place

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (Jersey City)

2000 establishments in New Jersey2000 sculpturesAfrican-American history of New JerseyBuildings and structures in Jersey City, New JerseyCulture of Jersey City, New Jersey
Memorials to Martin Luther King Jr.Monuments and memorials in New JerseyOutdoor sculptures in New JerseyPublic art in Jersey City, New JerseySculptures of men in New JerseyStatues in New JerseyTourist attractions in Jersey City, New Jersey
MLKMemorial.JacksonHill.JerseyCity.HBLR 02
MLKMemorial.JacksonHill.JerseyCity.HBLR 02

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. at the Martin Luther King Drive station of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail in the Jackson Hill section of Jersey City, New Jersey.The work — a bust and accompanying bas reliefs — was created by the sculptor Jonathan Shahn (1938-2020), who was son of Ben Shahn. It was commissioned by NJ Transit and unveiled in 2000 upon the stations's opening.The bronze 4 feet (1.2 m) bust is set atop a 7 feet (2.1 m) granite pedestal. Accompanying bronze bas reliefs, in 2-foot sections, entitled The Struggle for Civil Rights in the Martin Luther King Era, show scenes and figures from the civil rights movement. The reverse side is inscribed with a quotation from King's Letter from Birmingham Jail: "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."King is known to have made at least two speeches in Jersey City. On September 21, 1965, he received an honorary Doctor of Law from St. Peter's College. Dr. King gave an address titled "The American Dream." On Wednesday, March 27, 1968, barely a week before his death, nearly 2,000 heard King at Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church in which her rallied support the Poor People's Campaign and the Memphis sanitation strike. The Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society Museum in Jersey City documents those visits.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (Jersey City) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (Jersey City)
Virginia Avenue, Jersey City

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (Jersey City)Continue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 40.7121 ° E -74.0773 °
placeShow on map

Address

Martin Luther King Drive

Virginia Avenue
07304 Jersey City
New Jersey, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

MLKMemorial.JacksonHill.JerseyCity.HBLR 02
MLKMemorial.JacksonHill.JerseyCity.HBLR 02
Share experience

Nearby Places

Jackson Hill, Jersey City
Jackson Hill, Jersey City

Jackson Hill is a neighborhood in the Bergen-Lafayette and Greenville sections of Jersey City, New Jersey. It is part of the city's Ward F. The neighborhood is situated on Bergen Hill (the lower end of the Hudson Palisades) which also lends its name to the Bergen Hill Historic District just north of Communipaw Avenue. The district has long been the heart of the African American community in Jersey City. Its name is in part inspired by Thomas and John Vreeland Jackson, brothers born in 1800 and 1803, who were freed slaves who bought land in current day Greenville in 1831 and in 1857 laid out Jackson Lane between their houses. In 1900, the former Jackson Lane became Winfield Avenue, the name it bears today. During the Civil War the Jackson property became a safe house and critical link of the Underground Railroad.Martin Luther King Drive was once called Jackson Avenue. with a short block not included in a street realignment still bearing the name. In 1976 it was renamed in honor of the slain civil right leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who had twice spoken in the city. At the time of the renaming there was discussion whether the street had originally been named for the Jackson brothers or for US President Andrew Jackson. A 1924 Jersey Journal newspaper article ascribes it to Jeremiah Jackson, a local landowner in the mid-19th century. Historically, the avenue was one of the city's major shopping districts. but went into decline. In 2011, the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency created Jackson Hill Main Street special improvement district along the commercial corridors of MLK Drive and its northern continuation, Monticello Avenue.Among the notable sites in the Jackson Hill are two listed on National Register of Historic Places, St. Patrick's Parish and Buildings and Ficken's Warehouse, both on Grand Street. Sacred Heart Church and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial are other area landmarks.

Garfield Avenue station
Garfield Avenue station

Garfield Avenue is a station on the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) in the Claremont section of Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey. Located between the grade crossing at Randolph Avenue and the bridge at Garfield Avenue, the station in a double side platform and two track structure. The station is on the West Side Avenue branch of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail, which goes from West Side Avenue station to Tonnelle Avenue station in North Bergen. The station is accessible for handicapped people as per the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. An elevator is present to get people from Garfield Avenue to track level and the platforms are even with the train cars. The station opened to the public on April 17, 2000 as part of the original operating segment of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail.Garfield Avenue station is a block east of the former Arlington Avenue stop of the Newark and New York Railroad, a branch of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. This branch went from the Lafayette Street Terminal in Newark to the junction at Communipaw station in Jersey City, where it met up with the main line to Communipaw Terminal. Service on the line began on July 23, 1869. The station depot westbound at Arlington Avenue was built in 1889 and the eastbound station in 1910. Service to Newark ended abruptly on February 3, 1946 when a steamship knocked two spans of the bridge over the Hackensack River into the water below. Passenger service at Arlington Avenue ended on May 6, 1948.