Sometimes when I'm writing an article about a building I get overwhelmed by all the relevent information I have to comb through. Other times I have to search high and low for any little breadcrumbs the internet has to offer. This story is definitely an example of the later.
The Leonardis Memorial Home on Sanford Ave operated out of a large turn of the century home on the corner of Florence Place. The residence was largely gutted and rebuilt in the 1960s to accomidate the business, who had another location on Lafayette St.
Leonardis eventually moved out to Florham Park. The Vailsburg location was sold to the Drew Funeral Home chain, who were already well established around Essex County.
Drew Funeral Home used the facility until 2013. Unfortunately it wasn't long before the vacant building had fallen into disrepair . The property was taken over by city of Newark, and anyone who reads this blog can probably guess what happened next. The city boarded up the building and walked away. Metal thieves made quick work of the copper pipes and wires, while the occasional squatter took up residence inisde. I passed by the building man times over the years, only stopping to check it out once.
After a decade of sitting vacant, the city finally demolished the shuttered funeral home in 2023. The land where the building sat is still vacant, but the whole block certainly does look better without the crumbling structure towering over it. Hopefully some new affordable housing will soon take its place.
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