Progress or Regress?

The subtitle of this post could very well be: How to Start Your City's Downward Spiral with One Fell Swoop. I have blogged about the loss of the Lewis M. Green mansion before but some recent historic artifacts were turned over to me that once again sparked my dismay over the whole matter. The outcome of the senseless demolition still affects us today and we should really take note.

 In 1869, Lewis M. Green, a five-term Mayor of Woodbury, NJ, had built for the pride of the city a magnificent four story residence of handmade pressed brick, featuring 10 bedrooms, walnut floors, French glass windows, gas lit crystal chandeliers, white marble steps, wrought iron trim, and formal gardens across from the Town Hall at the corner of German (now Barber) and Broad, the most public street in town. After many happy years in the community, the mansion was sold to Gulf Oil Corporation in 1944 and promptly torn down for a gas station. Don't believe me? Let's have Gulf Oil tell the story for you. Here is the postcard they sent out to Woodbury residents (this particular one to G.G. Green, Jr.) announcing the "great" news!

Front

Back

In case you don't believe your eyes, let me transcribe what the back of that postcard actually says. For added effect, try reading the following in your best 1940's narrator-voice... you know, the same voice that told you to "Duck and Cover" in case of a nuclear bomb blast in your area.

"Do you recognize this picture? 

Yes, it's the corner of Broad Street and Barber Avenue as it looked not so long ago. Now this familiar landmark has given way to the construction of a modern "One Stop" Service Station and Merchandising Center. When completed, we know you'll be proud of this modern addition to Broad Street. Watch for the opening date announcement. 

Gulf Oil Corporation"

There's a word for this sort of candy-coated corporate public relations nonsense... it's called "bullshit."

The lesson? Let's take away that not all "progress" is very progressive when you consider the future health of your community, especially when it calls for eliminating proud historic structures from the urban fabric, negatively impacting the quality of life for everyone. I would LOVE to sit down today with the very folks at Gulf Oil, city leaders and citizens in 1944 who sat back and let the Green Mansion "give way" for "modernity." Mostly I would want to know how that worked out for them. Did they make that killer profit!? I have said that an ounce of forethought is worth a pound of future investment, and apparently no one in 1944 had even close to an ounce.

I heard a great story recently of an 85 year old lifelong Woodbury resident standing up to City Council in the late 1970s when they proposed to return the brick sidewalk and decorative streetlamps along Broad Street. His statement was simple, "You might call this progress, but we had all of this and more when I was a kid. Why did the city rip it all out in the first place?" I think it's wonderful to recognize that certain actions were bad in the long run, such as originally removing the brick pavement and decorative streetlamps the first time around, but by then the damage is done and I'm certain that what has replaced the originals is a second rate knockoff, an insincere fake.

So the next time you hear someone argue the senseless destruction of quality urban fabric in the name of "progress," question that it will not ultimately be in the name of regress. I've said it before, the art of a good preservationist is concerned more so with the future and for the quality of life for residents in the "here and now" and for generations to come. It should alarm every one of us that America is starting to look like a substandard, plastic-wrapped, third-world country. This affects us all, whether you want to see the bigger picture or not.

Top: circa 1900 Mayor Lewis M. Green's mansion on Broad, a place worth caring about
Bottom: Same location now, the curb cut between the Bottom Dollar and the Rite Aid
(both currently vacant buildings, humorously enough)

Do we really wonder why we can't attract new residents, customers, and businesses to the area when these are our aesthetics... fake windows, unwelcoming storefronts, and MORE setback parking lots? The bottom photo does nothing to inspire the soul.

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Many folks are quick to blame the current climate of politics, etc. for the ills of the world today, but the truth is that things were set in motion after WWII in America that has lead us to today. Since roughly the 1940's, all across America, seemingly nothing better has replaced what was torn down for "progress." The Lewis M. Green mansion stood for 75 years, the cheap plastic gas station that replaced it only lasted about 30 and then a vacant lot stood there for nearly the same amount of time. The Rite Aid business that eventually replaced the gas station lasted about 20 years... are we getting the picture, yet!? We are constructing increasingly worthless buildings, housing increasingly worthless enterprises.

