Community Farm and Church Facade Projec

Lincoln Park, Newark

 ??  06   /   2023???

Located at 1033 Broad Street in Newark, The Façade! Is an outdoor performance venue and community farm that serves as the center of Newark’s emerging art scene and a key component to the Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District. 

The property was formerly home to the South Park Calvary Presbyterian Church, which was erected in 1855 and served as a center of the city’s abolitionist movement - once hosting President Abraham Lincoln for a speech while traveling to his first inauguration. The building was largely destroyed in a fire in 1992 - leaving just an eight-story sandstone Greek Revival façade in its wake. 

In his role as head of the Lincoln Park Cultural Coast District, and later as Deputy Mayor of Housing & Development, Baye Adofo-Wilson helped transform the site into its current form. Today, it includes the 615-person performance venue, as well as an urban farm with a greenhouse, hydroponics and aquaponics that provides fresh produce to Newark residents.