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In 1929 planners Clarence Stein and Henry Wright set out to build a town for the motor age in the farm fields of Fair Lawn. Their Radburn neighborhood turned houses to face shared parkland instead of the street, tucked cars onto quiet cul-de-sacs and ran footpaths under the roads so children could walk to school without crossing traffic. The Depression stopped the project halfway, yet what was built became a National Historic Landmark and a model copied by planners around the world.
The rest of Fair Lawn is a comfortable Bergen County borough of about 35,000 people, incorporated in 1924, stretching from the Passaic River to the edge of Paramus. Its older Dutch past survives in sandstone farmhouses such as Garretson Forge and Farm on River Road, one of the oldest buildings in the county, and the Cadmus-Folly House, which tells the borough's story.
Radburn station, with its Tudor-style depot, links Fair Lawn to Hoboken and Midtown Manhattan, and the malls of Paramus and the Great Falls in Paterson are only a short drive away.
The 1929 planned community that made Fair Lawn famous, designed by Clarence Stein and Henry Wright with houses facing inner parks, cars kept to cul-de-sacs and footpaths that pass beneath the streets. It is a National Historic Landmark. Walk the public streets respectfully, as the parks belong to residents.
A charming Tudor Revival railroad station built around 1930 to serve the new Radburn community, with steep roofs, half-timbering and a small plaza. NJ Transit Bergen County Line trains still stop here on the way to Hoboken and Secaucus. Combine a look at the depot with a walk into Radburn next door.
The Tudor-style commercial building near Radburn station was built as the planned town's shopping and office center, and it still houses local shops and offices. Its brick and half-timbered facade matches the station across the way. Grab a coffee nearby and look for the details that tie it to the 1929 plan.
The heart of the Radburn idea: green park strips run behind the houses, linked by pedestrian underpasses so walkers never meet cars. The parks are owned and maintained by the Radburn Association for its residents. Visitors can see an underpass and the green spine from public paths near Radburn Road.
A sandstone Dutch farmhouse on River Road, begun in the early 1700s by the Garretson family and one of the oldest surviving buildings in Bergen County. A volunteer group runs it as a museum with period rooms, gardens and occasional open houses and craft days. Check its schedule, as opening days are limited.
A small historic Dutch-style house that serves as a home for Fair Lawn's local history, with displays about the borough's farming past and early families. It is run by local volunteers and opens on select days, so check ahead before visiting. Pair it with Garretson Forge for a half day of Dutch heritage.
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