Plainfield, New Jersey

Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."About
City of Plainfield. Accessed December 29, 2021. "Plainfield Is Nicknamed 'The Queen City.'" The city is both a regional hub for Central New Jersey and a bedroom suburb of the New York Metropolitan area, located within the core of the Raritan Valley region. Per the 2020 census, the population was 54,586.Plainfield city, New Jersey
United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 19, 2022.

The area of present-day Plainfield was originally formed as Plainfield Township, a township that was created on April 5, 1847, from portions of Westfield Township, while the area was still part of Essex County. On March 19, 1857, Plainfield Township became part of the newly created Union County.

Plainfield was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 21, 1869, from portions of Plainfield Township, based on the results of a referendum held that same day. The city and township coexisted until March 6, 1878, when Plainfield Township was dissolved and parts were absorbed by Plainfield city, with the remainder becoming Fanwood Township (now known as Scotch Plains).Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 240. Accessed April 10, 2012.

The name "Plainfield", also used in both North Plainfield and South Plainfield, is derived from a local estate or from its scenic location.

History

Plainfield was settled in 1684 by Quakers, and incorporated as a city in 1869. Formerly a bedroom suburb in the New York metropolitan area, it has become the urban center of 10 closely allied municipalities, with diversified industries, including printing and the manufacture of chemicals, clothing, electronic equipment, and vehicular parts. Among the several 18th-century buildings remaining are a Friends' meetinghouse (1788), the Martine house (1717), and the Nathaniel Drake House (1746), known as George Washington's headquarters during the Battle of Short Hills in June 1777. Nearby Washington Rock is a prominent point of the Watchung Mountains and is reputed to be the vantage point from which Washington watched British troop movements.

The "Queen City" moniker arose in the second half of the 19th century. Plainfield had been developing a reputation during this period as featuring a climate that was beneficial for respiratory ailments. In 1886, in an effort to publicize the climate, local newspaper publisher Thomas W. Morrison began to use the slogan "Colorado of the East" to promote Plainfield. As Denver, Colorado, was known as the "Queen City of the Plains," the slogan for Plainfield eventually became abbreviated to "The Queen City."

In 1902, the New Jersey Legislature approved measures that would have allowed the borough of North Plainfield to become part of Union County (a measure repealed in 1903) and to allow for a merger of North Plainfield with the City of Plainfield subject to the approval of a referendum by voters in both municipalities.

Plainfield is the birthplace of P-Funk. George Clinton founded The Parliaments while working in a Plainfield barber shop. Parliament-Funkadelic was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Plainfield has been home to former New Jersey governor James McGreevey.

In sports history, Plainfield is the birthplace and/or home of several current and former athletes, including professionals and well-known amateurs. Included in their number are Milt Campbell Decathlon gold medalist (the first African-American to earn this title), Joe Black, the first African-American pitcher to win a World Series game, Jeff Torborg, former MLB player, coach and manager, former Duke University and Chicago Bull basketball player Jay Williams, and Vic Washington, NFL player.

Plainfield's history as a place to call home for the 19th and 20th century wealthy has led to a significant and preserved suburban architectural legacy. An influx of Wall Street money led to the creation of what was called Millionaires' Row after the opening of the railway in the 19th century.Payne, Lauren
"History Lesson: Preserving An Achitectural Treasure in Plainfield A Plainfield couple prove that preserving an architectural treasure—while challenging, time-consuming and, yes, costly—is well worth the effort."
''New Jersey Monthly'', October 16, 2012. Accessed March 3, 2020.

There are numerous sites, including homes, parks, and districts in the city that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. While not listed, the Plainfield Armory, a prominent landmark completed in 1932, was sold by the state in 2013 as surplus property.

Plainfield's wealthy northeast corner, known as the "Sleepy Hollow" section of the city, was and still is characterized by its array of finely landscaped streets and neighborhoods with homes defined by a broad array of architectural styles, most built during the first half of the twentieth century. From the tree-lines neighborhoods, it can be seen that the lot sizes vary, but the stateliness and distinction of each house is evident, whether a stately Queen Anne mansion or gingerbread cottage. Most lots are nicely landscaped and semi or fully private.

Plainfield was affected by the Plainfield Rebellion in July 1967. This civil disturbance occurred in the wake of the larger Newark riots. A Plainfield police officer was killed, about fifty people were injured, and several hundred thousand dollars of property was damaged by looting and arson. The New Jersey National Guard restored order after three days of unrest."Plainfield Burning: Black Rebellion in the Suburban North", Thomas J. Sugrue and Andrew M. Goodman, Journal of Urban History, vol. 33 (May 2007), pp. 368–401. This civil unrest caused a massive white flight, characterized by the percentage of Black residents rising from 40% in 1970 to 60% a decade later.

