VUE

I t's been nearly a decade since I graduated from Montclair State University and ever since, I've watched in awe of how the township has grown. Downtown is thriving. Spaces and lots that once collected dust along Bloomfield Ave have become flourishing businesses— places for the community to gather. For me, some of my most memorable experiences have been at these businesses. From writers' workshops and concerts, to birthdays and first dates— there are so many moments I'll never forget. is summer, I had the pleasure of witnessing the opening of e MC Hotel. And from the moment I stepped inside, I could tell it was positioned to be another of those landmark locales. In years past, I had oen wondered what would one day stand at the hotel's central location at the corner of Bloomfield Ave and Orange Road. To be frank, I'd always been concerned that some big conglomerate would move in and the nichey vibe of the city would dwindle. But the new hospitality landmark—really the first of its kind in Montclair—feels to have enriched downtown's culture rather than diminish its roots. As if the hotel's stunning interior and local outreach programs weren't enough to convince non-believers like myself, it became abundantly clear to me the moment I heard Mayor Robert Jackson speak outside the hotel on that fateful August morning. "[Businesses] of the past have meaning and charm in their time," he said during the hotel's ribbon-cutting ceremony. "at was a very different point in life—in this community. If you see what Montclair has been transformed into, what this end of town has become—it's astonishing. It's a special time for Montclair. Now we have a brand new, state-of-the-art, sparkling, fantastic hotel here. I want to thank and congratulate the people who made this possible." His words struck a chord. It was an affirmation of how I felt at that moment and how I felt about this new opening. As I looked around at the investors and local leaders attending e MC Hotel's ribbon-cutting event, it was evident that, for all involved, this was a passion project from the start. Inside the lobby, I also got acquainted with e MC Hotel's art program—most notably featuring a 50-foot black and white mural by renowned West New York illustrator Ruben Toledo. At e MC Hotel, everything is in the details. Toledo's stretched fabric mural serves as a natural path to liven up an otherwise empty space. Much of the artwork is inspired by the town's creative roots, including original pieces hinting at Montclair's visual surroundings. "Our art is curated from about a 45-mile radius," Emily Wittmann, Director of Lifestyle at e MC Hotel, told me. "Our partners are from Montclair and neighboring areas. So we really bring a lot of the community into our facility. It speaks to the mark of Marriott's Autograph Collection. Know your locality and what you stand for." V U E N J . C O M 79

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