Newark

In pop culture, Newark’s working-class Ironbound district is best known as the neighborhood where fictional New Jersey gangster Tony Soprano grew up. It is also where the real-life American Jazz singer Sarah Vaughan attended church (at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church on Thomas Street). The Ironbound is a diverse yet close-knit community of about four square miles directly East of Newark Penn Station, and it’s now known largely as “Little Portugal” for its sizeable population of Portuguese immigrants. The name "Ironbound" is said to have originated either from the foundries that peppered the area during the 19th century or from the rail tracks that surrounded the area when the railroads were constructed during the 1830s. Stroll along Ferry Street with its many small businesses, shops and Portuguese restaurants. And if you happen to be passing through Newark in June, don’t miss the Portuguese Festival, held every year along Ferry Street as a celebration of Portuguese-American culture.