Author and Plainfield native Isaiah Tremaine published ''Insurrection'' in 2017 as a mournful accounting of the Plainfield riots—and subsequent racial tensions at Plainfield High School—from his perspective as a Black teenager living in the city with both white and Black friends at the time. Prior to the rebellion, Plainfield was a regional shopping and entertainment center. Residents of nearby Union, Middlesex and Somerset counties would drive to shop and explore the business districts of Plainfield. Other than during the holidays, peak shopping times Plainfield were Thursday nights and Saturday, when Front Street and the areas around it bustled.

Plainfield had several entertainment venues at that time. At the peak, there were four operating movie theaters: the Strand, the Liberty, the Paramount and the Oxford theaters.

Manufacturers of heavy goods included Chelsea Fan Corp., Mack Truck and National Starch and Chemical Corp. Plainfield Iron and Metal maintained a large scrapyard in the West End.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 5.97 square miles (15.46 km²), including 5.96 square miles (15.43 km²) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.02 km²) of water (0.15%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Netherwood.

The city is located in Central Jersey on the southwestern edge of Union County and is bordered by nine municipalities. In Union County are Scotch Plains to the north and east and Fanwood to the northeast. In Middlesex County, are South Plainfield and Piscataway to the south; Dunellen to the southwest and Edison to the southeast. In Somerset County, Green Brook Township lies to the northwest, North Plainfield lies to the north and Watchung borders to the northwest.

Plainfield is in the Raritan Valley, a line of cities in central New Jersey, and lies on the east side of the Raritan Valley along with Edison.

The Robinson's Branch of the Rahway River additionally flows through Plainfield en route to the Robinson's Branch Reservoir.

Climate

Plainfield has a humid continental climate, characterized by brisk to cold winters and hot, muggy summers. The lowest temperature ever recorded was on February 9, 1934, and the highest temperature ever recorded was on July 10, 1936, and August 11, 1949.NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Accessed March 2, 2012. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Plainfield has a humid subtropical climate, which is abbreviated as "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2010 Census

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $52,056 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,048) and the median family income was $58,942 (+/− $4,261). Males had a median income of $33,306 (+/− $4,132) versus $37,265 (+/− $3,034) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $23,767 (+/− $1,013). About 12.2% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.5% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.

2000 Census

As of the 2000 United States Census of 2000, there were 47,829 people, 15,137 households, and 10,898 families residing in the city. The population density was 7,921.7 people per square mile (3,057.4/km²). There were 16,180 housing units at an average density of 2,679.8 per square mile (1,034.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 21.45% White, 61.78% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.93% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 10.78% from other races, and 4.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.16% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Plainfield city, New Jersey
, United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 6, 2012.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Plainfield city, Union County, New Jersey
, United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 6, 2012.

There were 15,137 households, out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.3% were married couples living together, 24.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.49.

In the city the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,683, and the median income for a family was $50,774. Males had a median income of $33,460 versus $30,408 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,052. About 12.2% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Portions of Plainfield are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone. The city was selected in 1983 as one of the initial group of 10 zones chosen to participate in the program. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125% sales tax rate (half of the % rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in January 1986, the city's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in December 2023.

The UEZ program in Plainfield and four other original UEZ cities had been allowed to lapse as of January 1, 2017, after Governor Chris Christie, who called the program an "abject failure", vetoed a compromise bill that would have extended the status for two years. In May 2018, Governor Phil Murphy signed a law that reinstated the program in these five cities and extended the expiration date in other zones.

Downtown Plainfield has two historic commercial districts: the North Avenue Commercial District and the Plainfield Civic District. Both are on the National Register of Historic Places.

* The North Avenue Commercial District features the Downtown train station, post office, and Plainfield National Bank (now PNC Bank). The architecture of the district reflects original exterior 19th and early 20th century façade architecture.
* The Plainfield Civic District features architecture reflective of the turn-of-the-century City Beautiful Movement, including the City Hall building, YMCA, City Hall Annex, and World War I monument on Watchung Avenue.

Events such as the Christmas Tree Lighting, the Queen City 5k, Fire Safety Fair, and Mayor's Wellness Walk take place in the Downtown each year.

Downtown Plainfield Alliance (DPA) is a "nonpolitical, nonprofit grassroots group that supports the improvement of Downtown Plainfield through beautification, volunteerism, economic development, marketing, community development, and activism."

