28 Sep ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES HISTORIC BALLANTINE GATES IN ESSEX COUNTY BRANCH BROOK PARK ARE RESTORED
Published on September 28, 2020
Newark, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced on Friday, September 25th that the restoration of the historic Ballantine Gate in Essex County Branch Brook Park has been completed. The project is part the County Executive’s ongoing initiative to preserve historic features within the Essex County Parks System and ensure all facilities are safe and up to date.
“The Ballantine Gate is a recognized feature of Branch Brook Park and a landmark in the Forest Hill neighborhood on Newark. Restoring this entrance during the 125th anniversary of the Essex County Parks System underscores the rich history of and beautiful architecture found in our open spaces,” DiVincenzo said. “Preserving historical elements such as the Gates keeps the history of the Parks System alive and enables our residents to enjoy and gain an appreciation for our open spaces,” he added.
The restoration of the Ballantine Gates received support from the community.
“You can’t lose sight that a national treasure, Branch Brook Park, the first county park created in the United States, is right here in our backyard. This project demonstrates County government listens to the concerns of the public and functions as a partner with the community,” NJ State Senator and Deputy Chief of Staff Teresa Ruiz said.
“This is a tremendous project and I’m humbled to work with everyone to restore a symbol of Branch Brook Park and the Forest Hill community,” Freeholder President Brendan Gill said.
“It’s amazing that this project to beautify a symbol of Newark’s history was done during the pandemic. I am lucky to reside in a community filled with such great activists,” Newark North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos said. “I want to thank the County Executive for his vision. This is part of our history,” Newark Councilman Luis Quintana said.
“For 125 years, Branch Brook Park has been at the heart of the City of Newark and an anchor for the Forest Hill community. The regal presence of the Ballantine Gates serves as a gateway into the park and links our historic Forest Hill neighborhood with its surrounding community, city and park,” said Paul A. Agostini, President of the Forest Hill Community Association. “We are grateful to Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, Jr., North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos, Jr., Senator Teresa Ruiz, Essex County Freeholder Robert Mercardo, The Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund, Netta Architects of Springfield and ZN Construction of Saddle Brook for recognizing the importance and value of restoring these magnificent structures to their original splendor. Open spaces like Branch Brook Park make a city livable, desirable, and provides a haven of tranquility during this time of great uncertainty,” he said. “The association’s mission is to protect and maintain the historical integrity of the neighborhood and Branch Brook Park is an important element to that. We thank the County for bringing the Ballantine Gates back to their original glory,” Forest Hill Neighborhood Association Secretary Jackie Jay said.
“This is such a happy moment. The Gates are such a tremendous symbol of Newark’s richer and diverse history,” said Newark historian Liz DelTufo.
“The restoration of the Ballantine Gates is exciting both for the restoration of this historic resource in Newark, but also because they literally serve to connect two other historic resources of great importance and grandeur in Newark. Branch Brook Park, the nation’s first county park and Forest Hill, a residential historic district of approximately 1,200 residences, are now tied together with the sensitively restored Gates. The advocacy work of the residents of the Forest Hill Community Association to push this, and other preservation and community building efforts forward in their district is impressive,” said Emily Manz, Director of Preservation New Jersey.
Attention to the two gatehouses was needed because of the age and wear and tear on the 120-year-old structures. The two gate houses received a complete facelift with new roofing installed, masonry and brownstone repaired, non-historic windows replaced and the interior completely restored. Lighting inside and outside of the building was upgraded, drainage around the site was improved, the fence was repaired and paving was done around the site was recreated based on historical documents. Landscaping and plantings by the gate houses were installed based on historical documents.
The Ballantine family donated 32 acres of property to be added to Branch Brook Park in the late 1800s. In 1898, Robert Ballantine presented the park with the beaux-arts entrance gateway at the corner of Lake Street and Ballantine Parkway.
Netta Architects from Springfield was awarded a professional services contract for $145,760 to design the improvements. ZN Construction LLC from Saddle Brook was awarded a publicly bid contract for $760,000 to perform the construction work. The restoration project was funded with a grant from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund. Work began in March and was completed in six months.