Today, many studies show that the auto-centric "modernizing" of America through horizontal development (sprawl) has had devastating effects to our once proud towns and cities. The effects reveal themselves through crime, anti-socialism, depression, segregation, isolation, and more. "Anybody who travels back and forth across the Atlantic has to be impressed with the differences between European cities and ours, which makes it appear as if World War Two actually took place in Detroit and Washington rather than Berlin and Rotterdam." - JHK. Do not Americans deserve better?

Progress should be measured over time, and the demolition of the Lewis M. Green mansion certainly did not progress the city, but rather I would argue the opposite holds. By tearing down that mansion and other proud buildings during the same time period, Woodbury entered an age of blight. Holes or "missing teeth" from senseless demolition and an over-catering to the automobile were beginning to form downtown which eroded its walkable functionality and aesthetic appeal. Coupled with the growing trend of suburban flight, it was a one-two-punch that has left Woodbury reeling.

Lewis Morris Green Mansion in a wintry photo from 1898

Moving forward we must realize that our actions today WILL affect future generations. It's not all about the immediate rewards... how about some forward-thinking? A single action in the past, by a single-minded person (or corporation) can deprive all future generations from enjoying a better quality of life and experiencing our American Heritage in the form of our proud local landmarks.

"Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set." - Proverbs 22:28

The dreaded For Sale ad!

Thanks for nothing, GULF Oil!

Below: some rare photos of the mantels that once adorned and warmed the interior of the Lewis M. Green mansion.

Paschal Medara: Woodbury's Victorian Architect

An original envelope showing the inscription of Allen & Medara

Not much is known about Woodbury's own 19th century architect and builder, Mr. Paschal Medara, yet some of his wonderful buildings still inspire us today. He was described in 1910 as "an architect of rare ability" having planned the city's "most prominent buildings." Even to this day anyone who passes through Woodbury has most likely laid eyes on his creations in the form of the Green Opera House block on Broad (recently restored by RPM Development) and the Green Laboratory on Green Avenue (Woodbury Mews). Medara's other buildings that have been lost to the ages continue to live through historic photographs and lithographs and have appeared worldwide in 19th and 20th century issues of Green's August Flower Almanac.

Odd Fellows Hall

In the mid-1840's, Paschal's father, Jacob was involved with Woodbury in part as a building committee and was responsible for the erection of the now demolished Odd Fellows Hall formerly on Cooper Street. Perhaps it was through this involvement that his son became interested in the creation of grand civic buildings roughly 30 years later. Whatever the case, Paschal Medara came to be - one could consider- the personal architect to Woodbury's multimillionaire family, the Greens. Having designed both Lewis and George G. Green's palatial mansions (pictured below) he also designed, among many others, the lab and opera house, as mentioned above and most likely the Merritt's Drugstore corner building commissioned by G.G. How this relationship with the Green family developed is unclear but records show interestingly enough that both Medara and G.G. Green were in Company E, 6th Regiment of the National Guard; Medara a Corporal, G.G. a Captain (later Colonel). According to New Jersey Civil War Gravestones website, Paschal Medara was also a Union Civil War US Navy Seaman who served aboard the USS Catskill.

A feature on Medara in the 1878 issue of the Green's Almanac

Paschal Medara's obituary notice in the Jul 30 1910
issue of the Woodbury Daily Times

Paschal now lies quietly beside his mother and father (Lydia Ann Dilks and Jacob R. Medara) in the Mantua Cemetery, his accomplishments nearly forgotten. Although very few associate his name with the buildings, I like to think that he would be happy to know that his laboratory and his opera house have been restored in recent years, much to the pride of his old hometown.

Paschal Medara's gravestone

Let's take a look at some of his astounding creations:

Medara's Gray Towers mansion for G.G.Green
Learn everything about the mansion HERE

Medara's Gray Towers is featured in the seminal reference book:
A Field Guide to American Houses

Medara's Italianate mansion for Mayor Lewis Morris Green

Medara's Laboratory for the Greens.
It was a state of the art lab/factory with bottling rooms, printing press, offices, etc.

