The art gallery inside Rutger’s Paul Robeson building is giving their students a little taste of Newark’s history coming this September. From September 8th to October 29th, The Robeson Gallery will be throwing up their new exhibition “The Mansion.” I definitely recommend checking this out.
Built in 1889 and perched in one of the vantage points of Newark, the Krueger-Scott mansion is a Louis XIV-Style Victorian mansion and the most expensive home built in the city. The 40-room mansion was constructed by
an immigrant worker named Gottfried Krueger. Arriving penniless in the United States he eventually rose to prominence through ownership of a brewery. Built as a celebration of his achievements and opportunities afforded to him in this country, after his death the mansion moved through a succession of owners until it was occupied by Louise Scott from 1966 until 1982. It was from here that she ran a string of black beauty parlors and became one of the wealthiest women in city, possibly Newark’s first African-American millionaire. After her death, and with the
changing prosperity of the city, the building defaulted into the hands of the city and has since become a ruined, cavernous shell of its former self. The surrounding domain has changed since the time of construction from graceful single family housing on a prominent city boulevard to high density, government sponsored housing, which has recently ceded to low rise, urban townhouses. Over time the Krueger-Scott Mansion has remained a constant presence in a city which has undergone significant physical and psychological change, and fluctuating economic successes. This exhibition will involve contemporary artists focusing on the mansion as both a physical and metaphorical site. Issues addressed in the works will be drawn from the rich history of the site and may include: notions of memory, ruination & decay, decadence & excess, urban planning, architecture, socially defined ideas of beauty, African-American culture, and immigration.
August 25th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I have never been to the mansion but it looks amazing from the picture
August 25th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
found this
http://www.ice-aec.com/project/project_info.aspx?ID=40#
August 25th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I saw this and I emmediately thought, this should be Newark’s Gracie Mansion. I don’t care if Booker wants to live in the most dangerous parts of the city. He can then choose to allow people to live there or host parties or whatever.
August 25th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Good to see that there’s been some renovation work done with Historical Trust money, but sadly from the look of the barbed wire in the more recent photo above, it’s nowhere near being able to be open to the public… Yet another architecturally unique landmark wasting away (there are so many in Newark!)…
Incidentally, Google Maps puts it at the corner of Court St. and MLK Blvd., can anyone confirm?
August 26th, 2009 at 1:18 am
Wow, I reread that and it seems like I’m implyin that the mansion is in one of the most dangerous parts of town, which it is not. The court/MLK intersection is correct and I have driven by it a few times and the house on MLK/old high st are very pretty but the neighborhood west and south of there is pretty run down, with the exception of Licoln park (which I think technically is South East)