Author Reveals Details about Forgotten Blauvelt Mansion Architect

The historic "jewel of Oradell" may have sold for $100 at auction, but the Blauvelt Mansion still has a story to be told. Fred Wesley Wentworth was the architect of the Kimball C. Atwood mansion, now known as the Blauvelt Mansion. But little has been known about him – until now. 

In his new book, "The Life & Times of Fred Wesley Wentworth: The Architect Who Shaped Paterson, NJ and Its People", author Richard Polton explores the impact that Wentworth had on Oradell and other northern New Jersey towns where his buildings still stand. He will give a presentation about Wentworth’s life and career at the Blauvelt Mansion on Sunday at 1pm as part of the Water Works Conservancy's Victorian Afternoon Buffet. 

"One of the earlier buildings he constructed was the Mansion in Oradell which he designed for Kimbell C. Atwood as a country home and horse farm," Polton said. "Somehow it has managed to remain in tact up until today. This is a building that is really worth seeing. It’s beautifully designed, with an ornate interior and fantastic all the way out. It's an absolute thrill to be able to give my lecture there."

The novel details Wentworth's life from growing up in New Hampshire to attending Dartmouth College and his career in Northern New Jersey. Throughout his own life, Wentworth's accomplishes even touched upon Polton's life decades later.

“I had never heard of Wentworth until I stumbled across a book of his on eBay,” said Polton. “The more I researched his life and work, the more I was fascinated by the breadth and quality of his career, the relationships he formed with his clients, and the enormous changes he witnessed during his lifetime, especially in Paterson, where he lived and conducted most of his business.”

According to Polton's book, among Wentworth’s most significant clients in the early 20^th century was Jacob Fabian, a Jewish entrepreneur and entertainment industry mogul. Together the two pioneered the design of movie palaces, making six in New Jersey, including the one of the grandest movie theater designs, the Stanley Theater in Jersey City, still intact today. Their longstanding collaboration also resulted in a major synagogue and social buildings that formed Jewish life in Paterson in the early 1900s, helping a generation of immigrants become the Americans they yearned to be. 

"While researching him I discovered my own families relationships with Wentworth," Polton said. "My parents were born in hospitals he designed, attended elementary schools and a synagogue, married in one of his hotels, went to movie theatres and worked in buildings he created. I feel that I owe something to the old boy and get his story across."

Polton, who currently lives in Glen Ridge, is a founding principal of Value Research Group, a real estate valuation and consulting firm and he specializes in issues of affordable housing and urban redevelopment. He is also on the board of trustees of the Hamilton Partnership for Paterson, a non-profit organization to help launch the Paterson National Park and enhance its educational, social and economic benefits for Paterson and the nation. 

“The opportunity Wentworth had to create so many types of buildings, and to be able to handle such a wide range of complex technical issues in a period when the basics of modern technology – electricity, telephones, radios – were only emerging, is inspiring,” Polton said. 

The afternoon includes a Victorian Afternoon Buffet with a delightful 4-Course Victorian Menu catered by The Market Basket in theelegant surroundings of the Blauvelt Mansion.

Tickets to this event are $35 per person and can be purchased online or by calling 201-265-1000.

Polton will also speak at the Ridgewood Library on April 23, 8pm for any residents that miss his lecture in Oradell.

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