This is a splendid early 20th century view of Market Street. Starting from the right to the left I’ll briefly describe some of buildings.

The Central Methodist Church, with its defining brownstone tower, was located at 181 Market Street. The building was dedicated  in November 1851, and was destroyed by fire in 1972.

Next to Central Methodist at 215-217 Market Street was the Newark Evening and Sunday News. Founded in 1873,by Wallace Scudder, the paper was considered New Jersey’s paper of record for most of its existence. The Newark Evening News folded on August 31, 1972. The Newark News complex was turned into the Renaissance Tower Condominium.

The American Music Hall , located at 211 Market Street,was created in 1893, when the  First Reformed Church left Market Street and relocated to Clinton and Johnson Avenues. The vacated Market Street church had been dedicated in May 1835. The elaborate brownstone façade visible behind the Music Hall entrance was added to the church in 1857. Around 1908, the entire structure was renovated once more. The Market Street entrance was rebuilt into a four story brick commercial building with elaborate trim that appears to be terracotta. What remained of the old First Reformed Church interior was gutted leaving only the three exterior walls to form the shell of the new theater. They also left the wall that divided the vestibule of the church from the interior. The 1908 renovation was known , for most of its existence , as the Lyric Theater and it stood on that site until demolished for an expansion of the Newark Evening News plant in 1957.

207 Market Street is shown in this view as a  four story 19th century commercial building where electric light and power is being sold and advertised through the use of illuminated signs. With the use of electric illumination in its infancy this must have been quite an attention getter. They are even offering free electric signs. By 1910, 207 Market was occupied by the twelve story, white terracotta, Ordway Building topping out at 120 feet .The Ordway Building was the Lyric’s neighbor until it too met the wrecking ball during the expansion of the Newark Evening News printing plant. Personally, I find it interesting that a theater and a twelve story building were replaced by a bland four story modernist building to house printing presses.