Downtown – South Orange, New Jersey
Mural painting attempts to create visual interest on a blank wall.
South Mountain Tavern has a somewhat imposing entrance behind a large gate.
The Local Yarn Store strikes a friendly tone with their sign “Come In, Make Something Wonderful.” This shows how the brand of a business can be expressed down to the smallest details.
A view of the downtown with the town hall with tower and copper dome in the distance.
Visit in December 2024
We made a return visit in December 2024. Our purpose was to visit the town hall that had was sold and adaptively reused as a brewery. At the time we arrived on a Sunday afternoon we had the place almost entirely to ourselves. We enjoyed working through the appetizers and playing some card games in their informal pub styled seating area.
The Connett Building was preserved with a matching grant through the Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund administered by the New Jersey Historic Trust and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
The Co-Lab provides an opportunity for multiple businesses to operate under the same roof. We enjoyed seeing books on cooking, self help resources, and a cheese store among the offerings.
Another business, Indigo Road Studios at 10 Vose Ave provides opportunities for people to learn pottery making by trial and error. Lindsey Shevkun is the maker behind the studio. She was formally trained as an Art educator at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. In 2007 she began teaching high school Art. Lindsey built a home pottery studio in 2019 and began expanding her knowledge in wheel thrown forms. Her work is distinctive with features like brush glazing and intricate carved surface design.
On this visit we appreciated buildings of various scales and heights near the train station. This creates visual interest and a sense of excitement.
This pedestrian alley with murals has attractive ironwork overhead. Making the walkway towards parking more attractive encourages people to walk and explore the downtown.
Lastly, street furnishings give a sense of place. This includes the wood benches on metal frames, and the wood and metal side tables. The placement of this bench over a ventilation grate is probably not the best place.
Banners carry the district branding. Given the close proximity to the curb, however, the banners have to be a smaller size and higher up on the pole to provide clearance below.