Eastern School Area, early 20th Century

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the area centered on the high ground of the Maple Avenue and Main Street intersection was called Peck's Hill or Pecktown. This historic area was destroyed about 1965 when Main St was relocated to make way for I-280.

Above: view is looking north across the bridge over the railroad;

building acoss the bridge to the right was named Calvary Baptist Church at the time of the photo,  home of an African-American congregation that took over the church in 1891 when the original white congregation built a new church at Main St and Hawthorne Ave, First Baptist Church of East Orange; the church in the photo had originally been established in 1837 as the First Baptist Church of Orange. The Eastern School property is behind homes that would be to the photographer's left 

Above: view is looking west on Main St toward Maple Avenue;

Grove Street Congregational Church is to the photographer's right

Above: Hollywood Avenue Fire Station (Eastern Hose Company #2) built about 1909; Grove Street Lackawanna Station is to photographer's right; 

steeple in left background is First Congregational Church

Above: Grove Street First Congregational Church, 1913, NE corner of Grove and Main; 

 photo is courtesy of East Orange Images of America by Bill Hart, Arcadia Publishing

 

The story of Eastern School

The Palmer House was a boarding hotel on the NW corner of Main St and Maple Avenue

Above: Steuben Street

Below: New Street and Maple Avenue