Historic districts

The restoration of large 19th century-era Plainfield estates to their original glory, such as the Craig Marsh home, has been featured in various home design magazine coverage.
Residential districts include:

* Van Wyck Brooks Historic District, which includes more than 150 properties, was listed in This Old House magazine's 2012 list of "Best Old House Neighborhoods." Roughly bounded by Plainfield Avenue, West Eighth Street, Park Avenue, West Ninth Street and Madison Avenue, and Randolph Road, it was named for literary critic and native son Van Wyck Brooks.Our History
The Van Wyck Brooks Historic District. Accessed April 25, 2021. "Van Wyck Brooks Historic District is the largest of the six residential Historic Districts in Plainfield and encompasses 152 properties.... In 1982 the Van Wyck Brooks Historic District was designated by the City of Plainfield as a Historic District and placed on the National Register in 1986." In addition to the above-mentioned Craig Marsh home, it also contains the largest residence in Plainfield (The Coriell Mansion) and a wide variety of other historically and architecturally notable homes. The Van Wyck Brooks Historic District is the largest of the six residential Historic Districts in Plainfield, its oldest structure the Manning Stelle Farmhouse, parts of which date back to 1803. It has been a designated historic district by the City of Plainfield since 1982, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
* Netherwood Heights Historic District is named for the Netherwood Hotel which stood at what is now the blocks bordered by Denmark Road, Park Terrace, Belvidere Avenue, Berkeley Avenue. This district is located near the Netherwood Train StationDo I live in a Historic District?
, City of Plainfield. Accessed May 13, 2020.
* Crescent Area Historic District
* Hillside Avenue Historic District
*Sleepy Hollow is, as of 2018, a section of stately homes on winding roads on the northeast side of the city. Some have pushed to formalize its boundaries.

The West End

While the more affluent eastern part of the city has been relatively integrated over the decades, with both Black and white upper-middle-class-to-wealthy families, the West End of Plainfield is the historically middle-class and working-class Black district in the city and features a close-knit African-American community.

Part of the West End is known to locals as Soulville.

Mount Olive Baptist Church has been serving the West End as a community of faith since 1870. It is considered Plainfield's first Black church.Mount Olive Baptist Church
Plainfield Public Library. Accessed March 3, 2020. "Mount Olive Baptist Church was organized in 1870 and groundbreaking for what was to be Plainfield's first Black church occurred on March 1, 1871 at the intersection of Third and Liberty streets." As the Black community grew, other congregations branched off from Mount Olive.

Calvary Baptist Church began in 1897 among a group of Black congregants from Mount Olive, and celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2017 with a series of events.

Nearby, Shiloh Baptist Church was founded in 1908, also by Mount Olive congregants, and offers many faith-based events to the community, including its Jazz for Jesus program.

The West End has been eyed recently for redevelopment.

The White Star, a diner in the West End on West Front Street near Green Brook Park, has been an area meeting spot and landmark for over half a century.

The West End has grown more Latin in recent years. As of the 2010 census, 40% of all people living in Plainfield were of Hispanic origin. This was up from 25% ten years earlier.

In his book ''Insurrection'', Isaiah Tremaine, a Black Plainfield native, credits the influx of Latinos for breathing new life and energy into a city hurting from racism and racial strife in the 1970s.

The West End was once home to the Silk Palace, a barbershop at 216 Plainfield Avenue owned in part by funk music legend George Clinton, staffed by various members of Parliament-Funkadelic, and known as the "hangout for all the local singers and musicians" in Plainfield's 1950s and 1960s doo-wop, soul, rock and proto-funk music scene.

LBGTQ+ community

A sizable and diverse LGBTQ+ community contributes to the long-time perception of Plainfield as a stronghold of gay life and gay community in the suburbs of New Jersey.

Plainfield has one of the highest percentage of same-sex householders in the state of New Jersey. The First Unitarian Society of Plainfield, the oldest such congregation in the United States, is certified as LGBTQ welcoming.

In 1986, ''The New York Times'' reported on what was termed at the time as the "growing homosexual population in Plainfield" drawn to the stock of aging Victorian, Tudor and colonial homes, and featured interviews with various gay men who lived in Plainfield and worked in Manhattan.

One of the Queen City's elected leaders, former Councilwoman Rebecca Williams (who now represents all of Union County as chair of the county commissioners), is openly lesbian. In 2017, as Council President, Williams organized and hosted the city's first-ever Pride flag-raising to honor its LGBTQ community and to commemorate the victims of the Pulse Orlando massacre during Pride Month.

