See This Chatham Historic Home’s Amazing Restoration (Pictures)

CHATHAM, NJ — When people walk or drive by the home on 120 Washington Avenue they’ll see a flag proudly waving from the Chatham Historic Preservation Commission for the homeowners' restoration efforts.

It is the first home to receive the Jan Westfall Flag Award since 2012, named for the Chatham Historic Preservation Commission Founder, with the very first given out in 1990.

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The Washington Avenue home, constructed in 1866, was something that homeowners John and Maria Perry said they wanted to preserve, rather than tear down, the fate unfortunately for some Chatham Borough homes in the past.

“Chatham Borough residents have seen a lot of older homes demolished over the last few years,” said Chatham’s Historic Preservation Commission Chairperson Jim Greener, in a news release from Chatham Borough on Tuesday.

“In some cases, we understand why those decisions have been made,” he added. “But in this instance, I think the residents in Chatham, who have always appreciated the original structure on this property, myself included, are thrilled with the transformation of the Perry’s home.”

“Kudos to them for recognizing the character of their home and wanting to retain it and for having the good senses to seek out a competent architect to help them realize their vision for the property,” said Greener.

Greener was part of a tour at the end of October with the Perrys, their architects Brian Siegel and Dan Valvano of Chatham’s Brian Siegel Architects, their contractor Tony Kwiatek, Chatham Borough Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz, Council President Carolyn Dempsey and Council Member Frank Truilo.

John Perry credited Maria Perry with preserving the original home, which had been a boarding house in earlier Chatham history for another home and Historic Preservation Commission Flag Award winner, 152 Fairmount Avenue.

“Part of the goal of the HPC is to honor our town by preserving historic architecture and maintaining our quaint ‘hometown’ feel,” said Dempsey, a co-liaison from Chatham Borough’s Council for the Historic Preservation Commission.

Perry describes their home now as “beautiful but livable,” with “understated elegance.”

Siegel credited the Perrys for “being willing to preserve the original heart of the home and build upon it in a manner that respects the past.”

“It’s not an exceptionally large home, rather it’s incredibly functional and internally open,” said Valvano. “It lives in the present time."

Siegel and Valvano honed in on the home’s original western European style and built on that in the its rooflines, with decorative brackets and details that Siegel said “made it a unique Borough home that many people have had a longstanding interest in.”

Kobylarz, at the council’s meeting earlier in November following the tour of the Perry home, described the restoration as one that was painstaking, taking about 12 hours to reinforce a portion of the home; and one that “almost didn’t happen.”

“There’s wonderful architecture all over this great borough,” Kobylarz reported, saying it’s “something to be commended,” when a resident or business rehabilitates an historic structure.

Truilo called it an “outstanding renovation of an 1800s home,” which he described as “exquisitely restored at considerable expense.”

The flag, designed by The Blank Page, now stands out of their home, with Greener commending Siegel and his team in maintaining the house’s historic character. He called Siegel’s firm a “valuable architectural resource to this community.”

“It takes a lot of experience and creativity to take on a project like this and their thoughtful execution of this design is admirable,” Greener said.

“We love seeking out examples of excellent historic preservation but we welcome residents to also nominate homes or commercial buildings in town, which have been restored or improved to reflect the historic architecture or neighborhood,” Dempsey said.

The Historic Preservation Commission has a nomination form to give out Flag Awards to residents or business owners that restore historical properties. Click here for a nomination form.
Photos of the properties nominated should be emailed to historicpreservationcommission@chathamborough.org.

To volunteer with the Historic Preservation Commission, Volunteer applications can be found here on the Borough's website, then returned to Borough Clerk Tamar Lawful.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.