The green open spaces and proximity to New York City are just two of the many great features that attract people to the Township of South Orange Village. It was named the first Transit Village in New Jersey in recognition of its excellent transport systems and redevelopments, including a bicycle path, have helped to revitalise the area.

Transportation
There are 2 train stations servicing South Orange.
The South Orange train station, situated on South Orange Ave,  is about a 25 minute commute to New York City's Penn Station. The Midtown Direct Line of NJ Transit takes commuters straight into New York Penn Station, Newark and Hoboken. A quick change onto the PATH Rapid Transit System at Newark or Hoboken transfers you to the heart of New York’s financial center.
Trains from Mountain Station in the Montrose section of South Orange reach Newark Broad Street in under 15 minutes.

The popular jitney commuter bus runs a shuttle service between South Orange station and Montrose/Tuxedo Park, Newstead/North Wyoming and Irvington/Prospect/Academy. Applications for the jitney and parking permits can be picked up at the Village Hall on South Orange Avenue or downloaded.

By car, routes 24, 280, I-78, the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway are all within 5-10 minutes away. Route 124, Springfield Avenue, runs though Maplewood.  Newark Liberty Airport, a major continental and international gateway, is a 20 minute drive away.

Bus routes 92 and 107 pass between South Orange and, Irvington, Newark, Newark Liberty Airport, Union City and New York (Port Authority Bus Terminal). Other nearby mass transport options are the Ferry , the Lakeland Bus and the Community Coach which takes you straight to NYC or Atlantic City from nearby stops.

Schools 

South Orange shares a Columbia School District  with neighboring Maplewood. The School District of South Orange and Maplewood comprises six elementary schools of which two  - Marshall Elementary School and South Mountain Elementary - are in South Orange. Of the two middle schools, South Orange Middle School is in South Orange, while  Columbia High School serves both Maplewood and South Orange communities.

Columbia High School is known as one of the most academically progressive high schools in the state of New Jersey has been recognized nationally for its academic excellence with a Blue Ribbon award from the US Department of Education. Students can choose from a wide range of elective courses, including around 24 AP choices, and every year Columbia High School sends alumni to top universities like Harvard, Princeton, Stamford and Yale. The extracurricular program is truly stimulating with activities ranging from future Business Leaders of America, a mock trial team, and a student newspaper and literary magazine to chess club, championship athletics and music and drama. Hip-hop singer/songwriter Lauryn Hill is a former student here, but Columbia High School’s greatest claim to fame must surely be as the birthplace of Ultimate Frisbee, invented by students in the school grounds in 1968!

South Orange Middle School  provides a challenging academic program based on New Jersey’s Core Curriculum Standards, with many students achieving results that are well above average. The school believes its ethos as a large, diverse family promoting leadership, integrity and commitment make it special.

The South Orange-Maplewood Adult School founded in 1933 is the oldest adult school in NJ and open to everyone from age 14 to 114. The inspiring program stimulates the mind, body and senses with high-quality classes covering everything from art and childcare to business studies and computer technology.  Most classes are at Columbia High School or South Orange Middle School. In the summer the school offers a highly praised children’s camp, the South Orange-Maplewood Community Summer Program.

Seton Hall University is about ½ mile from the centre of the village in 58 acres across from the scenic Montrose Park District. It is renowned for its programs in business, law, education, nursing, and diplomacy – and for its championship level basketball team. In 2007 and 2008, the U.S. News and World Report ranked the school 70th among the top 100 law schools in the nation. Its Health Law program, is ranked fourth in the nation. Among many pioneering areas of study, it has founded a School of Diplomacy and International Relations in a unique alliance with the United Nations. The school was also ranked as having one of the highest rates of employment at graduation. Founded in 1856 by the first Bishop of Newark, James Roosevelt Bayley, it is the oldest Roman Catholic diocesan university in the US and one of the largest. It was named after the bishop’s aunt, Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American born saint.

The Baird Preschool is a township program for South Orange children aged 2 ½-5 and Kinderenrichment is available to children entering the South Orange/ Maplewood School District’s kindergarten classes each fall.  The program matches the school trimester dates  and is intended to supplement the district’s half-day kindergarten.

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Shopping
Louis Bamberger, founder of Bamberger’s Department Store – now known as Macy’s – lived in South Orange in the early part of the 20th century. He might not recognize the shopping district today, but he would surely be impressed with changes. Since 1994 the area has been undergoing a major makeover, including new brick sidewalks, landscaping, mini-parks and new electrified gas lamps in keeping with its Victorian heritage.

