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==Arts and culture== In 2018 Brooke Lea Foster of ''[[The New York Times]]'' described Maplewood as one of several "least suburban of suburbs, each one celebrated by buyers there for its culture and hip factor, as much as the housing stock and sophisticated post-city life."<ref>Foster, Brooke Lea. [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/realestate/comparing-suburbs-montclair-in-new-jersey-vs-dobbs-ferry-in-new-york.html "Comparing Suburbs: Montclair in New Jersey vs. Dobbs Ferry in New York"], ''[[The New York Times]]|'', February 23, 2018. Accessed February 10, 2020. "With those requirements, they found themselves exploring the nearby suburbs to which many reluctant city dwellers have traveled a well-trodden path: Maplewood and Montclair, in New Jersey; and the Rivertowns in Westchester, including Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Tarrytown, Irvington and Ardsley (although the latter is not technically on the river). Call them the least suburban of suburbs, each one celebrated by buyers there for its culture and hip factor, as much as the housing stock and sophisticated post-city life."</ref> ===Performance venues=== The township owns and operates the Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts at 10 Durand Road. The Center, a former Christian Science Church, was donated to the town by Jean Burgdorff, a local real estate entrepreneur.<ref>Gialanella, Donna. [http://blog.nj.com/iamnj/2007/12/burgdorff.html "Jean Burgdorff"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', December 28, 2007. Accessed September 8, 2012. "In the 1980s, she bought a Christian Science Church in Maplewood for $500,000 and donated it to the town for a community center, now called the Burgdorff Cultural Center."</ref> The building was transferred to the town on October 15, 1988.<ref>[http://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/ord2/2008-ordinances/ord%202553-08.pdf Ordinance 2553-08] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327080340/http://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/ord2/2008-ordinances/ord%202553-08.pdf |date=2009-03-27 }}, Maplewood Township. Accessed September 4, 2015.</ref> In 2008, the township committed to a $130,000 plan to improve the building.<ref>[http://www.localsource.com/articles/2008/11/25/maplewood/news/local_news/doc492ca4c3af9d9410800832.txt Burgdorff Center gets $130K face-lift]</ref> ===Maplewoodstock=== Every year, on the weekend following the weekend closest to July 4, there is a concert in town called Maplewoodstock. The free concert consists of local and national bands performing alongside various stalls showcasing local businesses.<ref>Black, Chris. [http://maplewood.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/maplewoodstock-best-show-money-cant-buy/ "Maplewoodstock: Best Show Money Can't Buy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803050434/http://maplewood.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/maplewoodstock-best-show-money-cant-buy/ |date=August 3, 2012 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 13, 2009. Accessed September 8, 2012. "In its sixth year, Maplewoodstock reaches beyond the town borders, attracting patrons from the region, although it remains primarily a local community happening."</ref> ===Architecture and landscape=== Many of the more recognizable buildings and spaces were the work of famous architects and landscape designers. Most of the schools and the Municipal Building were the work of [[Guilbert & Betelle]]. The center of town is dominated by Memorial Park, a design of the [[Olmsted Brothers]].<ref>[http://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/documentcenter/view/898 Maplewood Memorial Park]{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Maplewood Historic Preservation Commission, December 2009. Accessed September 4, 2015.</ref> The Olmsted firm was also responsible for the landscaping at [[Ward Homestead]], designed by [[John Russell Pope]], and now known as Winchester Gardens, located on Elmwood Avenue. On the opposite side of town is another Olmsted work, [[South Mountain Reservation]]. The Maplewood Theater, designed by William E. Lehman, was where [[Cheryl Crawford]] first revived ''[[Porgy and Bess]]''.