How To Help Preserve Endangered Historic Sites In Burlington

BURLINGTON, NJ — Do you know of a historic site in Burlington County that's falling down, or is in danger of being destroyed? Each year, the group Preservation New Jersey releases a list of the 10 most endangered historic places in New Jersey, and they're seeking nominations.

The group said this week, "Do you know of a historic place that is threatened due to neglect and deferred maintenance, threats incurred by redevelopment and new construction, or difficulties raising adequate historic preservation funding?"

They added, "The 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in NJ program spotlights irreplaceable historic, architectural, cultural, and archaeological resources in New Jersey that are in imminent danger of being lost."

To make a nomination, use the form LINKED HERE. Nominations are due Friday.

What was on last year's list:

• Futuro Houses, Greenwich, Cumberland County, and Willingboro, Burlington County. These futuristic-looking houses were conceived in 1968 as "portable" ski chalets by Matti Suuronen, a pioneer in using reinforced plastic for construction. (See photo above by clicking the right arrow.) The structures are made of fiberglass reinforced plastic as to be light and easy to transport to remote locations, easy to construct once on site, and efficient to heat and cool. Less than 100 of these space alien-like homes were built, and today they are located all over the world. The are durable enough to have survived. Two of the chalets have survived in New Jersey – in Greenwich and Willingboro. While both are in need of repair, they are still largely intact.
• The Cranford Roundhouse, Cranford, Union County. A century-old railroad building erected between 1913 and 1915, it's only one of three surviving roundhouses in the state. Roundhouses were used in the first half of the 1900s because it was difficult for big steam locomotives to turn around. Trains would head into a stall in the roundhouse and turned around by a turntable in order to depart. The group believes the building may be sold to a private developers, and has given suggestions for adaptive reuse. Read a Patch article on the Cranford Roundhouse here.
• Elks Hall, New Brunswick, Middlesex County. Elks Lodge 324, on Livingston Avenue adjacent to the newly revitalized Cultural Arts District in downtown New Brunswick. Dedicated in 1926, Elks Hall is an example of classical revival architecture designed by local Highland Park architect Alexander Merchant. The site also boasts a historic "Elk Sculpture" created by Laura Gardin Fraser, a prominent early 20th-Century female sculptor. Elks Hall has played an important role in the civic and community life of New Brunswick for nearly a century.
• The Fort Lee Post Office, Fort Lee, Bergen County. It was constructed as a part of the New Deal program in 1938. Like many federal projects of that era, it was designed in the colonial revival style, honoring the architecture of the nation's founding. The building also boasts four large-scale murals by Henry Schnakenberg depicting the city's history. Today the building stands as a reminder of Fort Lee's roots, but it also faces the threat of demolition. As part of the City's redevelopment efforts, the US Postal Service agreed to relocate to a new facility. The city plans to demolish the building and replace it with a passive park. Many post office buildings have been successfully adaptively reused as offices, restaurants, and cultural or community spaces.
• Lauriston Estate, Rumson, Monmouth County. The Lauriston Estate in Rumson Borough is an 1870 Colonial Revival mansion designed by New York and Red Bank architect Leon Cubberly. It's the only residential building in Rumson listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places. Designed in the predominant Colonial Revival style of that era, the Lauriston Estate is grand and includes a marble foyer and spacious entrance hall leading to a unique dual bowed staircase. Lauriston is currently at the center of an affordable housing settlement agreement that would allow replacement of the mansion with 16 luxury townhouses. The group believes the mansion could be adaptively reused as a part of the proposed development, and also criticizes the state's handling of its mandate to build affordable housing, calling it "haphazard" at times.
• Old Stone House, South Orange, Essex County, located behind the South Orange police station. (See photo above.) Historians estimate that Dutch settlers built the farmhouse between 1666 and 1680 when they arrived in Newark. The original house was 1.5 stories with a native, rubble stone foundation. Renovations in 1877 and 1896 transformed the farmhouse into a Queen Anne, shingle-style mansion. The Township of South Orange Village has owned the Old Stone House since 1953. It was vacated in 1983 and has suffered significant water damage and deterioration.
• Records Storage Building, Hoboken, Hudson County, near the Hoboken train station. The building, which sits at the edge of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad rail yard in Hoboken, is a 1904 red brick building harkening back to English Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. The building has deteriorated to the point that the NJ Department of Community Affairs has called for its demolition due to safety concerns. The building's future will be determined by the NJ Transit Board of Directors after the ongoing federal National Historic Preservation Act review process is complete. While the required Alternatives Analysis leans towards demolition or relocation, public sentiment predominantly favors adaptive reuse. The group writes, "With the impending Hoboken Yards redevelopment, there is no reason to believe ... the chosen redeveloper could not rehabilitate and reuse the structure. It is important for NJ Transit to stabilize the structure now, so that it is still standing when the redevelopment commences." (See a prior Patch story on the Records Storage Building here.)
• Roosevelt Public School, Roosevelt, Monmouth County. A community called Jersey Homesteads, now known as Roosevelt, NJ, was established in 1933 by a New Deal initiative to provide relief for industrial workers and struggling farmers. Renowned architects Louis I. Kahn and Alfred Kastner designed the community and the school, and painter Ben Shahn completed a large mural in the school lobby depicting themes of Jewish immigration, the garment industry and labor movement, and the establishment of Jersey Homesteads as a model planned community for workers. "It seems likely that insufficient funding for the district, due to the changing State school aid formula, will cause the school to close in the coming years," says the group.
• Derick Sutfin House, Manalapan, Monmouth County, in Monmouth Battlefield State Park. Jacob Sutfin constructed the dwelling after purchasing the property in 1718. During the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778, the farmhouse was in the midst of the action, caught in the crossfire of the biggest field artillery duel of the American Revolution. Sutfin died in 1796. "It is in such a severely deteriorated condition that there have been discussions of abandoning the house to demolition by neglect so available funds can be used to maintain two nearby houses."
• New Jersey's 1970's Heritage: Highlights of this bygone era include works from internationally renowned architect Michael Graves, "the father of gentle architecture" Malcolm Wells, and pioneering female architect Eleanore Pettersen. The group says: "Beyond architecture, the 1970s was a tumultuous time in New Jersey — from Earth Day, to legalized gambling, to Bruce Springsteen, to the Mount Laurel decision. Out of this era also came cultural changes that we still feel in our society today."

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Patch editor Caren Lissner contributed to this report.