Revitalizing Essex County’s Branch Brook Park
The Branch Brook Park Alliance has been the primary partner with Essex County to revitalize Branch Brook Park, which opened in 1895. More than $50 million of upgrades have been made throughout the Park through this partnership. Park enhancements have been supported with grants from corporations, the New Jersey Green Acres program, the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund, philanthropic organizations and community members. In addition, the Alliance has sponsored a variety of programs to clean the waterways, spruce up the park, maintain the cherry tree collection, develop an urban farm, among other activities.
The Branch Brook Dog Park was A new synthetic grass surface was installed on the Robert Clemente Baseball Field in 2019. Synthetic grass surfaces were installed on the Ray Dandridge and Jerome Greco Little League Fields in 2018. A bronze bust of Frederick Law Olmstead was dedicated in 2018 and a bronze bust of Mendelssohn was restored and rededicated in 2017; both are located in the Prudential Concert Grove. A playground designed with a cherry blossom theme was opened at the Essex County Cherry Blossom Welcome Center in 2015. The Barbara Bell Coleman Welcome Center and Concourse Hill upgrades, along with the opening of a two-mile, synthetic surface walking track, creation of a children’s garden at the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center, renovation of a well in the Park’s Northern Division, the rehabilitation of the Reservoir Walls in the Park’s Southern Division and modernization of the Clifton Avenue basketball courts were completed in 2014. The bronze statue honor the late tennis legend Althea Gibson was dedicated and the 20-court tennis complex named in her honor received a complete makeover in March 2012 and the field house in the tennis complex was renovated in July 2012.
A multi-phase project to upgrade the lakefront in the Southern Division was completed in April 2012. It included the restoration of the historic Prudential Lions statues and balustrade, the rehabilitation of two buildings for restrooms and public meeting space, updating the music court with new pavers and landscaping. The music court overlooking the lake was dedicated as the “Prudential Concert Grove” to recognize the corporation’s ongoing support to restore the Park, and a memorial cherry tree grove was rededicated in honor of Kiyofumi Sakaguchi, who was President and CEO of Prudential International Insurance at the time of his death.
The renovation of the historic Octagon Fieldhouse in the Essex County Stephen N. Adubato, Sr. Sports Complex was completed in April 2011. Completed in 2010 were a project to pave the park roadway, upgrade walking paths, and install historic lighting in the section of the park from the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center to Heller Parkway, the planting of 600 Cherry Trees and other trees throughout Branch Brook Park and the paving of the park roadway from Mill Street to Washington Street.
In September 2009, the Middle Division Recreation Complex was renamed as the “Essex County Stephen N. Adubato, Sr. Sports Complex,” in honor of the founder of The North Ward Center and Robert Treat Academy. In August 2009, a synthetic surface football/soccer field was constructed and named after NFL Hall of Famer and Barringer High School alumni Andre Tippett. Earlier in 2009, a “demonstration project” in the Branch Brook Park Extension enhanced landscaping, added Cherry Trees, improved pathways and modernized entranceways into the park from Franklin Avenue. The Bloomfield Avenue Bridge that passes over the Middle Division was rehabilitated in 2009.
The Cherry Blossom Welcome Center was renovated and transformed into a year-round showplace to raise awareness about the Japanese Flowering Cherry Blossom Trees in 2008. A replica of the historic Octagon Shelter in the Southern Division of Essex County Branch Brook Park was built in 2007 and the baseball field complex known as the “three diamonds” was upgraded in 2007. The baseball/softball complex in the Branch Brook Park Middle Division was reopened in April 2005 after a remediation and modernization project, and the historic restoration of the Park Avenue Bridge was completed in 2005. Entrance enhancements, new fencing and landscaping along Clifton Avenue and Mill Street, and a major improvement project along Lake Street have made the park more inviting.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system established in the United States. The Park System consists of more than 6,000 acres and has 23 parks, five reservations, an environmental center, a zoo, Treetop Adventure Course, ice skating rink, roller skating rink, three public golf courses, a miniature golf course, golf driving range, four off-leash dog facilities, a castle and the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. Branch Brook Park was created in 1895 and is the first park in Essex County’s system. At 359.72 acres, it is the largest county park in Essex.