1911-1912
The East Orange Lincoln Statue
This bronze statue was designed by sculptor Frank Edwin
Elwell, and was dedicated on June 14, 1911 at its original
location on the North Oraton Parkway near New Street.
February 9th, 1912, President William Howard Taft came to
East Orange and placed a wreath at the base of the statue on
Oraton Parkway. Taft is the hatless man next to the statue base.
In the 1950's it was moved to its present location in front
of City Hall because of the construction of the Garden State
Parkway.
The building that started it all was The
Hamilton, constructed in 1911 as a luxury dwelling for 36
families on the corner of Central and Munn Avenues. It featured
open fireplaces, gas lighting, timbered dining rooms and even
included a restaurant on the ground floor. The restaurant gave
way to shops as Central Avenue expanded its businesses because of
the trolley lines.
Today, in 2008, it is still used as an
apartment building but the stores have changed and the corner is
now a busy bus stop.
By the mid 1930's East Orange had more
apartment buildings than any other community its size on the
eastern seaboard. A housing boom followed both World Wars, with
most of the new construction being apartment buildings. The
majority of residents of East Orange today live in apartments.
Further Resources of Interest on this
subject: