and academic instruction for students in Essex County, New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regio ...

* Science Park High School (Built in 2006)

Private

* Saint Benedict's Preparatory School, all-boys prep school *

Saint Vincent Academy Saint Vincent Academy (SVA), is a four-year, Catholic, college preparatory school for women located on West Market Street in Newark, New Jersey, United States. It operates under the supervision of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth. Th ...

, all-girls prep school * St. Patricks School

References

External links

NJIT campus gateway redevelopment plan map
{{Coord, 40, 44, 28, N, 74, 10, 59, W, format=dms, display=title, type:city_region:US-NJ Neighborhoods in Newark, New Jersey Academic enclaves Populated places in Essex County, New Jersey