Winchester Gardens may not have landmark designation. But the 49-acre grounds of historic architecture and Olmsted-designed meadows were important enough for the Maplewood’s Historic Preservation Commission to oppose an application to demolish one of the buildings on this century-old property.
In a close vote at the May meeting, the Planning Board voted down a proposal to demolish a Tudor Revival home built in 1939, after hearing testimony from Corinne Maulsby, the HPC’s vice chair.
“At some point we have to say no to teardowns and have respect for the history of our community,” said Mayor Vic DeLuca, who sits on the Planning Board and voted against the proposal.
Winchester Gardens, built in 1927, is the legacy of Marcus L. Ward, the son of a New Jersey governor, who died in 1920, willing his estate to the construction of a home for elderly men. Two towering figures in the field of architecture and landscape design — John Russell Pope and the Olmsted Brothers — were hired to create what became known as the Marcus Ward Homestead, which opened to 32 men above the age of 65 in 1928.
However, for the last ten years, a home on the property — one built in 1939 for the superintendent — has sat abandoned. The current owner of what is today a co-ed retirement home, Springpoint, claims the home would be too costly to make ADA-compliant and came up with a plan to replace it with three duplexes.
The superintendent’s house was a later addition to the grounds and not a building that Pope designed, though it was designed in a similar style, according to the HPC. That appeared to be a factor in Planning Board Vice Chair Tim Fryatt’s decision to vote with three others in favor of the redevelopment plans.
“It’s not an original Pope design, it wasn’t a part of the Olmsted plan, and there have been other structures that have been significantly altered since,” Fryatt said. “While it’s unfortunate, it is a charming structure, if it’s not useful and the institution doesn’t have use for it, which is always preferred, I don’t see a reason to not take it down.”
Maulsby, vice chair of HPC, testified at the May meeting that although the superintendent’s home was a later addition to the Marcus Ward Homestead, it is an important part of the property’s architecture, which could be eligible for the National Register.
“The commission finds the proposed demolition of the superintendent’s house would result in a substantial and an irreversible loss of a significant historical resource,” Maulsby said. “It plays a critical role in conveying the historic character of the property along Elmwood Avenue to the public.”
The demolition of the home was not the only major change that was proposed at the May meeting. The application also listed renovations to Winchester Garden’s library and art room that would alter Pope’s original design. These were unanimously approved by the Planning Board. These changes had already been approved in 2015, but were never completed for financial reasons, according to the applicant’s lawyer Jennifer Phillips Smith.
“Time has progressed and they’re in a position financially to undertake those additions,” Smith said.
However, in 2015, Virginia Kurshan, then-chair of the HPC, opposed those renovations in a letter submitted to the Planning Board. “Regrettably, the plans we reviewed seemed to violate, if not destroy, some of the important elements of design that are unique to the original buildings,” Kurshan wrote.
The project architect Martin Breen, a senior designer at KDA Architects, defended the plans to update Pope’s original 1927 buildings.
“John Russell Pope’s buildings were beautiful, you can’t deny that, but one thing about buildings from this period, they lack daylight,” Breen said. “We believe that we’re improving the daily life and experience of the residents at Winchester Gardens.”
