Woodbury lost another piece of its architectural history early Saturday morning, January 14th, 2012. A multi-alarm fire ripped through the 1870 John W. Thompson Sr.'s Grocery Store. The building was so badly damaged it was demolished later that day. Fortunately the 91 year old resident escaped with his life. His son had just replaced the batteries in all of the smoke detectors in the house.
"John W. Thompson Sr.'s grocery store on the southwest corner of Penn and Glover Streets was opened around 1870 and was in operation for three generations. Thompson's featured its own delivery service, which brought fresh poultry and produce to homeowners on a daily basis. The store closed in 1956 and later became the Colonial Electric Shop." (Sands, 2006) "The house was purchased by John W. Thompson, Jr., glassblower, in 1885. His father, John W. Thompson, Sr. died in 1891. Sr. lived in the house a year or so before he died. John W. Thompson, Jr. had a son John W. Thompson, who ran the store until he died in 1935. The last John W. Thompson mentioned fathered a fourth John W. Thompson who died of pneumonia in his youth (about 1917)." This house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
I just visited the site and all that is left is a smoldering pile of debris surrounded by a still lovely decorative Victorian iron gate, which must have been added after the above photo. A sad sight indeed. Smoke detectors may not be the most sightly and stylish of objects, especially in Victorian homes, but they do save lives and in many cases the dwelling, which was not the case this time around.
Sands, R. W. (2006). Woodbury: Images of America. (p. 128). Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing.
Just wanted you to know that en.wikipedia.org has a photo of this house -- before the fire. Photos on wikipedia.org can often be used by other groups is the artist is given credit -- now that the building is gone wikipedia.org might take the photo off the site --
The photo is available in higher resolution than the link given below.
The house was purchased by John W. Thompson, Jr., glassblower, in 1885. His father, John W. Thompson, Sr. died in 1891. Sr. lived in the house a year or so before he died. John W. Thompson, Jr. had a son John W. Thompson, who ran the store until he died in 1935. The last John W. Thompson mentioned fathered a fourth John W. Thompson who died of pneumonia in his youth (about 1917).
This blog is dedicated to the rich history and unique Victorian architecture, past and present, in Woodbury, NJ. The importance of historic preservation will be stressed in hopes of preventing more of our venerable buildings from going the way of the wind.
The content found herein is hoped to raise awareness of the extraordinary history and bright New Urbanist future to be found in this conveniently located city, 9 miles from Philadelphia, surrounded by lakes, green parks and the ghosts of multi-millionaires.
The viewpoints, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the Village Green Preservation Society alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the City of Woodbury, the Woodbury Historic Preservation Commission, Woodbury Olde City Restoration Committee, FAF Coalition, or the Gloucester County Historical Society.
2 comments:
Just wanted you to know that en.wikipedia.org has a photo of this house -- before the fire. Photos on wikipedia.org can often be used by other groups is the artist is given credit -- now that the building is gone wikipedia.org might take the photo off the site --
The photo is available in higher resolution than the link given below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:THOMPSON_HOUSE(1).JPG
The house was purchased by John W. Thompson, Jr., glassblower, in 1885. His father, John W. Thompson, Sr. died in 1891. Sr. lived in the house a year or so before he died. John W. Thompson, Jr. had a son John W. Thompson, who ran the store until he died in 1935. The last John W. Thompson mentioned fathered a fourth John W. Thompson who died of pneumonia in his youth (about 1917).
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