The Old Essex County Jail and It's Failed Preservation

Old Essex County Jail


Located at the intersection of Newark Street and New Street is the Old Essex County Jail. This structure was built around 1837 in Newark New Jersey. It was designed to hold various law breakers of Essex County. The irregularly shaped lot of land this building sits on was generated by the curve of what was once the Morris Canal and today is the Newark City Subway. The Essex County Jail was designed by notable prison architect John Haviland. The jail consisted of around 300 prisoner cells after a set of expansions and featured running water and toilets. The several structures of this jail complex were built with local New Jersey brownstone and brick.


Essex County Jail Exterior

This Historic correctional facility has been abandoned since the 1970's. It has been home to drug dealers, derelicts and squatters ever since. This building complex is overgrown with weeds and sits as a single historical gem surrounded by the mostly bland new developments of Science Park and the New Jersey institute of Technology.


Jail Cells


Cell Block Stairs

In 1991 the old Essex County Jail, one of the oldest buildings in Essex County was placed on the Register of Historic Places. No attempts to preserve this wonderful piece of Newark's history have been made by the county or state. Upon entering the grounds of the Old Essex County jail today, once can see collapsing wings of jail cells and twisted rusting iron ruins overgrown with weeds. However, after passing through these initial ruins one can still enter into the main cell block, in which tall windows and multistoried steel jail cell blocks can still be seen today.


Miscellaneous Steel Debris


Crumbling Steel Jail Cells

It seems as if this building will only survive until if finally collapses from years of neglect, fire or is torn down as a safety hazard. The unfortunate and disgusting state of this great building building stands as a monument to the government's failure to protect it's historic structures. Nonetheless this building could ideally be preserved and potentially reused. Although filled with garbage on the interior, this abandoned building is quite beautiful in it's decayed state. Those brave enough to venture in before this great building finally disappears will undoubtedly be treated to a wonderful tour of a historic and scenic building of Newark's once great past.


Jail Cell Block Interior