 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
1601 Irving Street
Rahway, NJ
United States
www.ucac.org/index.htmlThe Rahway Theater Today
Union County Performing Arts Center is housed in the restored Rahway Theatre, conveniently located in Downtown Rahway within close proximity to a NJ Transit train station.
This historic landmark has become the centerpiece of a recently established Arts District. Union County Arts Center has played a vital role in the revitalization and cultural renaissance of the community.
A Classic Vaudeville House, part of the magic of the Union County Performing Arts Center is experiencing live performances in a vintage 1928 Vaudeville & Silent Movie Palace of just over 1300 seats. Lovingly restored to its golden age grandeur, the Arts Center is a monument to an age gone by.
 |
1663 Irving Street
Rahway, NJ
United States
Contact: Anthony Deige, Director of Community Services
732-669-3617
adeige@cityofrahway.com
www.rahwayartsdistrict.or g
Rahway is in the middle of a Renaissance; it’s the place to watch, says the New York Times. Mayor James J. Kennedy envisions a lively cultural community stemming from its core arts organizations ~ cultural hubs, located in and around the heart of the Arts District. Mayor Kennedy and the City of Rahway's Redevelopment Agency endorse development of the Arts District to enhance the city's quality of life and economic prosperity. The Mayor recently appointed The Rahway Arts District Advisory Board to offer guidance in the development of Rahway's cultural and educational activities that can sustain the Renaissance that is making Rahway one of New Jersey's newest destination sites ~ a great place to visit and a great place to live.
 |
Irving Street
Rahway, NJ
United States
The Rahway Train Station traces its history back to the earliest days of railroading in New Jersey. After the development of the first successful steam locomotive in America by John Stevens (of Stevens Institute of Technology Fame), the New Jersey Railroad began laying track for a mainline between New York and Philadelphia in 1831. By 1835, trains between New York and Philadelphia began stopping at Rahway.
The New Jersey Railroad was soon acquired by the growing Pennsylvania Railroad several years later and the railroad giant soon added trains from Rahway to the hundreds of destinations throughout the country served by the mighty Pennsy.
Around the turn of the century, the city and the railroad were concerned about the number of grade crossing accidents between trains and pedestrians and trains and vehicles through Rahway’s central business district. In 1913, the railroad right-of-way was elevated and a new granite and concrete station was built along Milton Avenue and Irving Street to replace the older wood-frame station.
For over 60 years, the Pennsy, which boasted of itself as "The Standard Railroad of the World," hauled freight and passengers from Rahway to the Jersey Shore, New York, Philadelphia and beyond, significantly boosting Rahway's importance as a manufacturing and residential center. The city’s commerce rapidly moved away from the old stagecoach roads and Rahway River to the train station downtown. In 1935 the railroad electrified the tracks through Rahway, providing city residents with a direct connection to Pennsylvania Station in New York City, as well as Trenton, Philadelphia, South Amboy and Washington. The railroad's huge, electric GG- 1 locomotives were a common sight in Rahway well into the early 1980s.
After the Pennsy merged with the New York Central in 1968 and changed its name to the Penn Central, the railroad, like many of its competitors, became mired in bankruptcy and financial woe. With funds from the New Jersey Department of Transportation, Penn Central constructed a new, "improved" station on the site of the old Rahway Penn Station in the spring of 1974. The station's design and the railroad’s spotty train service soon resulted in numerous headaches for commuters and neighbors as the Penn Central was transformed into Conrail in 1976 and the state reluctantly began investing dollars in passenger rail travel.
NJ Transit’s creation and subsequent takeover of the state’s commuter rail operations in the early 1980s brightened the picture considerably for rail service in Rahway. In 1991, New Jersey Transit expressed interest in replacing Rahway station with a brand new facility, correcting many of the flaws in the original Penn Central/NJDOT station. After meeting with Mayor James Kennedy and city officials, a design was chosen that would reestablish the station as a focal point for the central business district. Construction of the new station was completed in 1999 and was joined by a new public plaza in 2001. In April 2002, the plaza was recognized by Downtown New Jersey as the best new use of public space in New Jersey.
