A building in the 400 block of Park Avenue appears to be getting its ornate facade covered over with modern materials. As one who is frequently looking up at city facades to admire the details, I am sorry to see this one disappear behind a bland treatment, possibly that spray-on stucco stuff that is becoming more prevalent around Plainfield. This block has no historic preservation protections, so it is fair game for such exterior changes. 
It just seems to take away some of the flavor of the city when these details get obliterated.Over on Cleveland Avenue, the same owner covered up an Art Deco facade in favor of a uniformly smooth look. Click here for Plaintalker's post from July 2009. Someone who tracks down and tries to preserve such old automobile designs contacted Plaintalker about this building, but by then it had been covered up.
The Park Avenue facade appears to be stonework, but the trend makes us fear for the interesting terra cotta work on other facades. They deserve some documentation before they, too, get homogenized out of existence.
--Bernice
Where is the Preservation Commission? If they have no authority, they should at the very least be an advocate for keeping the facade.
ReplyDeleteI think the Historic Preservation Commission only has discretion over properties that are in designated historic districts or that have landmark or similar protected status. There are lots of buildings with no protection or oversight.
ReplyDeleteHistoric Preservation lacks funds, staff and power from public interest. Designations are largely discretionary and lack enforcement. Didn't the Drake House request the historic items, medical antiques and documents held by Muhlenberg Hospital, prior to the closing? Did anyone have the authority to insist those items be preserved by a public institution, library or museum? Who was resposible for protecting the historic Muhlenberg buildings that are an important part of New Jersey history and the evolution of hospital design?
ReplyDeleteugh! It's frustrating to see this kind of damage being done to this type of building -- slowly but surely killing the overall architectual integrity and design of these buildings and the overall character of the city's center.
ReplyDeleteThey need to get permits for this type of work, at which point it would be a great thing if people issuing the permits were more in tune with what's going on in this city and would offer/negotiate a more appropriate enahncement for the building.
First those horrible windows, now this! YUCK!
I made a post yesterday, but a computer issue on my end prevented it from going through. This is exactly the type of issue that is further draining Plainfield of one of its star attractions, the architecture and details are what help to make Plainfield Plainfield. If the historic districts would only realize that history didn't just happen in Sleepy Hollow, we might be able to prevent this from happening. Far too many people are afraid that someone might tell you what color to paint your house, or ask you not to put up vinyl siding, that they are against the districts. Did anyone on the planning board ever look at the building to see what they are ruining? Did a photo archive get made to show the before and after? This is the same reason that the one glorious Tyler mansion on 7th was stripped of all its historic details and turned into an ugly stucco box. When will it stop? This is only hurting Plainfield.
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