Seventh Avenue, formerly known as the First Ward, is a neighborhood in the city of Newark in Essex County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Settled by Italian immigrants beginning in 1870, the First Ward was once known as Newark's Little Italy. In its heyday, Seventh Avenue had a population of 30,000, including 11,000 children, in an area of less than a square mile. The center of life in the neighborhood was St. Lucy's Church, founded by Italian immigrants in 1891. Throughout the year, St. Lucy's and other churches sponsored processions in honor of saints that became community events. The most famous procession is the Feast of St. Gerard.

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...

loved the restaurants of Seventh Avenue so much that he would take the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

to Newark to show them "real Italian food."

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

had bread from Giordano's Bakery sent to him every week until his death, no matter where in the world he was. Gerard Shrine Newark SE jeh

One of the nation's largest Italian newspapers, ''The Italian Tribune,'' was founded on Seventh Avenue.

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer and occasional actor, best known as the frontman (lead singer) of The Four Seasons (band), the Four Seasons. He is known for ...

of the Four Seasons and Congressman Peter Rodino, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee during its impeachment proceedings against

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, were natives of the First Ward. Beginning in 1953, the working class and poor Italian-American Seventh Avenue neighborhood was subjected to

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

efforts. Eighth Avenue was removed, scattering its Italian-American residents to make way for the construction of the Christopher Columbus Homes housing project and Interstate 280. The area experienced one of the highest crime rates in the city during the 1970s and suffered major destruction from arson fires. The neighborhood was largely rebuilt by the erection of townhouses, although the Italian community and most of its businesses never recovered.Immerso (2004), pp. 140–41. The last of the Christopher Columbus Homes was demolished in 1996.

References

{{Coord, 40, 45, 07, N, 74, 10, 23, W, format=dms, display=title, type:city_region:US-NJ Italian-American culture in New Jersey Neighborhoods in Newark, New Jersey Little Italys in the United States Populated places in Essex County, New Jersey

See also

References