Montclair, New Jersey, is a diverse town and a hub of arts, culture, and education
It didn’t take long for Merle Martin to realize there was something special about Montclair, the town she called home for 30 years.
“During our first week, my husband and I went to a movie theater with our new neighbors,” recalls Martin, who serves as office manager of Christie’s International Real Estate Northern New Jersey (CIRE Northern NJ)’s new Montclair location, “and every other person who walked by knew my neighbors and said hello. I realized right away that you cannot go anywhere in Montclair without running into people you know. It’s not just a stop on the highway going from here to there—it has a real town feeling.”
The close bond that exists between residents is noteworthy given the diversity of neighborhoods within Montclair’s borders. The town itself has two zip codes, one for Montclair and one for Upper Montclair, with Watchung Avenue serving as a dividing line.
“The town was established in the mid-1800s as a weekend getaway for industrialists,” says Martin. “There were big, beautiful homes on the mountain, with a train coming into town. Cobblers and other businesses set up shop, and other parts of town were established with smaller properties to serve the vacationers.”
Today, the wide range of neighborhoods remains, including the Upper Montclair Village anchored by Montclair State University on the North End, the centrally-located Watchung Plaza, the mansions and stately historic homes of the Estates section, and downtown’s South End. “The South End is the best kept secret in Montclair,” says Martin. “The homes are small, but magnificent.”
Perhaps Montclair’s most unifying feature is its magnet school system, which provides racial balance and education equity in the public schools. The Board of Education developed specialized programs in each school to supplement the core curriculum mandated by the state and works with parents to place their children in the schools best suited for their needs.
“You don’t necessarily go to the school in your neighborhood,” says Martin. “Beginning in kindergarten, Montclair students will meet people of all different backgrounds.” Among Montclair’s magnet themes are science and technology, university studies, environmental studies, the arts, and global studies.
A thriving arts community has been a staple of Montclair since its founding. The annual Montclair Film Festival showcases new works from American and international filmmakers, and the refurbished Wellmont Theater hosts renowned musical acts. Montclair Art Museum dates back more than a century and maintains longstanding relationships with local artists.
“Montclair’s diverse and active community has helped foster the lively arts and cultural scene throughout the town’s history,” says Lora Urbanelli, director, Montclair Art Museum. “Long before today’s arts patrons began moving to Montclair, the town had been known as an artists’ colony, attracting the likes of George Inness Sr., Jonathan Scott Hartley, and William Couper. The museum holds each of these artists’ works in its permanent collection, including an entire gallery dedicated to Inness’s paintings.”
The Montclair Art Museum welcomes 65,000 visitors annually and recently introduced its Art Truck, a colorful studio on wheels that visits schools, senior centers, parks, and festivals, offering community members who cannot make it to the museum a chance to participate in art projects.
A popular landing spot for commuters, Montclair has six train stations, and DeCamp and NJ Transit buses that transport residents to and from New York City. Montclair’s own business community is a continued area of emphasis for town leaders. Downtown neighborhoods are stocked with abundant dining options, as well as popular chain stores and boutiques for shoppers.
Development activity along the busy Bloomfield Avenue corridor is ongoing, with several major projects underway. Chief among them, says Janice Talley, Montclair’s director of Planning and Community Development, is the MC Hotel located at the corner of Bloomfield Avenue and Orange Road, which will include 150 hotel rooms, 13,000 square feet of office and meeting space, and 3,000 square feet of restaurant space, including a rooftop bar. “The hotel is located adjacent to the recently built Valley and Bloom project, which includes 262 apartments, 30,000 square feet of office space and 30,000 square feet of retail space,” says Talley. “Both projects are served by the rebuilt Orange Road parking deck, containing 614 parking spaces.”
Also under construction is the arts-oriented Seymour Street project, which includes construction of two buildings around a new 14,000-square-foot arts plaza, and The Vestry, a 46-unit building located near the Bay Street train station.
Montclair’s diverse housing stock, popular downtown areas, commuter-friendly transportation, magnet school system, and culturally rich activities make it an ideal community for a Christie’s International Real Estate office location, according to Juan Rivera, CIRE Northern NJ’s regional vice president for Hudson and Essex counties.
“Montclair is a trendy and chic town with a lot of history and fair share of famous residents,” says Rivera. “The town’s incredible architecture and landscape resonates with everything that defines Christie’s—art, beauty, and provenance. We believe homeowners will benefit from our marketing approach and the way we tailor our marketing program to each property, telling its story in a unique way.”
Historic sites and landmarks are in abundance in Montclair, a town rich in arts and cultural history. The following sites draw multitudes of residents and visitors:
Montclair Art Museum
Opened in 1914, Montclair Art Museum is esteemed for its holdings of American and Native American art, as well as its exhibitions, family and public programs and its art school. The museum welcomes more than 65,000 visitors annually.
Van Cleck House & Gardens
A non-profit community resource, Van Vleck House & Gardens displays a public botanical garden of mostly ericaceous plants that has been developed over several generations. The display of rhododendrons and azaleas shows numerous hybrids, several named after members of the Van Vleck family. The property had been in the hands of the Van Vleck family until 1993 when it was turned over to The Montclair Foundation.
Israel Crane House
A Federal Revival-style landmark, the Israel Crane House has had three lives—as the Crane family home, a YWCA for African-American women and girls, and a historic house museum. The Montclair History Center was founded in 1965 to save the Israel Crane House, which is used today to tell the stories of all the people who lived, worked, and played in the house.
Montclair State University
Building on a distinguished history dating back to 1908, Montclair State University is a leading institution of higher education in New Jersey. Its nine colleges and schools serve more than 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students with over 300 doctoral, masters, and baccalaureate level programs.
Wellmont Theater
A former motion picture theater that counted Thomas Edison among its earliest visitors, the Wellmont Theater currently serves as a concert and events venue with a capacity of 2,600. A partnership with promoter Live Nation has helped to attract world-class talent in a variety of genres. The venue is available for meetings, graduations, awards ceremonies, television shows, benefits, fundraisers, concerts, and fashion shows.
Photography by North Jersey Media Group, Seth Litroff and Courtesy of Van Vleck House & Gardens