As of 2001, Rahway train station was serving an average of 2,644 passengers each day and is conveniently located along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. Both New York Penn Station and Trenton are only 35 minutes away by train from Rahway, and with the growth in passenger rail in New Jersey and throughout the nation, Rahway station may return as an important regional transportation hub.
 |
1632 St Georges Ave
Rahway, NJ
United States
Contact:
www.merchantsanddrovers.o
rg/
Merchants & Drovers Tavern
Built around 1795 as a two-story commercial building, in 1798, John Anderson purchased the property from Oliver Pierson and applied for a license to operate a tavern in Rahway at the house, which was previously run as a store. Soon after purchasing the property he converted it into a tavern and hotel with a taproom, two parlors, bedrooms, and a working kitchen. In later years, he added two upper floors, a blacksmith shop, an outhouse, a stable, and a general store.
Taverns such as Merchants and Drovers served a multitude of functions in early New Jersey. With the absence of civic and public buildings, the inn was used for government meetings, auctions, business transactions, patriotic celebrations, and horse breeding, and served as a stagecoach shop (on what was then King’s Highway between New York and Philadelphia). As well as providing a room for travelers, the inn served as a place of public entertainment. Scientific experiments, magic demonstrations, puppet shows, lectures, and musical performances were offered here and at other area taverns. The tavern welcomed clientele from all social classes and was popular among travelers, merchants, drovers (drivers of sheep and cattle), and townspeople. Customers of the inn could buy drinks for six-and-a half cents, dinner for twenty-five cents, or a room for ten cents a night. The taproom, with its club-like atmosphere, was favored exclusively by men and was a favorite hangout for locals.
George Washington stopped at the inn in 1789 on his way to New York to be inaugurated as the first president. A historic marker across the street reads: “Here, on April 23, 1789, on his way to New York City, Washington was received by troops from Elizabethtown and Newark. He was entertained at the Inn kept by Samuel Smith by gentlemen of the Town.” In 1804, government officials gathered at the inn to ratify the creation of Rahway Township. In 1822, Dr. David Craig, John Anderson’s son-in-law, acquired the tavern from the Anderson estate. Merchants and Drovers Tavern remained operating as an inn during three centuries, from 1798 through the mid-1930s. The last tavern owner, a descendant of John Anderson and Dr. David Craig, loaned the use of the site to local Girl Scouts. In recent years it has come to be known as Girl Scout Headquarters.
The building remained owned by descendants of the Anderson family until 1971, when the Rahway Historical Society, now Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum Association, purchased the building with proceeds from a community-wide fund drive. Visitors to the Merchants and Drovers Tavern can experience the hospitality of the 1820s by having a drink in the taproom, sitting in the parlor, or testing out a bed at this “hands-on” museum. The Merchants and Drovers Tavern was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
 |
1670 Irving Street
Rahway, NJ
United States
Contact:
(732) 381-7511
www.rahwayartsguild.org/i ndex.html
The Arts Guild of Rahway is a non-profit center for the arts located at 1670 Irving St. at Seminary Avenue in the Downtown Arts District of the City of Rahway.
The Arts Guild presents a yearly program of fine art exhibitions and jazz concerts, winter, summer and fall multi-week art classes for adults, teens and children, one - day art workshops, a kids summer art camp and a variety of art talks, lectures and seminars on art and cultural topics.
 |
75 East Cherry Street
Rahway, NJ
United States
Contact: Ray Mikell
732 396-3545
rcpmail@aol.com
www.rcpnj.org/Downtown Rahway is undergoing a transformation, and the Rahway Center Partnership (RCP) is working aggressively to help with this revitalization. The Partnership is striving to create a downtown that serves residents, workers, commuters and shoppers.
We believe Downtown Rahway is unique, and continues to get a little better every day. We hope you agree and will become involved in the revitalization of your ... Downtown.