Broad St. Looking North

To go along with my Broad St. Looking South post here are a few historic images of Broad Street looking North. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

John Cooper House / Headquarters of Lord Cornwallis



"The history of a nation is only a history of its villages written large." - Woodrow Wilson

 

 

 

Above is pictured the Broad Street home of the past President Judge of Gloucester County courts, John Cooper. Cooper was an extremely prominent citizen of Colonial era Woodbury during the tumultuous times of the Revolutionary War. However, don't bother looking for this American Patriot's home nowadays... it was torn down in the late 1970s for a parking lot. The unattractive slab of tar that replaced this once grand manse also sits quite near the street that bears John Cooper's name, Cooper Street. Is this then the only tribute to a man that helped shape our nation? A paved surface for the storage and transport of motor vehicles? He deserves so much more than this.

 

John Cooper was born on January 5, 1729 in Deptford Township, Gloucester County. He was the 8th and last child born to a Quaker family, his parents: John Cooper Sr. and Ann C. Cooper. Around 1767 he moved to Woodbury and had a fine red brick mansion with large fireplaces and fine paneled woodwork built on Broad Street. It would stand across from the Colonial era Courthouse when it was eventually constructed in 1787 (Gloucester Town was still then the county seat). In 1776, Cooper was elected to the Provincial Congress and chosen a delegate to the Continental Congress. He also served on the Committee of Correspondence and Observation and was a member of the first State Council, now the Senate. To him belongs the credit, while the contest of the colonies for their freedom was yet undecided, the first step ever taken in the Legislature of New Jersey for the freeing of the slaves. On September 21, 1780, he introduced a bill entitled, "An act to abolish slave-keeping" (Prowell, 1886). His sister Ann Cooper married James Whitall and was also famously involved in the Revolution by way of her house being located adjacent to Fort Mercer. Unlike her unfortunate brother's house, the James and Ann Whitall house still proudly stands. The Gloucester County Historical Society (GCHS), was responsible for saving the Whitall House and adjacent Red Bank Battlefield which are to this day successful examples of heritage tourism in Gloucester County; it was the reason the GCHS was formed in the first place. When the British occupied Woodbury late in November, 1777 Lord Cornwallis selected the "finest and best equipped house," that being John Cooper's. Cornwallis and fellow British soldiers amused themselves by prying open cupboards with their bayonets. 

John Cooper's house in middle, new bank to the left. It is a pity these two structures were not permitted to coexist as the pairing of newer and older Colonial style buildings actually work well together, but America's addiction to the automobile ruled. Not only was this a blow to our nation's history but to our city's density.
photocopy image courtesy: Gloucester County Historical Society

Unfortunately the entire architectural structures existing on the east-side of Broad from Cooper St. to Newton Ave. were doomed in postwar America. What started with Ralen's mindless "modernization" of the beautiful Merritt's Block building on the corner of Cooper and Broad in 1954, ended in the early 1970s with the destruction of the proud residence of the Honorable David O. Watkins located at the opposite corner of this block, Newton and Broad. It was demolished to make way for a branch location for the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Hammonton (present location of PNC Bank). But this was not enough. Outrageously they also tore down John Cooper's mansion, the home of an American Patriot and site of a significant Revolutionary War event, for a parking lot. Not only was this a blow to our nation's history but to our city's density. What could have been a potential destination to attract thousands to our downtown was reduced to a flattened expanse for the convenience of a few automobiles. Duany, Plater-Zyberk in their landmark book Suburban Nation explain the dangers of on-site parking further:

"When it comes to parking, every city must eventually answer two questions: Do new buildings have to provide their own parking, and where should that parking go? Most cities answer both of these questions incorrectly. A commitment to suburban standards of parking is a commitment to a second-class transit system used by virtually no one but the poor, since everyone else will drive. Further, most cities require new and renovated buildings to provide their own parking on site. This is probably the single greatest killer of urbanism in the United States today. It prevents the renovation of old buildings, since there is inadequate room on their sites for new parking; it encourages the construction of anti-pedestrian building types in which the building sits behind or hovers above a parking lot; it eliminates street life, since everyone who parks immediately adjacent to their destination and has no reason to use the sidewalk; finally, it results in a low density of development that can keep a downtown from achieving critical mass. Cities that wish to be pedestrian-friendly and fully developed should eliminate this ordinance immediately and provide public parking in carefully located municipal garages and lots. Parking must be considered a part of public infrastructure, just like streets and sewers."

