Anderson Park

Anderson Park is a nearly 15-acre suburban oasis that opened in 1905 in Montclair, NJ. John Charles Olmsted of the Olmsted  Brothers oversaw the design of this landscape, an early addition to the pioneering Essex County Park System, the first countywide park system in the nation. The park’s curving pathways, wide meadow and naturalistic design reflect many Olmstedian characteristics.

Charles W. Anderson, an insurance executive and prominent Montclair resident, donated the park site in 1903, and the park is named in his honor. Extensive labor transformed swampy ground into a meadow, playing fields and pathways shaded by trees and bordered by shrub beds. A brook and railroad tracks make up the eastern boundary of this trapezoid green space. The park was listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places in 2009.

Anderson Park is enjoyed by strollers, dog walkers, and children learning to ride bicycles. Its meadow is used for volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, Frisbee, kite-flying and other activities. Each April, Girl Scouts join Friends of Anderson Park in planting trees on Arbor Day. In June, the meadow becomes the setting for the “Music Under the June Moon” chamber music concert, and every September the grounds are host to a regional art fair. Year-round, the park serves as a village green for the historic Upper Montclair business district and neighborhoods nearby.

Friends of Anderson Park, formed in 2006, is committed to furthering the rehabilitation of Anderson Park in the spirit of the original Olmsted design and to fostering its enjoyment and appreciation by the community.