On the Ave: A Walking Tour

By: Russell Swanson, Exec. Dir., VDID, Main Street Vineland 

Photo courtesy of George Perez Art & Music Facebook page.

VINELAND, N.J. —Last year, I started to take you on a block-by-block “walking tour” of The Ave to show you the number and variety of our downtown businesses. These are business owners who have chosen The Ave as the place to “hang their shingle” and they are businesses seeking your patronage. I had to halt the tour but am going to resume it now. It will occur on an occasional basis, as other matters will come up that I’ll want to print in the column. 

As The Ave has had some changes in businesses since last year, I’ll start again with what we call the downtown’s “Eastern Gateway.” For the Vineland Special Improvement District, the eastern gateway starts at Myrtle Street and so that’s where we’ll begin our tour again.

The 900 block of Landis Avenue begins the business district and, like the other end of the district, is less densely populated with businesses than the center part. As you proceed eastward, the character of Landis Avenue becomes more residential in appearance. Going westward outside of the business district, the streetscape changes as the businesses become less dense and more chain-operated businesses enter the scene.

So, let’s start at Myrtle Street and head west on The Ave toward the central business district. This is what we’ll see.

On the north side…

• 1010 E. Landis Ave.—Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church

• 922 E. Landis Ave.—Bishop Schad Regional School (kindergarten through eighth grade)

• 918 E. Landis Ave.—Bishop Schad Regional School (pre-kindergarten)

• 916B E. Landis Ave.—Family Dentistry (Dr. E. Diaz Pastrina and Dr. M. Conway Diaz)

• 916A E. Landis Ave.—Spirit & Truth Ministries, Inc.

• 906 E. Landis Ave.—D.T.P. Auto Sound

On the south side…

• 901 E. Landis Ave.—The entire south side is taken up with the Landis Square Senior Apartments—a 74-unit complex with businesses and offices on the bottom floor. The businesses, which face East Avenue are the 89-Cent Convenience Store (Suite A), EPAC Property Management (Suite D), Brookfield Construction and Eastern Pacific Development (Suite E).

We’ll continue our walking tour in another column as we cross East Avenue and take a look at the 800 block. 

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Get the Yuletide mood with our annual Christmas Parade, to take place this year on Saturday, November 30 (rain date: Sunday, December 1) at 5 p.m. The theme this year will be “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” BB&T is again the major sponsor this year. Vendors, participants, and volunteers are currently being sought to help coordinate on the night of the parade, and parade sponsorship opportunities are available. Applications to be in the parade or to be a vendor can be obtained by going to TheAve.biz. To be a participant in the parade, applications must be completed online. Registration for parade participants is free, if received before  November 15, with a $20 fee, if received after that date. The deadline for all registrations will be November 22. Registration is required to participate in the parade and no registrations will be allowed on parade night.

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Artist George Perez and his assistants continue their hard work on the military mural at the southwest corner of Landis Avenue and the Boulevard. Part of the expense is covered by grants and various donations, but to help make this a community effort, we want to raise $7,500. Just go to our website—TheAve.biz—and, on the home page, click on the link for the military mural. Find out more about the project and how to donate; since we’re a 501(c)3 entity, your donation is tax-deductible. 

Dedication of the mural takes place appropriately, on Veterans Day—Monday, November 11—at 9:30 a.m., right before the City’s annual holiday commemoration.

If you missed the fun, fear not.  There are a few more chances to join in before the end of the year.  We have our A Taste of Vineland & Volunteer Recognition Event on October 23 at the Greenview Inn at the Eastlyn Golf Course, the Pumpkin Patch Party on October 26 at the mini-parks, Weddings on The Ave on November 6 in The Banquet Room at Grant Plaza, the annual Christmas Parade on The Ave on November 25, the CommUNITY Tree-Lighting Event on December 9 at the mini-parks, and more. Stay turned in future columns for more information about these events.

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This is all the more reason to make The Ave your destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment needs. Save money on gasoline, avoid the long lines at the big-box stores, malls, and shopping centers, and take in the rich variety of fun things to do—right in your own backyard.

For more information on Main Street Vineland, call 856-794-8653, visit TheAve.biz or check them out on Facebook. You can also e-mail rswanson@vinelandcity.org.

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