Montclair Historic Preservation Commission Annouces 2013 Winners

The Montclair Historic Preservation Commission (MHPC) announces the
winners of the 2013 Historic Preservation Awards. The awards were
presented at the Commission’s May 29 monthly meeting:

Excellence in Restoration -- Welsh House, 24 Upper Mountain Avenue.

Excellence in Adaptive Reuse -- Hillside Square, 8 Hillside Avenue

Preservation Service -- Friends of Anderson Park

Preservationist of the Year -- Ira Smith, Principal at Smith Maran
Architecture & Interiors, LLC.

Preservation Service Honorable Mention -- St. Mark’s United Methodist Church

Preservationist of the Year Honorable Mention: Helen Fallon

The judging committee comprised MHPC Chair Stephen Rooney,
Commissioner Grace Lynch, Commissioner Jackson Bangs and Planning
Director Janice Talley.

The Excellence in the Restoration and Excellence in Adaptive Reuse
awards recognize the preservation and restoration of a historic
building. This includes the interpretation of the building’s
architectural features and the development of a compatible new
construction design. The awards also recognize the adaptive reuse of a
building’s historic structures.

The Welsh House was built in 1901 at the Northwest corner of Upper
Mountain Avenue and Claremont Avenue. It is constructed from the
finest available materials and architectural specifications.

“This stately nine-bedroom Center Hall Colonial is significant for
being constructed as a weekend or mountain resort house for people who
had their main residences in New York City,” said Historic
Preservation Commission Secretary Barton Ross. “The house was featured
in a 1902 article in Scientific American magazine. The breadth and
care of the restoration work undertaken by the owner during this
comprehensive interior and exterior restoration must be commended.”

The project now known as Hillside Square was built as the First Church
of Christ Scientist in 1926. The warm-colored granite building was
designed by noted Chicago architect Charles Faulkner in a Roman
Revival style.

“It was widely publicized upon completion and has been documented by
various architectural surveys of Montclair, which have recognized its
eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places,” said Ross.
“The church was well maintained over the years and retains a large
amount of authenticity through its original exterior building fabric.”

The adaptive use of Hillside Square stands apart as a seminal example
of how older buildings can and should be retrofitted for continued use
when the originally conceived program has exhausted its useful
purpose, said Ross.

The Preservation Service Award honors outstanding achievement in
furthering the aims of historic preservation through research,
development, planning, advocacy, and local community leadership.

The HPC recognized Scott Kevelson and The Friends of Anderson Park for
their many years of dedicated volunteer service. The organization is
tasked with protecting the spirit and integrity of this significant
Olmsted-designed landscape. This was the first park constructed by the
Essex County Parks Commission, the first such county-wide network of
parks in the nation. The Friends’ stewardship of the park includes
general cleanups, restored plantings, walking tours, and successfully
initiating the park’s inclusion in the National Register of Historic
Places.

The Preservationist of the Year Award commends Ira Smith for his
extraordinary contributions to the better understanding of the
Township’s history and to the preservation of Montclair’s historic
architectural fabric.

“Chair Smith worked tirelessly for the Township of Montclair sitting
on its Historic Preservation Commission for over 10 years and guiding
the HPC from a fledgling advisory committee towards a respected local
government entity overseeing alterations to hundreds of our
significant properties,” said Ross.