First Landing Party of the Founders of Newark

First Landing Party of the Founders of Newark is a marble monument with bas-relief and inscription by sculptor Gutzon Borglum (1867–1941) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey. It was first unveiled in 1916 and was listed on state and federal registers of historic places in 1994.

First Landing Party of the Founders of Newark
LocationNewark, New Jersey
Coordinates40.7395°N 74.1655°W / 40.7395; -74.1655
Arealess than one acre
Built1916
ArchitectGutzon Borglum
MPSPublic Sculpture in Newark MPS
NRHP reference No.94001256[1]
NJRHP No.1273[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 28, 1994
Designated NJRHPSeptember 13, 1994

Description and original location

This piece is one of several erected across the United States by Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum in his quest to institute "art that is real and American".[3] The work commemorates the Connecticut Puritans who established the city in 1666.[4] It is marble stele with a relief of two male Pilgrims in conversation overlooking a well or spring; above that is a narrow frieze that is a series of images representing Pilgrims in daily life. The stele rests in the center of a flat rectangular stone base, at the foot of which is a fountain basin. The back of the stele is engraved with the names of Newark's founders.[5] The sculpture is 9 feet (2.7 m) tall and weighs 13,000 pounds (5,900 kg).[6]

The monument is alternatively known as the Pilgrim Drinking Fountain and the Bridge Memorial.[7][8] It marks the spot where the Passaic River and an early road converged, which became the site of the original colonial market.[9] The First Landing Party of the Founders of Newark was originally located in Landing Place Park, at the foot of Saybrook Place near the Park Place station of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad.[10]

Newark works by Borglum and historic designation

First Landing Party of the Founders of Newark is one of four public art works created by Mt.Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum that are located in Newark, the others being Seated Lincoln (1911), Indian and the Puritan (1916), and Wars of America (1926).[11][12] The four pieces were added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on September 13, 1994,[2] and the National Register of Historic Places on October 28, 1994 as part of a Multiple Property Submission, "The Public Sculpture of John de la Mothe Gutzon Borglum, 1911–1926".[2][11]

Misplacement and restoration

The sculpure went missing for more than a decade.[13] When the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) was being built in the 1990s Saybrook Place was eliminated and the statue was moved two blocks north to Lombardy Park. When the Newark Light Rail was constructed in 2002 it was moved again. The circumstances are unclear, but it was brought to a lot at the city's Division of Traffic and Signals, where it was all but forgotten. Interest was aroused in anticipation of Newark's 350th anniversary of its founding.[5][6][14] Restoration was funded by the Essex County Board of Freeholders, the Open Space Trust Fund, the Hyde & Watson Foundation, and individual donors.[15][16] It was rededicated in 2016 on a grassy knoll near the NJPAC/Center Street station of the Newark Light Rail.[13]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Essex County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office. January 10, 2010. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  3. Borglum, Gutzon (June 1914). "Art That Is Real And American: Why We Should Create Our Own Art out Of Our Own National History Instead Of Imitating The Work That Properly Expressed The Triumphs Of Greece And Rome". The World's Work: A History of Our Time. XLIV: 200–215.
  4. "1666 – The Founding of Newark – Descendants of Founders of New Jersey". www.njfounders.org.
  5. Carter, Barry (30 July 2014). "Famous Newark statue is flat on its back and not seen for years". nj.com. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  6. Carter, Barry (23 December 2016). "Famous Newark monument stands tall – again". nj.com.
  7. Borisovets, Natalie. "Research Guides: The Newark Experience: Public Art and Artifacts". libguides.rutgers.edu. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  8. "Newark Monuments". www.titchenal.com. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  9. Thurlow, Fearn, "Newark's Sculpture: A survey of public monuments and memorial statuary," The Newark Museum Quarterly, Winter 1975, vol. 6, no. 1,
  10. johnlipari (6 August 2017). "The H&M Railroad Terminal Saybrook Place".
  11. ""The Public Sculpture of John de la Mothe Gutzon Borglum, 1911–1926." The National Register of Historic Places, April 27, 1994" (PDF). Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  12. Columnist, Linda Stamato Star-Ledger Guest. "The sculpture of a city: Newark and its storied past". NJ.com. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  13. Carter, Barry (18 March 2016). "Missing Newark statue returns to city's public art scene". nj.com. Retrieved 19 April 2019. Newark has a famous statue that's been missing from the city's public art landscape for more than a decade.
  14. "First Landing Party of the Founders of Newark · DANA". dana.njit.edu.
  15. Mazzola, Jessica (20 December 2016). "Mt. Rushmore artist's monument resurrected in Newark". nj.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  16. "RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF FREEHOLDERS COUNTY OF ESSEX RESOLUTION NO. FOR RESOLUTION: N.J.S.A. 40:41A-38(n) PROPOSED BY: COUNTY EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY FOR ACTION: N.J.S.A. 40:41A-36(i) SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS – AUTHORIZATION TO USE THE ESSEX COUNTY RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE TRUST FUND FOR A LOCAL AID AWARD TO THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NEW JERSEY FOR THE RENOVATION OF THE "FIRST LANDING PARTY OF THE FOUNDERS OF NEWARK" STATUE IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $35,000.00 26 July 2016" (PDF).
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