Have we learned our lesson since the 1970s? Not yet it seems as one can't help but feel that the City of Woodbury dropped the ball on this account regarding the recent Bottom Dollar sprawl zoning allowance fiasco. In addition, numerous studies and articles show that much of what zoning ordinances have dictated in the past 50 or so years regarding parking requirements are completely unnecessary and actually damaging, especially in traditional downtown scenarios. You absolutely want people to walk... and they will, as long as your downtown is aesthetically attractive, clean, and safe! The Downtown Research & Development Center is just one example organization that provides many publications chock full of statistics and studies in favor of eliminating outdated zoning for parking! I was particularly impressed with this example in Broad Ripple, IN where people regularly are willing to park 6 blocks away from their destination... but that's the thing... there needs to be a destination!

John Cooper house then...

 

... same spot now. Classy, huh!?

 

John Cooper's home did manage to stand for over 200 years and was honored by the GCHS in 1909 by the erection of a tablet (see below). By rights it should still be standing today for reasons of national historic importance but this was before any sort of action was taken in the city to enact protection for its history. It is often mentioned that the very formation of the City of Woodbury's Historic Preservation Commission and the Woodbury Historic District was put in place as a direct reaction to the public outrage that such a building was allowed to be destroyed so easily for something as mundane as a bank parking lot. Fortunately the GCHS managed to save a second floor ornamental fireplace and wall with adjoining paneling which still bears the sword marks of Cornwallis and his men. It can be seen in the Reading Room of the current GCHS library located at 17 Hunter Street.

 

The John Cooper Manse, a noble building to the very end.

Guess we won't need this hanging around anymore!
The original placard honoring the Revolutionary War site.

 

 ❦

 

As there is a big push to rebrand Woodbury as a home to the arts, I thought it appropriate to share a little poem that was written by John Cooper during the Revolution for a Hannah Ladd. Look at it as an homage to Patriot Cooper, a way of connecting his nearly forgotten past contributions to Woodbury's hopeful artistic future:

 

 

_________

 

 

Armstrong, W. C. (1906). Patriotic poems of New Jersey. New Jersey society of the Sons of the American revolution. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=iCUPAAAAYAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s

 

McGeorge, I. C. (1972). John Cooper, Patriot. Bulletin of the Gloucester County Historical Society

 

Prowell, G. R. (1886). History of Camden county. Philadelphia, PA: L. J. Richards and Co. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=TdIwAQAAMAAJ&dq=history of camden 1886&source=gbs_navlinks_s

 

Lover's Lane

When I first began researching Woodbury's rich history I was always happy to discover the many vintage postcards depicting what must have been a popular destination in its day: Lover's Lane! One can easily picture young Victorian era lovers and families alike out for early evening strolls amongst the naturally occurring walkway framed by towering pines. Although Evergreen Avenue offered a similar romantic walkway, Lover's Lane proper was located along Cooper Street opposite the former Country Club grounds and must have extended to some point down toward the lake, now known as Stewart Lake named after local historian and Gloucester County Historical Society president Frank Stewart. Frank Stewart had his own home, 'Rugby Pines' built in 1914 in the section of Woodbury then commonly known as the East Side. An avid outdoorsman, Stewart was known to care for the many trees around his home and street.

Prior to this in 1910, however many of the pines along the western end of this locally famous and popular walk were cut down, their stumps dynamited out to smooth the grade of the sidewalk (see press clipping below). Later in 1918, during a Cooper Street improvement project 500 feet of Lover's Lane was lovingly preserved through the efforts of concerned citizens; quick growing evergreens replaced any dead trees and irregular stone slabs were placed creating an ornamental pavement. An additional 100 feet were added on to the original walk, perhaps replacing some of the trees lost during the 1910 dynamiting. Sadly today, despite all remarkable efforts of our ancestors, all semblance of Lover's Lane has been lost to the ages. I believe Rowan University upon purchasing and restoring Frank Stewart's former home in 2000 had many of the original pines out front of the house removed.

