Shoppers, commuters and other travelers along Essex County’s Bloomfield Avenue commercial corridor have probably noticed the Medieval-looking tower that stands on Newark’s Salvatore Bontempo Park, a triangular patch of grass across First Avenue from Calandra’s Bakery, another North Ward landmark. And certainly some have wondered what it is.
As officials gathered Wednesday to break ground on a surrounding park redesign explained, the 1917 Pequannock Water Tower, also known as the Newark Castle, marks a monumental event in the health and prosperity of New Jersey’s largest city.
“It was built in memory of the city’s 20th mayor,” said North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos, referring to Mayor Joseph E. Haynes, who served from 1884 to 1894, and changed the source of the city’s drinking water from the already polluted Passaic River to the relatively pristine Pequannock Watershed…