Four Corners (Newark) in the context of "Downtown Newark"

The Four Corners Historic District is the intersection of Broad and Market Streets in Newark, New Jersey. It is the site of the city's earliest settlement and the heart of Downtown Newark that at one time was considered the busiest intersection in the United States. The area that radiates twenty-two square blocks from the crossroads is a state and federal historic district.

The crossing became the center of the town soon after establishment in 1666; the home of founder Robert Treat was located at the southwest corner. During the next centuries it remained the focal point of the city which grew around it. By 1834, the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company had established a terminal to the south and in 1869, the Newark and New York Railroad had one to the north. During the period of massive expansion at the start of the 20th century, the district became the city's modern business district, and site of its first skyscraper built by the Firemen's Insurance Company at the southeast corner in 1910. The Newark Public Service Terminal on Broad Street opened in 1916. Though faded in its former glory, the Four Corners district remains Newark's traditional center for commerce and business and since the late 2000s, the focus of much interest in revitalizing retail, residential, and restaurant activity downtown.