Official Site of The State of New Jersey

The Polhemus house is a ca. 1860 four-story brick and brownstone townhouse, built for Eliza Brodhead Heyer Polhemus, widow of the first minister of the North Reformed Dutch Church of Newark. It is the only mid-19th century row house remaining in the James Street Commons Historic District. In 1906 the interior was redecorated by the Associated Artists, the decorative arts firm founded by Candace Wheeler and Louis Tiffany.

The Museum recently acquired the property from the City of Newark. The grant helped fund the preparation of a Historic Structure Report, part of the Museum’s plan to save and rehabilitate the structure. Work to prevent water infiltration was also funded in part by an emergency grant from the Trust.

Upon additional probes of the masonry, the building was deemed unsalvageable, and was demolished in 2011. In its place, the city and museum created a public park the reflects the floor plan of the Polhemus House and includes interpretive signage that presents its history.

For more information, visit: http://www.newarkmuseum.org/timeline/index.html