I’ve driven through the town several times and have noticed the remnants of what had to be luxury apartments at the time. It’s just always struck me (along with Plainfield) as one of the two towns in NJ that were semi-upscale that went downhill after World War II (versus places like Irvington that were working/lower middle class that sunk into poverty). Was Central Avenue really the upscale shopping center of Essex County prior to the construction of the Short Hills mall? Was the white population “ethnic” or native born Protestant? Were the neighborhoods segregated and did white flight happen dramatically after the construction of the highways and the ‘67 riots next store in Newark, or was it gradual? Was it an upscale town like South Orange or more working class like the City of Orange was? Would love to hear about the history especially from the late 1940s until the early 1970s.