For the past four years, Newark developers have been trying to breathe new life into a landmark building in a troubled neighborhood.
This month, a plan to convert the Hotel Rivera at 169 Clinton Avenue into a homeless shelter with transitional housing on the upper floors finally received approval. The use of the building, though controversial to some members of the public who attended the hearing, is not altogether out of line with its past use as the one-time headquarters for Father Divine’s missionary work.
Built in 1922, the Hotel Riviera began as a luxury hotel, and that chapter of its history is evident in its ornate facade, which will be restored. Today, the building is better known among Newarkers for its association with Father Divine, an eccentric though beloved preacher who bought the hotel in 1949 and renamed it Divine Hotel Riviera.
What has upset some local residents is that some of the building’s signage will be removed, erasing, they claim, Father Divine’s association with it.
Father Divine moved his ministry, previously at 126 Howard Street, into the hotel. He bought the hotel for $500,000 and paid cash, using bills his followers had brought from Philadelphia in suitcases. It is also notable that Father Divine desegregated the hotel and did the same with other hotels in major cities, including the Divine Lorraine Hotel in Philadelphia…