... and don't forget the grand stable house in the rear of the lab

Medara's Opera House block.
He may have designed the church in the rear as well

Medara's Drugstore Corner Block

Medara's architectural creations live on
through the MANY Green Almanacs
and August Flower sales materials

Result of True Merit

Gray Towers: Part Three

Welcome to Part Three of the story of Woodbury's palatial estate, Gray Towers. The ending to this veritable fairy tale is not a happy one. So let us first visit some of the more positive recollections pertaining to G. G. Green and his mansion of blue gray stone that once stood on Cooper Street.

Once upon a time, Green provided jobs to as many as 600 locals between his two glass factories and patent medicine laboratory alone (Pepper, 1971). In 1888, as president of the Board of Trade, Green successfully attempted to invite new industry to Woodbury by convincing Council to waive local taxes for five years for new industries (Woodbury, 1988). The general local impression of the Green family was one of favorable disposition judging from the many editorials published in the Woodbury Daily Times, Woodbury Constitution, and other local newspapers of the time. It was written in 1925 that his "success in business seemed to intensify his desire to advance the interests of the town of his choice. Very few men succeed as Col. Green has succeeded. Few would have remained to live in a town which was at that time only a little country village. But he had a vision of a great future for Woodbury and made that vision practical by casting his lot here permanently." Even down to Green's residence, the palace of Gray Towers itself was viewed as a source of pride to Woodbury and symbolically represented the "result of true merit;" G. G. Green's very words.

Like so many others in his position however, this self-made multimillionaire did not reclusively hideaway in his towering mansion. He contributed generously to the civic well-being of his home town and in addition, served on City Council, was Director of the First National Bank, was vice-president of the Woodbury Country Club, and was a Trustee to his alma mater, the Pennington Seminary, which he donated graciously to in his lifetime. These are just a few of his extracurricular activities. Some of the lighter memories of G. G., which help to paint a vivid picture of this Victorian businessman include his generous yearly opening of his lushly decorated private railcar to tour, his conservatory of fine plants which was periodically open to the public, and it is often told that he used to bring fresh candied apples down to the children ice skating on his lake. His grounds and lake were open to the public and welcomed. The following is a wonderful description of G. G.'s social impact on Woodbury taken from Carter and Carpenter's History of Woodbury from 1681 to 1936:

Colonel Green’s Tally-ho

Amid all the struggle to develop a growing city there was an occasional flash of color. One was when Dr. Green’s great coach and four, the Tally-ho, with driver on a high seat and horn pealing, drove through the streets and country side, and the other when his nineteen salesmen returned for their yearly conference. On at least one night they were entertained at the home of their employer and always observed the rule to be dressed in swallow tail suits adorned with tall silk hats. And what old resident does not remember Colonel Green’s “palace car” which stood on the siding at the railroad station preceding and following the winter migration of Colonel Green and his family to Pasadena?

Every year, G. G. and family hosted a grand fete champetre at Gray Towers for his employees and their families in honor of their hard work and dedication. Swallowtail suits and high silk hats were de rigueur for the party (Pepper, 1971). The first of these large scale events occurred on September 2nd, 1878 and featured a feast of food, a live band, fireworks over the lake, and what appears to be miniature hot air balloons! The house and grounds were festively decorated with Chinese lanterns, and judging from the illustration that appeared in the New York Daily Graphic paper (see below illustration), it appears to have been an absolutely beautiful affair.

At one point, G. G. owned 3 (excluding his other real estate holdings) extravagant residences: Gray Towers, Kil Kare Castle in Lake Hopatcong, NJ, and an Arts and Crafts style mansion in Altadena, CA; a town in which he helped build. However, it was Gray Towers in Woodbury that he truly called home and on February 21st, 1925 G. G. Green joined the heavenly choir and died within his blue stone mansion on Cooper Street. "Unlike many a man of wealth remembered only for profligate eccentricities or penny-pinching exploitation, Green was an innovator who transformed and benefitted communities and industries that came within his orbit." (Pepper, 1971)  He was buried at the Eglington Cemetery at nearby Clarksboro, NJ.


