Rutgers and NJIT were expanded considerably beginning in the 1960s. Prior to this expansion, University Heights was a relatively affluent neighborhood of Newark. Today, the area has one of Newark's few concentrations of brownstones. The gym at Essex County College was home of the American Basketball Association team, the Newark Express, which has since moved to Drew University and become the Jersey Express. The area is home to the Paul Robeson Gallery at Rutgers University and the Weston Museum in the Van Houten Library at NJIT.

One of the main thoroughfares of University Heights is Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. (formerly High Street) which holds many of Newark's historical treasures: Eberhardt Hall at NJIT, St. Mary's Parish, The Essex County Hall of Records, and The Essex County Court House among others.