Today the only stroll we can take is down memory lane. Enjoy the surviving postcard images and reminisce about Woodbury's former romantic and shady Lover's Lane.

10.18.1910 issue of WDT

10.19.1910 issue of WDT

5.7.1919 issue of WDT



Similar walkway along Evergreen.
Illustration from an 1889 Green's August Flower Almanac.



Preservation Potentials: 47 Curtis Avenue

Attention: Victorian House Lovers, Steampunks, Anglophiles, and fellow appreciators of all things antique! I'm not sure old-house hunters outside the immediate area realize the unique architectural offerings Woodbury, NJ has in store. In some cases these houses will require a little creativity to restore them to their former glory, but most will have retained a large semblance of the magnificent days of English-inspired American architecture, for a fraction of the cost found in other areas.

this picture does not do the place justice, it's a lovely Victorian twin
with lots of original charm

For sale is a lovingly cared for Victorian duplex on Curtis Avenue, a nice historic street, walking distance to downtown shops and restaurants and projected light rail station. 47 Curtis Ave. features 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, newer roof and electric, and original, unpainted hardwood floor, trim, stairs and doors throughout! The home also features a beautiful ornate front porch, carraige house, and back yard, perfect for a small garden. Priced currently at $93,000 see the listing HERE. Come join our growing walkable community. Arts, History, Home.

love those original pocket doors!

It is my opinion that reviving a once grand city is a community effort that largely starts at home. Vested homeowners that value the history and heritage of their house and who treat their home as an extension of the family and not just some place to crash, can and do make a difference. Preserve the past, to better the future!

Merritt's Block: Gone But Not Forgotten

The Proud Merritt's Block circa 1928.

Mr. Joseph Wayne Merritt, an 1876 graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, Freeholder, Councilman of Woodbury, and charter member of the Gloucester Historical Society, at one time operated a "model pharmacy headquarters" here in town. It was located in a G.G. Green-constructed building, most likely designed by Paschal Madera on the northeast corner of Broad and Cooper Sts. It was built in 1887. Madera was also the architect for the Green family mansions, factory, and Opera house block. William Sutton took over the pharmacy around 1912, but the building was still commonly referred to as Merritt's Block. After Sutton & Sons tenure, the drugstore was taken over by Ralen's in 1947. The story of the building's demise began in 1954 under Ralen's ownership.

But before we get into its death I want to illustrate the wonderful mixed-use quality this building onced served for the better of the community. Other than housing the popular cornerstore pharmacy, the building itself was a home to many other businesses, organizations, and even folks who lived in quality apartments located within. Here are just a few of its many uses throughout the years it proudly stood:

• Central Baptist Church started as a Sunday School here.
• Law offices of Judges Donald and Austin Swackhamer.
• Woodbury Real Estate and Mutual Loan Association offices.
• Numerous apartments for people who worked in and around Woodbury.
• 7 rooms were offered and accepted to the Board of Education to use as classrooms for high school students after the school had burned down after the 1910 fire. Fire escapes were added to the building in 1911 to accommodate this.
• Hendrickson and Wick Real Estate and Insurance offices.
• The Board of Trade room was located here and hosted many civic group meetings such as the Country Club Trustees.
• It was a U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Recruiting headquarters.
• It featured photo lab department on the second floor.
• It was a popular soda fountain and luncheonette.
• Space for the U.S. Post Office of Woodbury.
• Thomas Dougherty gave music lessons on the third floor, circa 1937.
• Office of U.S. Senator Robert Clymer Hendrickson, circa 1937.

Circa 1905, Merritt's on right.

Outside Sutton's 1943: Tom Rutledge and Margaret Weld, photo by NathanH100 on Flickr

Unfortunately under the Ralen's ownership the building was stripped of any future it may have had in town. This building was built to last for many hundreds of years, however at just 67 years old, in the name of "progress" and "modernization" it was reduced to a hovel during the worst time period of American architecture and zoning, roughly 1945 to roughly 2000.

