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Recently, I found myself in Livingston, NJ with some extra time on my hands so I looked up if there was anything to do in the area. During my search I came across the Essex County Riker Hill Art Park which sounded interesting. The 42 acre former Riker Hill Nike Battery Control Area NY-80 Base was sold to Essex County back in 1974 for a whopping $1. Beginning in the 80s, the buildings began to be re-purposed as studios for an artistic community. This community is known as the Riker Hill Artists and there are over thirty art studios for various art mediums. These mediums include ceramics, painting, steel sculpture, glass blowing, pottery, weaving, jewelry, and woodcarving.
Cruising the Park
Outdoor sculptures
After lunch I set out from my hotel and hardly needed my GPS since there were multiple signs along the way directing me to the Riker Hill Art Park. It was easy to find and then the park itself was easy to navigate as there’s a one-way road that rings around the entire park. As I drove along, I stopped to see some of the outdoor installations. From the vantage point at the top of the hill between the trees, you could also catch glimpses of the surrounding town. This would likely be a great spot to catch the sunset in this area.
Self Supporting
Whale Tail sculptures
As part of the agreement with Essex County Parks to use the property, the Riker Hill Artists must fund and maintain it themselves. To this end, they hold classes, workshops, events, and sell artwork. Unfortunately my visit didn’t align with any of the classes. However, based on the comments and reviews on their Facebook page, these are popular events enjoyed by the residents of the surrounding communities. Hopefully, I find myself in the area another time when I can attend one of the workshops or events to fully experience the Riker Hill Art Park.
Does your community have any interesting hidden gems? If it does, tell me about it in the comments!
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I believe that whale sculpture was from the Livingston Mall which was built in 1972.
Yes! The ‘Whale Tail’ sculptures were donated to Riker Hill Art Park in 1991 by the Livingston Mall! Great tidbit of local trivia 😉
This looks fun- but we haven’t taken our boys to an art park or sculpture garden since they were 2. We were walking around and they were telling us what they thought each sculpture looked like and in front of a HUGE group of people observing a fine piece of art our youngest said “That one’s Matt’s poop!” and proceeded to repeat it over and over with increasing excitement to make sure everyone heard!
Oh dear, that certainly sounds like a memorable trip! 😂
Its always fun when you find those little gems you had no idea about! If you ever get a chance to go to an event or workshop you’ll have to let us know what it was like! I live in Birmingham so there’s a lot here, and because it’s so big I always end up finding something I haven’t seen before!
Chloe xx
Absolutely! I’m going to need to start watching their schedule so I can go & update my post with a full review!