It is the northernmost of the three colonial era downtown parks in the city, along with Lincoln Park and Military Park.[2] The triangular park is bounded by Broad Street, Washington Street, and Washington Place at the end of Halsey Street. It is home to several public monuments and is surrounded by historic civic and commercial buildings. In a ceremony on Juneteenth 2022, the city re-named the park in honor of Harriet Tubman.[3][4]
Skyline of Washington Park buildings such as IDT, North Reformed Church, 33 Washington St, American Insurance Company Building, Cablevision, 1 Washington Park, and Riverfront Stadium as seen from Passaic River in 2015
Originally known as the North Common or the Upper Green,[7] the park is a contributing property to the James Street Commons Historic District and is surrounded by notable landmarks. It forms the northern end of the city's central business district.
A statue of Christopher Columbus was made in Rome by Giuseppe Ciochetti and presented to the city by Newark's Italians in 1927.[11][12][13] It was removed by the city (with pedestal left in place) in June 2020 to prevent its possible toppling in a Black Lives Matter protest.[14][15] The plinth was removed in 2022. The statue was in a vacant city lot, as of October 2020.[16]
A work by Karl Gerhardt of Seth Boyden, who was one of Newark's leading citizens, captain of industry in the 19th century, an inventor of patent leather and innovation for train locomotives.[9][17]
Shadow of a Face by Nina Cooke John is a memorial to Harriet Tubman installed in 2023.[18] It replaced the monument to Columbus.
Wednesdays at Washington Park
Since 2009, a weekly green market and outdoor concert is held at the park from June to October.[19][20][21]
