Firehouse
The Cliffside Hose No. 4 firehouse stood here from 1889 to 1903 or ’04. Then it was pulled east along Bellevue Avenue to Grove Street to become the clubhouse for the Upper Montclair Country Club. (Credit: Montclair Public Library)
Anderson Park Plaque
This plaque commemorates the parkland’s donor, Charles W. Anderson, and was erected in 1928, the year he died.
The architectural sculptor and Montclair resident Maxfield Keck designed it. Keck is shown here at far right in the 1930s. (Courtesy of George Keck)
Olmsted Oak
At about 150 years old, this white oak is the oldest tree in the park. It is called the Olmsted Oak because it appears in this 1904 photo taken by John Charles Olmsted. (Credit: Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site)
Athletic Field
Anderson Park’s athletic field has hosted sports rarely, if ever, played there today. The Bellevue Cricket Club, shown in 1910, used it as a pitch in the early 20th century. Also at that time the park had several tennis courts. (Credit: Spalding Official Cricket Guide)
Proposed Underpass
A 1903 plan featured a passage under the train tracks connecting the south end of the park to Valley Road, near the Northview Avenue intersection. This would have shortened the walk to the business district and the trolley for residents south of the park. (Credit: Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site)
Ice Skating
In the park’s first years, the township flooded the southeast oval for ice skating. (This 1903 plan shows a larger area than was ultimately realized. (Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site)
This article in The Montclair Times on Dec. 10, 1904, describes Charles W. Anderson’s efforts to prepare low-lying area for skating.
Flag
With thousands of immigrants settling in New Jersey, the Essex County Park Commission required a flag in every park to instill patriotism. As the county reported in 1912: “The poles were located as near the playground areas as possible in order that they might be a source of patriotic inspiration to the young people, who can look up at them while at their sports.” In Anderson Park, the flagpole was originally at the north end of the park, as seen in this 1928 postcard. (Brooklyn Postcard Company)
Boulder
Six erratics (boulders from the Ice Age) dot Anderson Park. This one, deposited about 20,000 years ago, is composed of granite gneiss. (Credit: Scot Surbeck)
Houses
Three houses once stood in this area facing the street before the land became Anderson Park. During park construction, two were moved south and are now Nos. 293 and 295 North Mountain Avenue. The fate of the third is unknown. These photos show two of the houses, from the rear in 1902 and as they appear now a half-block down the street. (1902 Credit: Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site)
Lacrosse Plaque
Installed in 2008, this plaque honors the Montclair High School lacrosse coaches Gil Gibbs and Homer Robinson. Considered pioneers of scholastic lacrosse in New Jersey, they created the first high school lacrosse dynasty in the state, capturing seven varsity state championships and eight junior varsity state championships from 1969 to 1978. This photo shows a game in 1980. (Credit: Anthony Arons)
John Charles Olmsted Plaque
John Charles Olmsted (seen here in 1907) was the primary landscape architect for Anderson Park, making his first visit to the proposed site in 1902. The park opened in 1905 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. (Credit: J.E. Purdy, via Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site)
Interactive Map2020-05-16T21:45:57-04:00
