Photo Courtesy of Mason Levinson
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Maplewood Historic Village District will be considered for nomination to both the New Jersey and National registers of historic places by the New Jersey State Review Board for Historic Sites on Oct. 2, presenting the possibility that downtown Maplewood could be deemed a historic property worthy of being preserved and recognized. The designation is separate from a local historical designation, which is done by the Historic Preservation Commission with a public process. The commission hosted a virtual meeting on Sept. 9, explaining the nomination and how it would affect Maplewood.
Committeewoman Nancy Adams, the liaison between the HPC and the Township Committee, said at the meeting that Maplewood first pursued the designation in 2015, receiving a grant for research on the area; the research was completed in 2019. Other towns in the state that have the designation include Madison, Morristown, Westfield, Paterson and Newark.
“We do not regulate what property owners do,” Andrea Tingey, a historic preservation specialist from the New Jersey Office of Historic Preservation, said at the meeting. “Registration doesn’t mean the government wants to buy private property and it doesn’t affect zoning laws. There are no restrictions concerning paint colors. Rather, it invites its preservation. It sets up an expectation that the character of your district will be preserved.”
Advantages that come along with the designation include protection of the area from the state and federal governments, municipal grants from New Jersey Historic Trust and the possibility of tax credits for property owners within the district. Being on the state and national historic registers would not make Maplewood Village a local historic district.
Margaret Hickey, a partner at Connolly & Hickey Historical Architects, researched the area and wrote the recommendation for the district to be nominated. She explained at the meeting why Maplewood Village would be a good fit for the registers.
“The area centered around Maplewood Village was rural and shifted with the introduction of the railroad,” Hickey said. “It began to attract wealthy people from Newark and New York City, who built country houses.”
Maplewood saw a period of rapid population growth from around 1903 to 1930, when schools were built and parks were formed. Despite the rise of the automobile, Hickey said the train station and commuting nature of the town remained important.
“The nomination discusses the construction of the time, and the reworking of commercial storefronts in response to the needs of the consumer and the adaptation of the automobile,” she said. “It embodies the development of fast-growing suburbs in northern New Jersey, and the first 30 years of the 20th century is reflected in the architecture.”
The tight density of the buildings on Maplewood Avenue, Durand Road, Highland Place, Inwood Place, Lenox Place and Baker Street is another historical marker of the area, according to Hickey, in addition to the local destination and walkability.
“Its significance is the ability to convey the role of transportation in transforming the area from a rural enclave to a vibrant suburb,” she said.
Maplewood residents can send notarized letters in support of the designation or against it; these will be taken into account when the National Parks Service reviews nominations. Tingey said property owners who write letters opposing a nomination don’t usually give a reason, but several residents at the meeting said there is less flexibility to make changes to a property if it is determined to be historic. Being on the national register does not come with regulations.
“New Jersey and national listing are completely separate,” she said. “Different municipalities have different standards to what a district would be or what documentation is needed, but the municipal process has to be followed and the public meetings have to happen as part of that process.”
If approved, Maplewood Village would be the first historic district in town. There are currently 12 municipally designated historic sites in town, though no Maplewood sites are designated as historic by the state or nationally. Maplewood’s nomination can be found at www.nj.gov/dep/hpo/1identify/nrsr.htm#process.
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