Paul Stellhorn, in his unpublished doctoral thesis, which is available at Rutgers and the NJ state library, makes a persuasive case that Newark began to die right after World War I, or even earlier, when the business executives and manufacturers who formerly lived there and supported much of the city's cultural landmarks, like the museum and library, left town for the suburbs. Since they no longer lived in Newark, their attitude about taxation and public spending changed radically. On top of this came the depression, which pretty much finished the town off. When we were kids, Newark was already dead -- it just didn't know it.
Interestingly, if you look in libraries, there is no history of Newark, save Cunningham's tercentenary effort, published later than shortly before WWI. Most of these histories dwell inordinately on the greatness of the city's Puritan founding fathers and the Revolutionary War period. Roseville gets scant mention -- only as a section of the city to memorize in an early 20th century school text.
When we came to town the WASPS sort of lost interest.
