The Montrose Compass MPHDA FALL 2002 NEWSLETTER BEHIND THE SCENES: NEWARK MUSEUM'S BALLANTINE HOUSE The MPHDA is delighted to offer a behind the scenes tour of the Newark Museum's Ballantine House. Ulysses Grant Dietz, Curator of the Ballantine House and Curator of Decorative Arts for the museum, has kindly volunteered to host a private tour of the house. Mr. Dietz directed the expert restoration and reinterpretation of the Ballantine house which was once home to its namesake family whose fortune was made brewing beer and other carbonated beverages. Areas not generally open to the public will be toured as well. Additionally, tour goers will be provided with information about the "Friends of the Decorative Arts" program at the Newark Museum. This group supports the acquisition of decorative arts for the museum and also hosts special events throughout the year such as "A behind-the-scenes look at Sotheby's" and private collections. The tour will take place on Saturday, November 23, 2002, at 10:30am. It will end in time for regular museum hours at noon, which will give tour goers the opportunity to view other areas of the museum on their own. This "mother of the houses of the great Victorian suburbs" is not to be missed. There is limited space for the tour, which we can only offer to current members of the MPHDA. The first 25 members who sign up can attend. Please, complete the form on the insert and mail it to the MPHDA, P.O. Box 953, South Orange, NJ 07079. You will receive a confirmation postcard or phone call with further details. MONTROSE IN THE MEDIA We try to keep members abreast of when Montrose Park is mentioned in the media: Check out the May 2002 issue of NJ MONTHLY Home & Garden Supplement. There is a very special article about South Orange and the architecture found in Montrose Park: "Old is Beautiful: In South Orange's Montrose Park, the past shapes the present and future" by Maplewood writer Willa Speiser. Also, keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming article by South Orange writer Michele Hollow, which will be featured this Fall in the Home & Garden Section of the STAR LEDGER. FAMILY FUN DAY IN GROVE PARK MPHDA is sponsoring a Fall day out in Grove Park for the whole family. Join us on October 5th, (rain date October 6th), from 11am to 3pm for some old-fashioned relays, arts and crafts projects, face painting and music. Our new "Welcome" sign, at the corner of South Orange Avenue and Grove Park, will be presented to the Village from MPHDA. We hope families will bring their own picnic lunch and a dessert to share at the dessert potluck table. Lemonade and apple cider will be provided. See the enclosed flyer to get involved! VILLAGE COMMITTEE EXPLORES HISTORIC PRESERVATION In mid-April, at the prompting of the MPHDA, the Village Trustees appointed an Ad Hoc Committee to study Historic Commissions. The Committee is composed of a diverse group of residents, representing as many neighborhoods of the Village and with various areas of professional expertise. The Committee held preliminary meetings over the summer months and gathered materials related to other local Historic Commissions already established in neighboring communities such as Maplewood, Montclair, Short Hills/Millburn, Glen Ridge, and West Orange. Why did the MPHDA suggest this committee? Each town in New Jersey must have a Master Plan which is comprised of a variety of components including any zoning, ordinances, and other required elements. Periodically, the State requires that a town's Master Plan be revised. At this point in time, possible revisions to the Village's Master Plan should be explored. For example, the Plan should reflect the existence of a State and National Historic District (Montrose Park) within South Orange. Other historic structures such as the Fire House, Village Hall, and original library building, should be recognized. Once these historic sites have been recognized as "local" historic sites, they will be better protected from risks such as demolition. Additionally, the committee will research Historic Commissions and why other towns have chosen to adopt these commissions and preservation ordinances. Once its research is complete, the committee will report on its findings to the Village Trustees. At this point, the Ad Hoc Committee would like to meet with area residents and local neighborhood associations to share information and gain input from residents. If you would like to hold a meeting, please leave a message at the MPHDA phone line, and a member of the Committee will call to set a time and date. MONTROSE IN MAY....RECORD CROWDS! Despite early morning heavy rain, wind and cool temperatures, the Montrose Park Historic District Association's Eighth Annual Montrose in May Historic House tour (May 18, 2002) was a tremendous success! Thanks to each of our guests who shared in riding the trolley and viewed last season's selection of homes, gardens, St. Andrew & Holy Name Episcopal Church, and the Resisting Categories Print Exhibit. Approximately 800 people toured last spring - a tour record! Copious thanks to our homeowners who so graciously shared their homes: Carl Baccaro & Joe Nassaney, Pat Bell, Peter Feola & Ann Hartnett, Risa & David Lysenko, Brett & Stacey Pulley, and Roy Scott & Scott Stern. Special thanks to the congregation of St. Andrew & Holy Name Episcopal Church for the tour of their sanctuary and exquisite stain glass windows and additional thanks to the Baird Center & the Gallery of South Orange. Of course we thank the community businesses that sold tickets for the tour. As well, we thank Debbie & Bob Adler, of Adler & Company for providing us with boxed lunches for the last three years and wish them well in their next endeavors! More thanks to over 80 volunteers who staffed all of the tour venues, to our hardworking Board of Trustees, and to Tour Committee Members. We couldn't