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/02/nyregion/l-maplewood-theater-stirs-memories-210188.html "Maplewood Theater Stirs Memories"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 2, 1988. Accessed September 22, 2013. "The Maplewood was, at that time, in the very capable hands of Cheryl Crawford, a theater-wise executive from Manhattan who had been one of the founders of the illustrious Group Theater.... Miss Crawford topped it all off with a revival of ''Porgy and Bess'' that went into the Ziegfeld Theater in New York for a long run."</ref> ===Popular culture=== <!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[File:GardenState-sc-columbiahighschool.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.35|A [[screenshot]] of [[Columbia High School (New Jersey)|Columbia High School]] in ''[[Garden State (film)|Garden State]]''.]] --> * [[Ultimate (sport)|Ultimate]] [[Frisbee]] (now called simply "Ultimate") was invented in Maplewood in 1968 by students at Columbia High School. A plaque commemorating the birthplace of Ultimate Frisbee is located in the student parking lot.<ref>Caldwell, Dave. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/nyregion/new-jersey/16frisbeenj.html "Still Competing at Ultimate Frisbee's Birthplace"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 13, 2008. Accessed August 5, 2013. "The lot is still there, its surface cracked and rutted with potholes. In the corner is a stone marker, erected in 1989, with a circular plaque carrying an inscription: 'Birthplace of Ultimate Frisbee, created by Columbia High School students in 1968.{{'"}}</ref> * Maplewood is the birthplace of the wooden [[golf tee]], invented by [[William Lowell]] at the Maplewood Golf Club in 1921.<ref>[http://www.scottishgolfhistory.net/tee_term.htm Scottish Golf History: Derivation of Golf Tee], accessed December 13, 2006.</ref> * Maplewood has been the site for several films, including ''[[I Wanna Hold Your Hand (film)|I Wanna Hold Your Hand]]'', ''[[Garden State (film)|Garden State]]'', ''[[Gracie (film)|Gracie]]'', ''[[One True Thing]]'', ''[[Stepmom (1998 film)|Stepmom]]'', and ''[[A Good Person (2023 film)|A Good Person]]''. * [[Zach Braff]], a [[Columbia High School (New Jersey)|Columbia High School]] alumnus, filmed a scene in his 2004 film, ''[[Garden State (film)|Garden State]]'', where he and [[Natalie Portman]] drive by the front of Columbia High School. * In the 2007 film ''[[Gracie (film)|Gracie]]'', the plot is set in and partially filmed in Maplewood and Columbia High School. Producer [[Andrew Shue]] and actress [[Elisabeth Shue]] both attended Columbia, and the plot is loosely based on their lives during high school.<ref>Bandler, Michael J. [http://njmonthly.com/articles/best-of-Jersey/the_will_to_win.html "The Will to Win; Elisabeth Shue and her brother Andrew had a dream to honor their brother's memory with a film about family and soccer. They didn't trust Hollywood to get it right, so they financed and filmed it here at home."], ''[[New Jersey Monthly]]'', December 20, 2007. Accessed September 22, 2013. "Every family has its hallowed memories and its what-ifs. But few get to turn them into a full-length feature film as the Shues have done with Gracie, which was released last month. They shot the movie in South Orange and Maplewood, where the story is set, even filming inside their alma mater, Columbia High School."</ref> * [[Bullet For My Valentine]] filmed their music video for "[[Waking the Demon]]" in Maplewood.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} * The main character of the [[Robert Sheckley]] novel ''[[Dimension of Miracles]]'', Thomas Carmody, is from Maplewood. He revisits the town, albeit one belonging in an alternate universe, late in the book.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} * Novelist [[Philip Roth]], who grew up in neighboring [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] refers to Maplewood in several of his novels, including ''[[Goodbye, Columbus]]''.<ref>Bulger, Adam. [https://patch.com/new-jersey/maplewood/blog-philip-roth-passes-through-maplewood "Blog: Philip Roth's Memories of Maplewood"], Maplewood, NJ Patch, February 12, 2009. Accessed November 5, 2019. "It shouldn't be a surprise that Philip Roth made a passing reference to Maplewood in his early novella, ''Goodbye Columbus''. The ''Portnoy's Complaint'' author is after all, from Newark, where GC is set."</ref> * [[StarFish (children's band)|StarFish]], a rock band for children.<ref>Graeber, Laurel. [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/arts/18kids.html "Spare Times: For Children"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 18, 2010. Accessed January 27, 2011.</ref>
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