In 1954 Merritt's block was in absolutely fine shape, but something strangely unsettling in the American collective psyche at the time obsessed with "progress" and "modernization" thought that this building had to be "updated." Unfortunately, these ideals, partly fueled by an obsession with the automobile, cheap oil, and the mass flight to single-use "sprawl" developments, were mistakenly understood and we, as a nation, have been in a perpetual state of recovery ever since. The pictures of what happened to this building are shocking and speak for themselves. Below is Merritt's block photographed a few months before the "renovation," or rather the "remuddling," and below this is a photograph of the new, "modernized" building. WTF.

A series of fires in the surrounding buildings in the late 70s helped to seal the fate of this once grand structure. It is not surprising then to learn that in 1982, just 28 years after the "modernization," the building was condemned by the City of Woodbury because it was discovered that the walls had become structurally unsound. Go figure.

Architecturally-appealing, mixed-use, a popular destination for the community, this photo was taken in 1954.

This photo taken 1959 after the modernization decimation of the building.

This photo circa 1970s shows what the building was eventually reduced to after the Ralen's modernization. A series of fires in the buildings to the left of the drugstore in the late 70s took care of the rest. 

What's there now: A step in the right direction but the end result is sterile, bland, and unwelcoming. I have never seen anyone go in, or out of this place. I met someone recently who seriously believed this was the prison and who could blame her considering the building's lovely architectural accents like the prison-like bars on the Cooper Side "windows." (see below)

Side of current building. This all used to be welcoming storefronts. The message here now: Keep out and go away.

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New Urbanist spokesperson James Kunstler writes, "Many failures in human pattern-making ensue from the dismissal of beauty as a legitimate constituent of cultural artifacts. The consequences have been unanticipated and fraught with paradox and irony. Perhaps the most glaring is that during America’s financially richest period, 1950 to 1990, we put up almost nothing but the cheapest possible buildings, particularly civic buildings. Look at any richly embellished 1904 firehouse or post office and look at its dreary concrete box counterpart today. Compare the home of a small-town bank president dating from the 1890s, with its masonry walls and complex roof articulation, to the flimsy house of a 1990s business leader, made of two-by-fours, sheetrock, and fake fanlight windows. When we were a far less wealthy nation, we built things with the expectation that they would endure. To throw away money (painfully acquired) and effort (painfully expended) on something guaranteed to fall apart in thirty years would have seemed immoral, if not insane, in our great-grandfathers’ day."

Let us not forget that it was in the name of progress over the past 50 years that Broad Street in Woodbury began losing its appeal as a community center. As you can see by the above list, Merritt's Block was a multi-use, mixed-zoning building that provided not only quality retail, but also residential living space, civic group meeting spaces and even temporary high school quarters! The building was located exactly next door to the original U.S. Post Office and contained various other shops and living spaces. Merritt's street level corner storefront was open and inviting, encouraging pedestrianism and included built-in customers living overhead. Compare that with the uninviting blackened out permanently-shut-windows and single-use nature of the current building. The building as it stands now is certainly not going to contribute to increasing pedestrianism in our downtown, but this is exactly what current zoning laws all across America dictate we should be building. Single-use zoning whittles away once normally functioning traditional and very social neighborhoods, spreading everything out across many miles, reachable only by a car (a very antisocial method of travel in itself).

The past 50 years or so of architectural practices have predominantly produced remarkably bland and sterile buildings. This, coupled with antisocial zoning practices, has been devastating to our downtown neighborhoods. Thankfully we have the Congress for New Urbanism and firms like Duany, Plater-Zyberk (http://www.dpz.com/), rewriting destructive sprawl zoning codes with the introduction of Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) planning and Main Street U.S.A. committees helping America ultimately to rebuild their communities! I hope we see locally their expanding and positive effects in our lifetimes.

circa 1927 aerial showing Merritt's Block

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(1911). In New Jersey Pharmaceutical Association (Ed.), Proceedings of the Forty-First Annual Meeting of the New Jersey Pharmaceutical Association.

