JANUARY 2012 » book review

Jersey Jewels

AIA New Jersey Guidebook
by Philip S. Kennedy-Grant, Mark Alan Hewitt and Michael J. Mills
Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ; 2011
224 pages; softcover; over 100 color photographs; $29.95
ISBN 978-0-8135-5126-5

Reviewed by Nancy E. Berry

While New Jersey is not generally well known for its built environment, the state is home to a number of architectural icons, such as The George Washington Bridge and Ellis Island. To commemorate the American Institute of Architects’ 150th anniversary, as well as to celebrate these impressive structures, the New Jersey chapter honors the milestone with a new book featuring 150 of the best examples of architecture in the state. Over 2,000 AIA New Jersey members were asked to submit their picks. Written by Philip S. Kennedy Grant, FAIA, Mark Alan Hewitt, FAIA, and Michael J. Mills, FAIA, with a foreword by Michael Graves, the text offers insightful and informative prose about the buildings, which range from the hallowed halls of Princeton University to early Georgian manses and a 1940s diner.

The authors’ extensive backgrounds in New Jersey architecture and preservation allow their prose to be descriptive, precise and eloquent. Grant, an architect, artist and writer, has written extensively on the subject of architecture. And from 1984 to 1993 he was the chairman of the editorial board of Architecture New Jersey magazine. Hewitt, an architect, preservationist and architectural historian, has taught architecture at both Rice and Columbia universities and has written several books on design. He currently sits on the faculty of the art history department at Rutgers University and runs his own practice. Mills is a principal at Mills + Schnoering Architects of Princeton and is past president of Preservation New Jersey.

The book is an ideal desk reference for all of the state’s architectural hot spots. It is divided into the five regions: the Gateway, the Shore, greater Atlantic City and Southern Shore, and the Skylands regions, showcasing the buildings for their cultural, historical and architectural significance. Architectural giants featured include Frank Lloyd Wright, Ralph Adams Cram, Walter Cope and John Stewardson. Many of the structures featured are designated as National Historic Landmarks and museums. All are beautifully presented, with photographs by Alexander M. Noble.

During the Colonial era, New Jersey’s buildings were influenced by both British and Dutch building types. Some of the oldest examples of extant buildings are the Dey Mansion in Wayne, a Georgian Manor house built by Dirck Dey – a Dutch-born planter – and finished by his son Theunis. The brick house with brownstone coursing and a gambrel roof reflects both Dutch and English influences and is quite rare for the area, the authors note. Another early influence of the Dutch style is found in the Steuben House in River Edge, which is one-and-a-half stories and made of brownstone ashlars and topped with a gambrel roof with a “swept profile.” Today it is owned by the state and is the museum headquarters for the Bergen County Historical Society.

One of the finest and most notable Georgian houses in the state is Morristown’s Ford Mansion, which was the military headquarters for George Washington from December 1779 to June 1780. The symmetrical structure is five bays wide and two stories tall. “It has a central Palladian entry with an arched transom over the main paneled door, with sidelights between applied pilasters,” write the authors. Today the building operates as an historical museum operated by the National Park Service.

New Jersey has been known as an industrial powerhouse since the inception of America’s Industrial Revolution. The RCA Victor Building in Camden is one of New Jersey’s most important and recognizable industrial landmarks. Built on the waterfront in 1909 for the manufacturing of phonographs and other electrical equipment, the main design feature of the structure is an elaborate brick tower that extends five stories high.

The Rogers Locomotive Works in Paterson was an American industrial giant when the first buildings were erected in 1831, and later machine shops were built in 1854. Today the remaining brick structures are part of the S.U.M. Great Falls National Historic Landmark District.

Gustav Stickley lived in Parsippany from 1910 to 1914, creating what would be known as Craftsman Farms, where he would live and work, designing furniture. Today Craftsman Farms is designated as a National Historic Landmark and museum displaying a large collection of original Stickley furniture. Thomas Edison lived in West Orange in a Queen Anne house known as Glenmont, which was designed by Henry Hudson Holly, the largest seller of house plans in the country. The home is located in Llewellyn Park, which is believed to be the country’s first planned residential community. (West Orange is also home to the Edison Factory and Museum, run by the National Park Service.) The Stuart Richardson House in Glen Ridge is one of Wright’s Usonian designs. “These houses were built without basements, attics, and garages and with flat roofs, small kitchens and bedrooms, and extensive expanses of glass doors to permit access to the outside,” write the authors.

One of New Jersey’s most whimsical structures is Lucy the Elephant in Margate. Made of metal in 1881 and patented by James V. Lafferty, it was to be an eye catcher to sell real estate in the area. Also featured is the Caribbean Motel in Wildwood, which has been preserved by the efforts of the Doo Wop Preservation League.  

Nancy E. Berry is the editor of New Old House magazine and the author of two books on design. She lives in Yarmouth Port, MA.

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