Map Section 2 - Building A
1831
Second Presbyterian Church (Brick Church)
Main Street and Prospect St.
Brick Church at the corner of Main Street and
Prospect Street, photographed in 1907. The building on the right
is Muir's Department Store. Automobiles share the road with
horses and buggies. Electric wires line the streets, mainly to
power the trolley. The street lamps run on gas. Women's skirts
are full length. Men wear bowler derby hats. The streets are
either hard packed clay or brick. The sidewalks are of brick,
slate or concrete.
The same viewpoint in 2008. The church is no
longer Presbyterian. Muirs is gone and has been replaced by new
stores and apartment buildings. The electric wires are all
underground and are used for street lights, signal lights, and
for powering buildings.The only horses seen these days
occasionally ride in parades. Everyone else rides cars,
motorcycles or bicycles. A few police patrol on electric Segways.
The trolley is gone, replaced by buses. The internal combustion
engine may be on the way out, as gas prices in some areas are
already $4.00 per gallon and rising. The streets are asphalt; the
sidewalks are concrete with brick sometimes used for decorative
effect.
Brick Church received its nickname almost as
soon as it was built in 1831 from the distinctive red colored
bricks made from red Jersey clay. Most of the details are also
formed of brick, with only a few marble decorations on the
pillars and crosses. When the railroad station was put in, it was
immediately called Brick Church station, as were many of the
businesses in the area. There was even a "Brick Church ice
cream."
Today it is known as Temple of Unified
Christians at Brick Church but the building retains its
historic importance to the City of East Orange as its first
"official" church.