January 2025.
After making a loop around Courthouse Square in Newark, I continued south down 3rd Street. This is gonna be a short one, because there wasn’t much to see here. I also added the one building I got that is east of Courthouse Square, plus a few I missed.
Brunswick Club
The Brunswick Club as an institution was founded in 1883, with 22 members and $900. Their building may have been built beforehand, but they moved in during 1884, and the Romanesque Revival design speaks to that time period. In 1886, the club’s membership had reached 60 people, including notable citizens like judges and businessmen.
The building itself was mostly dedicated to a billiard hall, the Brunswick Club’s favorite pastime, but it also had commercial space on the first floor and a bedroom and kitchen. It was also rumored to be a brothel at one point.
The Brunswick Club departed the building around 1891 and a tenant you might recall moved into the building in April 1891--the Home Building Association. Their growth over the next two decades to the second-largest bank in Newark allowed them to commission their own purpose-built building, which was designed by Louis Sullivan.
The Brunswick Club’s building suffered damage over the years, like a lightning strike and water damage, but it was renovated in 2016-2017 using historic preservation credits. Currently, the first floor is occupied by Double Image Beauty, while the two above are an apartment.
The Romanesque Revival design is a departure from its Italianate neighbors across Newark. The fenestration is much different--here, a large oriel window with intricate details dominates the second floor, while a large vaulted window with two smaller partners comprise the third floor. This could be an abstraction of the typical Palladian window.
The roof treatment is different, too. Unlike the highly regular bracketed cornices of the surrounding buildings, the Brunswick Club’s roof is defined by the central projection and its mansard roof, a scaled-down version of a typical tower on these buildings. It rises above the simpler roof behind. Also note the special brickwork above the third-floor windows, the stone lintel with the name of the building carved into it, and the cross pattern on top.
Palace Bowling Lanes
I couldn’t find any history about this one online. The structure itself looks vaguely 1900s-1940s, probably built as a warehouse and later converted into a bowling alley. The building has been abandoned for a long time.
“Hey Niko, let’s go bowling!”
Pennsylvania Railroad Station
A postcard of Pennsylvania Station with its original tower. (eBay)
Newark’s stop along the Pennsylvania Railroad was a Gilded Age out-of-towner’s first sight within the city. It was built in 1876 in the Italianate style, featuring a now-removed central tower. Passengers would walk under the tracks through a tunnel and then up a flight of stairs to board the trains. At its peak, the station saw 22 trains daily. It operated until 1960, after which the building was used as a freight depot by Conrail, but it sat unused after 1970. Having been slated for demolition, Pennsylvania Station escaped after being purchased by the Evans Foundation in either 1987 or 1992 (my sources conflict). Its restoration began in March 1998, and today it is an office space used by nonprofits.
Note the elaborate columns and lintel above the central entrance.
McCune-Stimson House
The McCune-Stimson House was built in 1869 in the Italianate style. It was commissioned by Dixon Brown, a merchant from Somerset, who intended the house to be a wedding present for his daughter Ella Brown McCune. She had married a Newark resident. The McCunes lived in the house until 1879, until it was purchased by Melville O. Baker. Baker moved out in 1893 and the subsequent owner was Dr. Claude Stimson, who operated a doctor’s office next door until 1945. The Merrill-Montgomery family purchased the house that year and owned it for the next 30 years, until it was bought by J. Gilbert Reese and his wife, who restored the property. It is currently occupied by an insurance agency.
The house is largely brick aside from its elaborate stone lintels. An asymmetrical tower highlights the entrance and rises a story higher than the rest of the building.
Hotel Seiler/Central Hotel [demolished]
A historic photo of the Hotel Seiler. (Newark’s Lost Buildings)
The classical Hotel Seiler was located at the corner of 2nd Street and Scheidler Street. This building was rather short-lived, having been demolished in 1939, just shy of 40 years after its construction.
Old Post Office/The Skylight [missed]
Newark’s first post office along 2nd Street. (Newark’s Lost Buildings)
This Neoclassical post office along Main Street served as Newark’s second purpose-built post office. Prior to the building’s completion in 1918, Newark’s post office was located next to the now-demolished Oriel Building along 2nd Street. It is a pretty simple Doric composition, but the metal screens inside the front portico are very interesting.
The Old Post Office.
Sherwood Hotel/Hotel Taft [demolished]
A photo of the Sherwood Hotel. (Newark’s Lost Buildings)
This Renaissance Revival hotel was located directly east of the Old Post Office. It was built c. 1900 to face 1st Street with a wide lawn in front, but after the construction of the latter 20 years later, the intended effect was lost. The hotel suffered a major fire in the 1980s and was subsequently razed.
Knights of Pythias Building [missed]
(Google Maps)
I couldn’t find any information about this building online, other than that I was correct in my assumption that “K of P” on the cornice means “Knights of Pythias.” The Knights of Pythias are a fraternal organization/secret society, like the Freemasons. Their Neoclassical building on Main Street in Newark is pretty simple, with a denticulated cornice and ornamented entrance. It is currently occupied by small businesses.
Part 3 continues north of Courthouse Square.
Sources:
https://pocketsights.com/tours/tour/Newark-Historic-Newark-Downtown-Walking-Tour-4865
https://www.lickingcountylibrary.org/media/1076/historic-downtown-walking-tour.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbdY0OWBCEM
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=336941208794273&id=100074351900401&_rdr
https://www.newarkadvocate.com/story/news/local/2015/12/16/brunswick-building-renovated/77429644/
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=205989
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363029241405
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=97336
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