Main Street South Orange and the South Orange Chamber of Commerce continue to work to revitalize downtown South Orange and are helping attract an eclectic range of shops, boutiques and cafes to the bustling center, alongside the newly opened Garden of Eden gourmet supermarket. The farmers market comes to nearby Sloan Street every Wednesday afternoon between July and October.

Another plus is the free 2-hour parking on Taylor Place lot near the library, between South Orange and Irvington Avenues. And there is a Senior Citizens Mini Bus into the village twice a week and to nearby shopping malls.
 

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Recreation
South Orange is justifiably proud of SOPAC (South Orange Performing Arts Center) the shining star of the new South Orange downtown district. The eye-catching four-level building includes a state-of-the-art 415-seat theater, 5-movie screens operated by Clearview Cinema and a community space that seats 150-people. Opened at the end of 2006, it has already attracted luminaries like Dionne Warwick, Madeleine Peyroux, Olympia Dukakis and Nancy Wilson.

The Baird in Meadowland Park is the community’s recreational and arts hub housing the recreation department’s offices, the Pierro Gallery of South Orange, The Theater on 3, Arts Room, Baird Pre-School, Kinderenrichment and Senior Services Unit offices. Most programs presented by The Baird are held in this facility or in the surrounding park.

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Other amenities and activities in South Orange

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Dining Out 
A strongly global theme runs through many of South Orange’s eateries, ranging from the authentic Ethiopian dishes and intense coffee served at the Harrar Cafe and Lalibela, to countless Indian, Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian – and indeed American - restaurants. The Trinidad-inspired menu at Caribbean Cuisine   brings together influences from the cuisine of India, the West Indies, China, Syria-Lebanon and Italy in one delicious place!

For aficionados of fine ales, The Gaslight Brewery and Restaurant in the centre of the village, is a must, offering an astonishing variety of beers from all over the world and closer to home, plus a mouthwatering food menu. Younger diners in South Orange love the pizza served  at Bunny's Restaurant.

South Orange NJ restaurants

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Community Events
South Orange enjoys a warm community feel and a diverse social mix. There are close to 30 block associations in South Orange and neighboring Maplewood.  A great way for people moving into the area to quickly become a part of it is to join the Newcomers Club of South Orange-Maplewood. It has about 100 member households and runs 15 to 20 activities each month, such as books club, theatre group, children’s activities and even Scotch appreciation!

SOMapyday camp is part of the Metro YMCAs and offers outdoors fun and classes for kids at summer camp.

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History
It was after the Morris and Essex Railroad laid a single track between the Village and Orange in 1836 that the South Orange we see today started to really take shape. The fresh mountain air, lush woods and pastures soon attracted visitors from New York, Newark and Hoboken in search of the fashionable water cures prescribed by two local physicians. They had piped spring water down from the mountains to The Orange Mountain House on Ridgewood Road, at the lower end of the present Glenside Road. The hotel accommodated up to 150 guests and was so popular that Mountain railroad station was built to transport them. Today, the station and Mountain House Road are the only reminders of this bygone era. The Orange Mountain House was burnt to the ground in 1881. By this time development of the Montrose neighborhood was well underway, planned as a haven for wealthy New York businessmen looking for stylish large homes away from the city – the area’s first commuters. Montrose is still characterized by these elegant, architecturally imposing houses and today Montrose Park and the Montrose Park Historic District are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Residents of South Orange take considerable pride in their Village Hall, an exceptional example of Tudor Revival style on a public building, and today listed on the National Register. It was built in 1894, one year before the first electric trolley cars began trundling through South Orange and two years before the opening of the public library. 

The boom in South Orange continued into the 1920s, by which time the area was on the map as a bedroom community for New York City and Newark. Smaller houses for the middle classes started springing up, particularly south of South Orange Avenue, and the population almost doubled to 13,000 during the decade up to 1930. Today South Orange has a rich variety of architectural styles and sizes, ranging from authentic Tudor, Colonial and Victorian homes with turrets, verandahs and ornately carved vergeboards, to quaint cottage and ranch styles and sleek condominiums with sweeping views from picture windows.

Developments continue to this day. The Rahway River Corridor Project is rehabilitating the banks on both sides of the river to create a graceful pedestrian landscape, complete with cycle path, that will complement nearby parks and green spaces.

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