I'm always putting down New Jersey, so I have to say something nice about it sometimes, or people will ask, Why do you live there?
The Newark Museum is a gem. Go to their website (which is hideous) to see the wonders contained therein. It is the first place I take visiting out-of-towners, and they always enjoy it. Two really fine things: the Ballantine House, a real Victorian house attached to the Museum, which was owned by a rich brewer in Newark's glory days; and a Tibetan exhibit which will knock your eyes out, complete with an altar built to Tibetan specs and blessed by the Dalai Lama.
There is also a collection of sterling silver--Newark was once a center of fine silver manufacture.
The Museum mainly concentrates on American art, and they have some wonderful things. There is also a Children's Museum and a Planetarium, and in the beautiful garden are a Fire Museum and the oldest one-room schoolhouse in New Jersey.
The staff is pleasant and helpful. And last but not least, there is a nice gift shop and a wonderful children's gift shop featuring inexpensive toys and treasures.
Can the poor Museum help it if it is in the middle of Newark, New Jersey?
Article comments
1 - Aaman
What is the link to their website?
2 - Mark Sahm
South Jersey (suburbs and shores where I grew up) is much nicer than North Jersey (where all NY and CT people see the factories, industrial plants and interstate highways), but thanks for making a backhanded compliment for the whole state.
3 - gonzo marx
another voice fomr the Jersey Shore here...Monmouth County, from Sandy Hook to Point Pleasant...
great beaches, and the original Boardwalks...from up here in Maine, sometimes i do miss what Asbury Park used to be...
ah well...
Excelsior!
4 - Nancy
I once got lost in southern NJ, and the pine barrens was SO pretty...just like the Eastern Shore of MD before they started developing it. There are plenty of small towns in the northern part that are nice, too. The problem w/ NJ is ... Elizabeth. *gak*
5 - Lisa McKay
Any state that produced Bruce Springsteen can't be all bad.
6 - David R. Mark
People who put down NJ don't live here. It's unfortunate that most people think of the oil refineries along the NJ Turnpike, or the riots from four decades ago in Newark and Asbury Park.
NJ is a green state, with a seemingly endless number of parks, farms, orchards, forests, etc. It has a wealth of museums, including the one you referenced, as well as performing arts centers, and great local theaters like the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn. It also has the Jersey Shore, which is worth a visit.
NJ is one of the nation's wealthiest states, with great lower level schools, an excellent state university (Rutgers), as well as Princeton.
Plus, it's great to be just a few minutes from NYC, and all it has to offer.
7 - Eric Olsen
and John McPhee
8 - miriam
Nobody even mentioned that we are not allowed to pump our own gas. I appreciate tht, I really do. Way to go, New Jersey!
9 - JR
Hey, maybe next they can make it illegal to prepare your own meals! Kitchens are dangerous places, you know.
10 - bhw
NJ is a green state, with a seemingly endless number of parks, farms, orchards, forests, etc.
True, indeed. They don't call it the Garden State for nothing.
BTW, I'll never get over the name change of the Garden State Arts Center to the PNC Bank Center. Bastards.
11 - JR
Money magazines's number one place to live. Not only is it in New Jersey, it's a suburb of Philadelphia. Who woulda thought?
12 - Nancy
Well...obviously NJ deserves a closer look-see sometime in future - away from the NJ Turnpike.
13 - Duece
I spent twelve glorious weeks in Coast Guard Boot Camp at Cape May.
Wonderful, simply wonderful.
Used to be a lifesaver.... then they went ocean nazi and I bailed.
14 - Shark
...and gawd bless Museum Directors, Curators, and collectors for continuing to encourage the theft and plunder of cultural artifacts worldwide.
feh.
15 - miriam
Hey shark! Do you think the Museum curators etc are doing worse by the Tibetans than the Chinese government?
The original nucleus of the Tibetan collection came from stuff brought back by missionaries. I assume they bought the stuff or were given it.