pull off Montrose in May without each and every person's commitment. This very special tour has become a much anticipated spring event; it is a time to show off South Orange, its homes, and their history - it will be difficult to top this year's success! We hope you will join us again next year on what we expect will be another spectacular Montrose in May! Mark your calendars for May 17, 2003. MONTROSE IN MAY 2002...A WHIMSICAL REVIEW by Laura Giannini For some, a house is a place to hang your hat - for others, a house is a place to display 6,000 bottles of wine, or to create a museum-like throwback to the Victorian times. So begins another "Tour" of homes in the Montrose Park Historic District of South Orange. And once again, I am amazed at the unique and often theatrical displays of how people really live. For, whenever I get to go inside anyone's home for any reason - I feel like a spy - "OH!", I say, "Look at this little nick-nack, Tiffany Lamp, or giant walapalooza objet d'art!" Nothing like a house tour makes you want to go home and clean your, albeit modest, place up. I muse, "Why exactly am I saving 200 empty boxes, 600 sheets of used papers (my writing) and all of these piles of books?" Not to mention the pinecones, stacks of records (still in college crates from 20 years ago), the various mementos, trinkets, chotchkas - that makes my house so "je ne c'est quoi?" Why a tour, like Montrose in May, makes you really take stock and if nothing else look at your home with new eyes, after you've gaped slack-jawed at wondrous homes of others. "Wow!" I say as I look up at the peeling paint that gives my home that shabby-chick look of ruined grandeur! But, back to the tour. It was cold; very cold outside on this day in May. It felt like Fall and it was raining. I was the one in the large straw hat, the only one wearing a hat, I might add. But what were the homes like you ask? Really amazing…some graced with outstanding architectural detail. Others bathed in whimsy. At one house, I stood on the "Summer Porch" which I dubbed the "Winter" porch because it was so cold as I stared at the lemonade (I wanted hot chocolate). At another, I saw an 8,000 piece puzzle on display (now, that's a lot of lonely nights!). At yet another large pink house I saw the "Piano Man", wearing his piano hat and piano socks as he played a lovely rendition of "Claire De Lune". And finally, I saw the Tiffany windows at a Church which I've passed by my entire life. Once again, the Tour de Montrose was a success. Too bad it wasn't held in the heart of winter, maybe then it would have been a hot, hot day! Laura Giannini is a writer/artist who would join the Tour De France if it weren't for her bad knees. FROM ORANGE DALE TO SOUTH ORANGE by Naoma Welk By 1782, the residents in the settlement located along the South Mountain needed to establish a name for the parish. Several names were proposed, including the name Orange-field. The name "Orange" struck a popular chord because it suggested that area was both mountain and valley and that the name "Dale" would be appropriate. The name Orange Dale was approved. Over the next several months, "Dale" was dropped and was named South Orange. Samuel Munn held a meeting at his house in Orange on May 9, 1806 to establish boundary lines for South Orange. Gordon's Gazeteer (published circa 1830) describes South Orange as "a village of…about 30 dwellings, a tavern and store, a paper mill and Presbyterian Church; the lands around it are rich and well farmed." In 1837, the Morris & Essex Railroad began serving South Orange and the next year service was launched between Newark and Morristown. The trip from Morristown to New York took three hours; that same route today is forty-four minutes. The first post office opened on South Orange Avenue in John D. Freeman's general store in 1841. It served 30 farmhouses but annual receipts were so low (less than $50) that business was suspended until 1843 when President John Tyler commissioned the post office to be re-established. South Orange was established as a village on March 25, 1869 when the State Legislature adopted "an act to incorporate the village of South Orange, in the County of Essex." The 150-acre area now known as Montrose Park was annexed to the Village of South Orange on February 10, 1891. b SIGN INSTALLATION & NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN-UP One week prior to Montrose in May, the MPHDA sponsored the annual clean up and planting at Mountain Station. Members and friends spent the morning spreading mulch, trimming tree branches, pruning shrubs, planting perennials and annuals, and preparing ground for the installation of our new Montrose signage. This hard work beautifies Mountain Station and prepares the grounds for Montrose in May. Special thanks to those who helped: Sarah Jane Jelin, Joyce & Jim Joyce, Rayna & Marc Pomper, and Maggie Wierzbicki. And to youngsters: Ryan Chang, Julian Gordon, William Hall, Aidan Pomper, Daniel Pomper, Jacob Pomper, and Marty Schwarz. In addition, Kudos go to the South Orange Department of Public Works who helped us prepare for the tour! Headed by Tom Maschetti, they were able to install our new permanent wood signs at Mountain Station and Grove Park. As well, the DPW hung our banners, provided mulch and soil, and took the time for extra sweeps through the District to make sure the neighborhood was prepared for the tour. All this despite the heavy workload they experienced after the heavy winds and rain in early May which, town-wide, took down many trees & branches, clogged gutters & drains, and disturbed macadam. We are grateful for the DPW's help each year! Mark your calendar, sign dedication will take place at Grove Park on Saturday, October 5, 2002 (during our Family Fun Day) and next year's Mountain Station Clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, May 10, 2003 at 10:00am. b