Plainfield has also been recently described as part of some newly formed Catholic gay outreach, ministry, and acceptance efforts in New Jersey.

In 2015, an openly gay Plainfield Republican ran for state Assemblyman.

Plainfield has been home to openly gay former New Jersey governor James McGreevey and his longtime partner, an Australian-American business executive.

Plainfield is also at the center of gay life in Union County, which hosts LGBTQ family events and opened the state's first county-wide office of LGBTQ services in 2018.

Tëmike Park is an LGBTQ+ welcoming space in Plainfield between Stelle Avenue and Randolph Road. It is named for a Lenape-language expression of welcome.

Arts and culture

*The recently inaugurated Queen City Film Festival is held in the city every fall to honor independently produced film.
*Plainfield is the birthplace of Bill Evans, the famous jazz piano artist.

*Plainfield is the birthplace of P-Funk. George Clinton founded The Parliaments while working in a barber shop in Plainfield. Parliament-Funkadelic was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
*Acclaimed soul singer Lee Fields resides with his family in Plainfield and moved to the city as a teen in the 1960s.Archived a
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*The Plainfield Symphony performs concerts at Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church. The orchestra was founded in 1919, making it one of the oldest continuously operating orchestras in the United States.
* 1990s R&B girl group Total, of Bad Boy Records fame, is from Plainfield.

*In October 2010, former Plainfield music teacher and American Idol alum Anwar Robinson and performer Yolanda Adams joined with community residents to try to be recognized by ''Guinness World Records'' for assembling the world's largest gospel chorus.
*The duCret School of Art was founded in 1926, making it the oldest art school in New Jersey. Founded by Marjorie Van Emburgh Chargois as the Van Emburgh School of Art, it was purchased in the 1960s by Dudley duCret. A 1933 exhibition of nudes by the school's artists once led to a controversy, according to ''The New York Times''. Plainfield native Onyx Keesha, prior to her relocation to Atlanta, and members of the arts collective and production team M. PoWeR Arts have offered classes in filmmaking, acting, dance, writing and theater to Plainfield citizens at the duCret School of Art.
*The Swain Galleries were founded in 1868. The entity is the oldest privately owned art gallery in the state. The galleries are located in a Victorian structure in the Crescent Historic District of Plainfield
*Music in the Park is an annual summertime community concert event featuring the Plainfield Idol competition.
*The Parish Hall Theater at the Plainfield Cultural Center is a proscenium theater that seats approximately 125 people. Available for theatrical productions and musical performances, it features theatrical lighting, a spot light, separate lighting booth, an upright piano and a sound system.
*The historic Sanctuary at the Plainfield Cultural Center offers prime acoustics for recordings by bands and vocalists. The Sanctuary seats approximately 140 people. It is available for rehearsals, concerts, recording sessions, spoken word events, recitals and meetings.
*The Plainfield Music Store was founded in 1951 and offers a vast archive of sheet music.
*The French School of Music offers music lessons and was founded in 1927 by Yvonne Comme, a pupil of Gabriel Fauré who performed for Debussy.
* Begun in 1980, the annual Crescent Concerts series at Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church brings high-end vocal, instrumental, choral and orchestral music performances to the residents of the City of Plainfield and surrounding areas.
* The Queen City October Music Festival is an annual music festival that is spearheaded by the Plainfield Arts Council.
* The Shiloh Baptist Church, which has been worshiping together as a Plainfield community of faith since 1908, hosts Jazz In The Sanctuary as part of the Queen City October Music Festival as well as its Jazz for Jesus program.
*DreamHouse Theater Company is a theater company operated in partnership with the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield (FUSP). DreamHouse performs one-act and original plays, readings, spoken word and musical offerings.
*In the teaser trailer for the film, ''A Good Day to Die Hard'', John McClane remarks "the 007 of Plainfield, New Jersey" thus confirming this as his fictional birthplace.
* J.M. Benjamin is a Plainfield author and filmmaker whose short film, ''Moves We Make'', was filmed in Plainfield and won the Paul Robeson Award at the Newark Black Film Festival.

Media

Media outlets

Plainfield media includes:

* ''TAPinto Plainfield'' is an online news site devoted to Plainfield.Home Page
TAP into Plainfield. Accessed April 18, 2022.
*''Union News Daily''. A news outlet covering Union County news, it has a dedicated Plainfield section. It is part of LocalSource and published by Worrall Community Newspapers of Union.
*''PCTV''. Plainfield also has its own channel, Plainfield Community Television (PCTV), which is available to Comcast and Verizon FiOS television subscribers on Comcast Cable Channel 96/Verizon FIOS Channel 34.Media PCTV Comcast 96/Verizon34
City of Plainfield. Accessed April 18, 2020.

