Rapp's Boathouse seen from former New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, the WR Draw, which crosses over the park and the Passaic River
Rowers from Nutley High School

Kearny Riverbank Park is a municipal linear park along the Passaic River in Kearny, New Jersey. It is located in the Kearny Uplands north of Bergen Avenue and was extended to Belleville Turnpike in 2011 with brownfield reclamation projects.[1][2][3] In 2012 improvements to the park's greenway were funded with a $1.8 million appropriation from the state.[4]

The reaches of the Passaic along the park have long been popular with rowing teams[5] The park is home to the boathouse used by Kearny, Belleville, and Nutley high school oarsmen.[3]

Dedications

Various sections of park are dedicated to historical figures and events. In some cases they are named for local dignitaries, such as Norman A. Doyle, Henry J. Hill, Daniel T. Sansone, and Joseph M. Healey, all of whom served as councilmen and as Mayor of Kearny. Keating Cove is dedicated to Bernard J. Keating and Wallace Glen is dedicated to both Sir William Wallace and Councilman David A. Wallace. Irish Heritage Park is dedicated to Reverend Monsignor Joseph A. Carroll. Other sections included the Centential Orchard and one dedicated to Christopher Columbus. Another part is named in memory of the Battle of Chantilly,[6] where the town's namesake, Philip Kearny, lost his life in 1862.[7] In 2006, many signboards demarcating the sections were replaced in a sponsorship campaign to re-new them.[8]

Former Home for Disabled Soldiers

While most of the park is parallel to the river, Veterans Memorial Park covers an area that travels farther inland, and is situated on what was once the site of the New Jersey Home for Disabled Soldiers, an old soldiers' home which operated from 1888 to 1932, after which it donated the 10-acre grounds to the town for public recreational use.[9][10] Many Civil War and Spanish–American War veterans are buried in nearby Arlington Memorial Park.[11][12]

See also

References

  1. ^ Buger, Rose (October 2, 2008), "Kearny Riverbank Park expansion moves ahead", Kearny Weekly, retrieved 2011-09-30
  2. ^ "Riverbank Park to be extended Park to be extended to Belleville Turnpike", Kearny Weekly, January 27, 2011, retrieved 2011-09-30
  3. ^ a b Buger, Rose (April 29, 2010), "Plans to make empty lot part of a park", Kearny Weekly, retrieved 2011-09-30
  4. ^ McDonald, Terrence T. (March 25, 2011), "Wittpenn Bridge and Pulaski Skyway among Hudson County road projects to receive $551 million in state funding", The Jersey Journal, retrieved 2011-09-30
  5. ^ "Rowing on the Passaic Newark Oarsmen have a Fine Course" (PDF), The New York Times, April 20, 1890, retrieved 2012-02-19
  6. ^ "Kearny Department of Recreation". Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
  7. ^ "Philip Kearny". www.waymarking.com. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Gave his left arm at Churusco Mexico August 12, 1847 and his life a Chanitlly, Virginia, September 1, 1862
  8. ^ "Riverbank Park Swing Replacement Project" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-09-30. ((cite web)): Check |url= value (help)[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Home for Disabled Soldiers" (PDF). http://shorock.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-09-07. ((cite web)): External link in |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Fitts, Deborah. "Kearny Veterans Home Statue Will Be Replaced". Civil War News. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  11. ^ Sarapin, Janice Kohl (1994), Old Burial Grounds of New Jersey, Rutgers University Press, ISBN 0-8135-2111-4
  12. ^ "Arlington Memorial Park (Kearny) Cemetery - Hudson County, New Jersey". newjerseycivilwargravestones.org. Retrieved 2011-09-07.

External links

40°46′28″N 74°09′06″W / 40.774496°N 74.151706°W / 40.774496; -74.151706

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