Westfield: History, Parks and AddamsFest

Westfield combines a distinctive historic character with green spaces and opportunities for active outings. Downtown is home to more than 450 shops, restaurants and service businesses; it has also received the Great American Main Street Award. If you want to combine historic sites, time outdoors and recreational activities on a trip, Westfield offers various ideas for planning your day.

Downtown and Westfield’s History

The Westfield Downtown Walking Tour takes you to historic buildings and other historic features of the downtown district. Westfield’s Victorian- and Colonial-style homes are also worth seeing, reflecting the community’s historic character. For families interested in architecture and local history, this combination offers a concrete starting point: you can make downtown and its architectural history the focus of a visit without limiting your outing to a single building.

One notable historic home is the Reeve House. Built around 1872, it features Victorian architecture and furnishings. Tours can be arranged by appointment. On some Sundays, they may take place from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., provided the event calendar confirms this. So if you want to include the house in your travel plans, check the calendar and arrange a tour.

The historic cemetery of the Presbyterian Church of Westfield is another place connected to the community’s past: it contains the graves of veterans of the American Revolutionary War. The Westfield Historical Society’s archives document Westfield’s past. They are open by appointment, usually on Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Depending on your interests, you can choose between an outdoor site, a historic home and archival materials.

Parks and Outdoor Activities

Mindowaskin Park covers 12.6 hectares and has several distinctive features: a large pond, a pavilion, memorial trees and gardens, and an accessible playground. The park also offers opportunities for peaceful walks. Families can combine time outdoors with a break by the water or a visit to the playground. These features make the park a distinct option for a quieter part of the day.

Tamaques Park has a pond and a 0.8-mile jogging trail. If you want to include some exercise in your stay, you can consider this trail as a specific running option. The two parks offer different features to consider when planning an outing: Mindowaskin Park has a pavilion, memorial trees and gardens, and a playground in addition to its pond, while Tamaques Park offers a designated route with its jogging trail.

Recreational Activities and Special Events

Westfield Rink at Gumbert Park offers public ice skating for children and adults. Westfield Memorial Pool and Aquatic Complex is a public swimming facility open to Westfield residents and non-residents alike. Ice skating and swimming add further recreational options to the historic sites and parks; you can decide which ones will shape your stay based on the interests of your travel group.

A recurring event is AddamsFest: held annually in October, the festival celebrates Charles Addams as a native son of Westfield. If you plan to visit Westfield in October, you can include the festival in your plans as a special cultural highlight. When looking for a vacation rental, it helps to first consider which aspects of Westfield matter most to you—downtown and history, parks and outdoor activities, or recreational offerings and the festival. That way, you can choose based on the experiences you’re interested in during your stay.

Discover More Places

You can also discover these places: Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Cranford, Summit, Union City, Scotch Plains, Rahway, Linden.

For the broader travel overview: Union.