Announces plans for modern store, office building. (1954, Feb 2). Woodbury Daily Times
Lovejoy, E. (1982, Nov 26). Ralen building is razed: dilapidated old drug store comes down. Gloucester County Times

Woodbury up to date. (1900, Nov 22). Woodbury Daily Times, p. 1

New Orleans and Her Message to Woodbury

Architecturally, there is nothing new or modern about Magazine St.
and yet it remains vibrant and alive, teeming with
active shoppers, diners, employees, and residents!

I consider myself lucky. I have very good friends that live in New Orleans, and that means I get to visit... often. I am always astounded at the popularity and walkability of the city. I find the streets, even the infamous Bourbon Street, much cleaner than your average street say in Philadelphia. People say Hi to you on the streets and many folks can live, work, and play without stepping in a car and for those that do, traffic and parking are rarely a problem due to their traditional street grid system that offers numerous routes to get where you need to go. One can easily jump on the Streetcar down St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District and ride it all the way to the Central Business District or French Quarter, all for a whopping $1.25!

Many correctly attribute New Orleans popularity and success to their love of heritage tourism and historic preservation which creates a magical atmosphere almost everywhere you look. From duplex style shotgun houses to the grandest of Queen Anne Victorians, most buildings are beautifully arranged, decorated and cared for. Even historic buildings that suffered significant damage during hurricanes are lovingly restored and brought back to life! On a single short walk one day I came across: 1. a house having tar roofing shingles removed and replaced with slate, 2. a circa 1800's ornate porch being restored and, 3. what appeared to be a dilapidated shotgun house being repaired... Amazing. (See photos below). Even with New Orleans sub-tropical, humid environment, most houses still retain their original wooden clapboard siding... Not a vinyl-sided rancher in sight!


Victorian wraparound porch restoration

Double shotgun restoration. This same house in NJ would probably have been torn down years ago... sadly.

tar shingles to slate!

How do they do it!? My friend explained that even during the dark age of American zoning which led to sprawl development (1940's - 2000's), New Orleans officials, residents, and business owners realized they were surrounded with unique historic architecture and made it their mission to preserve the subsequent charm that brought so many to the area to live and visit. And it still shows! According to the last census, New Orleans had the 24th highest growth rate in the U.S. and was the only urban center in the top 25! Wall Street Journal ranked them #1 Most Improved Metro in the USA; Brookings Inst., the #1 Growing Metro Area for Employment; Forbes: the #1 Metro for IT Job Growth in the USA; Chief Executive magazine, the #1 Most Improved State in the U.S. and Business Facilities, the #1 State for Economic Growth Potential! 9 million visitors spent $6 billion in New Orleans in 2012! The equation outlined in the April 2013 issue of Preservation in Print (their local preservation magazine) is as follows:

Fabulous city + Attractive neighborhoods = More jobs

More jobs = Revenue for better city services + Better quality of life for all

Is there a message for Woodbury here? All I can say is that Broad Street prior to 1940 had buildings to rival the most expensive homes in New Orleans today; I'm talking $6 million dollar homes! Buildings in Woodbury that were torn down for gas stations, parking lots, and strip mall style development in the name of modernization and "progress," buildings that if were still standing today would go far to improve quality of life for current Woodburyians. Even though it's too late for these particular buildings, the message is to embrace the remaining examples of traditional development (the buildings that make us unique) and recognize the difference it could make for our last vestige of downtown life if we kept and restored them. Please let's not make the same mistakes today in the name of false progress for more ratables.

If you ever get a chance to visit New Orleans, you will instantly understand where I'm coming from. I highly recommend it. Until then, sit back and enjoy some photographs. Keep in mind that everything pictured here is just a block or two away from shopping, public transportation, restaurants, and workplaces; streets not unlike Broad Street potentially.

photo: http://www.herviewphotography.com/about-darlene

photo: http://www.herviewphotography.com/about-darlene

embracing natural imperfections. this is out front of Anne Rice's
former home, adding so much charm

Our very own corner of Broad and Delaware, now Woodbury Crossing,
once looked like this, balcony, doors, windows, brickwork, people and all.

Even large banking conglomerates get the point. Here is
Capital One's branch along St. Charles.. nice adaptive reuse!

I love how green the city is, literally!