Downtown – Rahway, New Jersey

Isaac Kremer/ September 4, 2024/ downtown, Field Notes, Physical, plaza, public art, Social, storefront, Writing/ 0 comments

This handsome station and plaza are a common sight for commuters. One needs to walk a few blocks away to see some exciting things happening.

This monument on the Plaza recognizes Nikola Tesla. Apparently he had an important role bringing electricity to Rahway. It would be interesting to know more about this story, perhaps through an interpretive sign panel

The hotel anchors the plaza. A stone clad base gives detail on the pedestrian scale for what is a very large building overhead.

This handsome Romanesque Revival commercial building has decorative brick and cast concrete details. The central door is responded by an arched window on the second floor that slightly rises above the parapet.

The Wine & Design storefront has an attractive hand painted sign, bringing brand colors out on to the sidewalk. A cluster of businesses establish this as an emerging arts and entertainment district. Recruitment of complementary businesses would help.

The district banner program carries bright colors and the typical Live, Work, and Shop brand pillars. To this they add “Create.” This provides nice differentiation for Rahway.

Paint is used to activate and cover this building that has gone through some major renovations. The angel wings public art gives an Instagram worthy moment for visitors.

River City Gaming opened in 2022 and is further enhancing the downtown as an entertainment destination. They have a variety of games from traditional to modern PC, PS5, and Nintendo consoles. Two pool tables and two air hockey tables give a nice vintage feel.

Wholly Cow opened in early 2023 and sells gelato and coffee. This is their only location. The interior has a sophisticated high end vibe.

Back towards the station The Coffee Box is another third place that encourages people to gather outside of work and home. Overall Rahway is positioned well for significant growth with a supportive local government and growing cluster of arts and entertainment businesses.

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About Isaac Kremer

Isaac is a nationally acclaimed downtown revitalization leader, speaker, and author. Districts Isaac managed have achieved over $850 million of investment, more than1,645 jobs created, and were 2X Great American Main Street Award Semifinalists and a 1X GAMSA winner in 2023. His work has been featured in Newsday, NJBIZ, ROI-NJ, Patch, TapInto, and USA Today. Isaac is a Main Street America Revitalization Professional (MSARP), with additional certifications from the National Parks Service, Project for Public Spaces, Grow America (formerly the National Development Council), and the Strategic Doing Institute. He currently serves as Executive Director for Experience Princeton in Princeton, New Jersey.

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