Remaining multi-community newspapers include the '' Courier News'', a daily newspaper based in Bridgewater Township, and ''The Star-Ledger'' based in Newark.
The ''Courier News'' is a consolidation of ''The Evening News'' (founded in 1884), the ''Plainfield Daily Press'' (founded in 1887) and the ''Plainfield Courier'' (founded in 1891). The paper was based in the city and called the ''Plainfield Courier News'' until 1972, when it moved westward to Bridgewater.

Other Plainfield coverage

Local civic reporting includes:
*''And My Point Is: A Progressive Vision for Union County'' is a countywide civic blog written by elected Union County Commissioner Rebecca Williams, Plainfield resident and English professor at Essex County College.
*''Cory Storch for Good Government'' is a local civic blog focused on good government, written by Ward 2 Councilman Cory Storch, CEO of Bridgeway Rehabilitation Services, a not-for-profit mental health service organization.
*''Plainfield View'' is another hyperlocal blog, published by David Marcus Rutherford.
* ''Plainfield Vision'' is a blog dedicated to improving Plainfield, written by Plainfield Democratic City Committee member Sean McKenna.
*''Queen City Pride'' is a local news and events blog.

Defunct media

As of 2017, local media in New Jersey has undergone dramatic shrinkage.

''C L I P S'' was a daily online news round-up dedicated to local Plainfield news by the late Dan Damon, former City of Plainfield information officer, who passed in 2020. "Begun in 2003 as an email newsletter to Plainfield city council members. it was later offered to the general public by email and had been available as a blog since 2007."
''Plainfield Today'' was a city opinion blog also published by Damon.

Plainfield Plaintalker (2005–2010) and Plaintalker II (2010–2017) were two local blogs published by longtime local reporter Bernice Paglia.

From 1961 to 1997, Plainfield was home to WERA at 1590 on the AM dial with studios at 120 West 7th Street.

Places of worship

Houses of worship include:

* Saint Mary's Catholic Church Built in the 1870s in what was then a heavily Irish neighborhood by Irish-born architect Jeremiah O'Rourke it is now a heavily Spanish-speaking parish.
*Grace Church Founded in 1852, and registered a national historic site, Grace Church is an example of late 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture. A very active parish, with a large community outreach program (''After-School care, Community Garden, E.S.L., Soup Kitchen, 12-Step Programs, a Robust Music Program, Zumba, etc'').
* First Park Baptist.
* Albaseerah Islamic Center is a mosque in the Sleepy Hollow district.
* First Unitarian Society of Plainfield was founded in the 1880s. It is the oldest Unitarian congregation in the country. All Souls Church, which hosts First Unitarian was completed in the early 1890s. Magician and architect Oscar Teale designed the church in 1892. With a history of involvement in the LGBTQ community and support for Black Lives Matter, it is certified as a Unitarian Universalist LGBTQ Welcoming Congregation.
* Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church. A Gilbert F. Adams organ undergirds the church's musical programming.
* The Mt. Olive Baptist Church.
* Plainfield Friends Quaker Meeting House.
* Seventh Day Baptist Church
* St. Bernard of Clairvaux & St. Stanislaus Kostka.
* Shiloh Baptist Church, established 1908.
* The United Presbyterian Church 1825.
* New Covenant Church, Pentecostal.
* Cross of Life Lutheran Church (ELCA)

Parks and recreation

* Tëmike Park opened in June 2022 as an inclusive LGBTQ+ space and playground located at the northern end of Cedar Brook Park in Plainfield.
* Cedar Brook Park lies on the west side of the city.
* Green Brook Park offers hiking, sports, and picnicking in the West End.
* The Plainfield Garden Club was founded in 1915. It has maintained the Shakespeare Garden in Cedar Brook Park since the garden's inception in 1927. Designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, it is one of only 23 Shakespeare Gardens in the US. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a part of the state's Women's Heritage trail.
* The hiking trails of the Watchung Reservation are located close to the city boundaries.
* Plainfield Skatepark at Madison Park offers skateboarding and other wheeled activity. In 2017, this state-of-the-art public skateboarding area opened inside Madison Park. It is the first public skatepark in the city. Its modern California-style design was deemed by some skateboarders as a first in New Jersey.
* Milt Campbell Field in the East End, named for Plainfield legend and Olympic gold medalist Milt Campbell