Bob O'Connor sends in this 1909 shot of Market Street looking east from the courthouse. A pedestrian had to be extra careful in those days, having to contend not only with streetcars but the, er, remembrances of horses. Thanks, Bob.
A quaint image of a bygone era, this shot begs a comparison between their world and ours. I submit that a pedestrian in those days had much better odds of survival than their modern-day counterpart, given the location. The streetcars and horse droppings have been replaced by stolen autos and roving gangs. And that's in the daytime, when court is in session (the courthouse would be right behind the photographer who took this shot). After all, who's on trial, and how do they get to court? Not by streetcar, to be sure.
I was reading through the old police Desk Blotters at my department and was astonished at some of the fines levied against the guilty: "Time served in local jail plus 25 cents fine payable over 5 week period." That was one of the bigger fines.
In a similar vein, I found some old blotters in the basement of the 2nd Precinct on Orange St. There were entries of people arrested for "Insanity". A far cry from the modern circumstance, which sees the inmates in charge of the asylum, and decent people living in fear. The citizens huddle behind multiple locks, and the regular working folks are the ones who have bars on their windows. This, the "Renaissance City". Yeah, right.
This is a sad thing. If ever a city were poised to make a comeback, it's Newark. New baseball park, expanded public transit, great museum and library, hockey arena underway, excellent cultural programs at the PAC and Symphony Hall, etc. But it seems like the city is swimming against the tide.
