The Golden Age of Shopping: Downtown Newark’s “Ladies’ Mile”
In a time before climate-controlled malls and suburban big-box retailers dominated the New Jersey landscape, Newark was the undisputed capital of East Coast commerce. In the 1940s and 1950s, a trip “downtown” was a weekly ritual. Families would arrive by bus, train, or car to find streets teem with life, where massive plate-glass windows displayed the latest Parisian fashions and the most cutting-edge home appliances.
While the intersection of Broad and Market Streets—the legendary “Four Corners”—was the commercial engine of the city, the area around Military Park offered a more refined experience. Known as “Ladies’ Mile,” this stretch of Broad Street catered to the elite, offering the finest luxury goods in America.
Today, as many of these iconic structures have faced the wrecking ball to make way for modern glass towers like the Prudential headquarters, we look back at the architectural giants that defined the Golden Age of Newark.
The Department Store Titans
Gradually replacing the grand 18th-century mansions that once lined Broad Street, a concentration of department stores turned Newark into a retail powerhouse. Names like Hahne & Company, Kresge’s, Plaut’s, and Goerke’s became synonymous with quality.
McCrory’s: The Art Moderne Landmark
Standing at the corner of Broad and Cedar Streets, the McCrory’s Building was a study in architectural evolution. Originally built in 1892 as the William V. Snyder Dry Goods Store, its red-brick facade was later clad in sleek, Art Moderne terra-cotta in the late 1940s.
McCrory’s was famous for its second-floor restaurant and its “secret” transit access. In 1929, the store opened a private platform in the Newark City Subway, allowing customers to step directly from the trolley into the shopping aisles. While the subway rails were eventually paved over for buses, the McCrory’s platform remained a hidden relic of Newark’s transit-integrated shopping era until the building’s demolition.
S. Klein: “On the Square”
Unlike the high-end boutiques of “Ladies’ Mile,” S. Klein (established in the former Hearn’s building in 1949) was a champion of the working class. Its famous slogan, “On the Square,” meant “honest and straight up.”
S. Klein was a pioneer of self-service retail. As Time magazine noted in 1946, it wasn’t a “pretty place”—floors were bare and iron racks were crowded—but it offered high fashion at prices the average Newark family could afford. Its massive “S” sign, spanning four stories, remained a local landmark for decades after the store closed in 1976.
Dining and Diamonds: The Specialist Shops
Schrafft’s: The “Ladies’ Mile” Canteen
At Broad and West Park Streets stood Schrafft’s, a Colonial Revival-influenced restaurant built in 1933. Schrafft’s was the primary social hub for women on shopping expeditions. The chain perfected a “signature style” of walnut woodwork and American period furniture, offering a “safe” and elegant dining room for women in an era when many restaurants were still male-dominated spaces.
The Wiss Building: Precision and Prestige
The 10-story Wiss Building (1910) was one of the tallest in the city upon its completion. Built for the Wiss Company, a Newark-based world leader in scissor and shear manufacturing, the ground floor housed the opulent Wiss Jewelry Store.
Under the motto “a diamond for every purse,” the store sold everything from fine watches to custom-commissioned Lenox China. The Wiss family owned the building until 1956, marking a century-long connection to Newark’s industrial and retail identity.
The Architecture of the Moderne
One of the final historic pieces of the Broad Street streetscape was the Art Moderne Building (c. 1930). With its curved corner entrance and organic chevron-ornamented frieze, it represented the “Space Age” optimism of the pre-war years. It housed Loft’s Candy Store and Jordan’s Ladies Wear, serving as a sleek architectural transition between the heavy Victorian masonry and the coming glass-and-steel era.
A Shifting Landscape
The decline of downtown Newark was fueled by the rise of suburban “behemoths” like Menlo Park Mall and Garden State Plaza. As the mid-1960s brought social unrest and rising crime rates, the allure of the city center faded.
In 2013, the two-block area between Cedar and New Streets was reduced to rubble to make way for the modern Prudential Insurance Company headquarters. While the physical buildings are gone, the spirit of Newark’s Golden Age survives in the stories of a time when Broad Street was the most elegant mile in New Jersey.
If You Visit
While many of the specific buildings mentioned are now gone, downtown Newark is undergoing a massive architectural revival.
- Broad & Market (Four Corners): Still the vibrant heart of the city’s historic commercial district.
- Hahne & Co. Building: Located at 609 Broad Street, this titan has been beautifully restored and now houses a Whole Foods, luxury apartments, and arts spaces.
- Military Park: The center of “Ladies’ Mile” is now a meticulously renovated park with a casual restaurant and seasonal events.
- Newark Museum of Art: Just blocks away, the museum houses extensive collections documenting Newark’s industrial and commercial history.
The History Girl’s Recommended Reading: Bamberger’s: New Jersey’s Greatest Store by Michael J. Lisicky
Before the suburban malls took over, Bamberger’s was the “wonderland” of Newark commerce. This book is a fantastic deep dive into the store’s history—from its legendary mechanical Christmas displays to its high-fashion departments that defined the New Jersey shopping experience for generations.
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