By KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — The borough may soon have its first historic district.
The Borough Council orally approved the 70-page draft of the Middlesex Avenue-Woodwild Park Historic District prepared by the Metuchen Historic Preservation Committee at a council meeting on July 11. The draft will be submitted for review to potentially be placed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.
“The designation would be an honor and would demonstrate that Metuchen does recognize and value our historic assets which I believe is vitally important in light of the new development and changes happening in our downtown,” said Councilman Jay Muldoon.
It has been six years in the making with help from small grants up to $2,300 from the Middlesex County Cultural & Heritage Commission and matching funds from the borough.
“This is a large district nomination and it came with a major effort,” said Nancy Zerbe, chair of the Metuchen Historic Preservation.
Zerbe said suggested changes, if any, would be made once the state board with the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office reviews the draft copy and a public meeting is held with all property owners in the district where owners would have the ability to comment.
Muldoon said being part of the register would not place any restrictions on private property owners.
Zerbe noted that a national law does give the right to the private property owner to not be part of the National Register if they should object; however, she said they are hopeful that with enough public outreach all the property owners would be on board.
The district includes 256 private and public properties located on Middlesex Avenue, Oak Avenue, Linden Avenue, East Chestnut Avenue, Maple Avenue, Elm Avenue, Library Place, Rector Street, Clarendon Court, Highland Avenue and Hillside Avenue.
The overall character of the Middlesex Avenue-Woodwild Park Historic District is suburban with mostly residential houses set amid large lawns with mature trees and plantings.
The architectural classifications include mid-19th-century Greek revival, late Victorian — Gothic, Queen Anne, Italianate, late 19th- and early 20th-century revival — colonial revival, tudor revival, mission and late 19th- and early 20th-century American movements — bungalow and craftsman.
The oldest site in the district is the Old Franklin School house built circa 1807 followed by The Metuchen Inn built circa 1840. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church was built between 1868 and 1869.
Included in the nomination is the borough’s Historic Preservation Committee’s uncovering of the battle in local newspapers for the Brainy Borough title between Glen Ridge in Essex County and Metuchen in 1914 and 1915. The committee had previously created a booklet about the battle, which they released in 2015 falling in line with the 100th anniversary of the competition.
Zerbe said the state nomination board made up of architects and historians would then review the final copy and make a recommendation whether or not to approve the historic district in Metuchen.
“The time [the board] signs it, the district is automatically on the New Jersey [Register of Historic Places] and then it will be sent to Washington [D.C.] for review,” she said. “The process takes time … it will not be happening quickly, but [this submission approval by the council] is certainly a major step.”
Zerbe said realistically the Middlesex Avenue-Woodwild Park Historic District submission may be before the board by spring 2017.
With the approval of the Middlesex Avenue-Woodwild Park Historic District, the borough would go from just two sites — the Ayers Allen House on Durham Avenue, which dates back to the 1700s and the Metuchen Post Office on Main Street — to more than 250 listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.
The Metuchen Historic Preservation Committee was formed in January 2008 to advise the mayor and council on steps to strengthen Metuchen’s commitment to historic preservation.
The committee’s goals are to develop public education on the benefits of historic preservation, honor Metuchen’s historic resources by increasing the number of structures in town listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places and explore the development of a Metuchen Historic Preservation Ordinance to formally recognize and protect the town’s distinctive historic and architectural character.