G.G. Green in Gray Towers Woodbury, NJ
photo credit: Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum

Kil Kare Castle on Mount Harry
Lake Hopatcong, NJ

G. G. Green Mansion Altadena, CA

G. G.'s widow, Angie Brown Green remained at the residence until her death in 1934. Afterwards, the mansion remained in the family in an uninhabited state until August 1943 when the St. Patrick's Parish under Rev. James McKeever purchased the building for potential use as a parochial grade school (which became the St. Patrick's School). Adaptive reuse was virtually unheard of in 1943 and we should applaud the parish at that time for an early attempt at reusing a grand Victorian mansion for a use other than what it was designed for. However, the historic preservationist in me can't help but feel shocked at what resulted architecturally in creating a parochial school out of a grand second empire mansion. But let's face it, they purchased a historic building that was not protected during a time when Victorian architecture was viewed as pompous and over-ornate. It seems that the 1940's were hard on Woodbury Victorians as that is when the city also lost the equally magnificent Lewis M. Green mansion (Woodbury's mayor 5 times over) on Broad Street. It wasn't until the 1970's when things nationally began to turn in favor of saving historic buildings and not until the 1980's when the protective historic districts were setup in Woodbury. I might add that still we must see historic structures torn down without much of a fight.

How I wish that someone in the city in 1943 had the forethought to recognize the massive potential for Woodbury in purchasing and restoring Gray Towers as a tourist attraction or museum in honor of the single most important family in Woodbury history, save the Woods themselves.

  

But that never happened. Instead, the third and fourth story ornate and rare S-curved mansard roof, towers, and wraparound porches were torn off, effectively changing Gray Towers into a gray stone box. Further architecturally bland box additions were added to the building in 1953 and 1961; a classic "remuddling." Mouse over the below image for a dramatic before and after of the West side entry. 


place your mouse over the image above to see
the dramatic "remuddling" of the West side of Gray Towers in the 1940s
or see below:



G. G. Green Jr. himself remarked that it was like, "going into another world" and on a return visit, Robert Luba with Blanche and Gay Green remarked that, "The mansion and grounds which were once beautiful are now in terrible shape. It was a shame to see how beautiful they were and how rundown they are now." But at least the core of the building still stood for a time, allowing for a hint at its former glory. That all changed however, on May 21st 1968, when a 3-hour blaze fought by over 100 firefighters left the mansion "in ruins."

Catholic Star Herald May 31, 1968

Gone but not forgotten

The memory of Gray Towers lives on with the many photographs and engravings that appeared throughout G. G. Green's Almanac publications and promotional materials dating from 1877 through to the 1920's. The stable house, which became the parish convent, remains as a sole reminder of the once beautiful estate that graced the corner of Cooper and Green. In 1984, a definitive resource for notable American architecture, the Field Guide to American Houses featured Gray Towers in their Second Empire section noting the unique cupola with metal cresting atop the rare S-curved mansard construction. There was only one Gray Towers on the planet and it is now gone forever; a brilliant flash in the pan during a time when Americans prided themselves in glorious architectural magnificence. Is there a lesson to be learned here? I hope so.

The End.

READ Part ONE: HERE

READ Part TWO: HERE

Carriage House and Coachmen's Residence w/Gray Towers in Background
This thankfully still stands and Holy Angels Parish is currently fixing the exterior!

*A very special thank you to Scott Drake, great great grandson of G. G. Green who has generously shared his collection of memorabilia and family memories. Without his help the information presented here could not have been so thorough. Even though he is currently far from Woodbury, he has not lost interest in the city, both in its history and its progress. Thank you, Scott!

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The below image is a 2012 aerial map image with a 1930 B&W aerial inset of Gray Towers showing approximate location of where the mansion sat. The Gray Towers' stable house (still standing) is shown just left of the inset box, the old Woodbury Station is shown upper left corner at the intersection of Cooper and Railroad.

1902 Sanborn map showing carriage house on left
and Gray Towers on right.

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Carter, B. F., Carpenter, J. D., & Stewart, F. H. (1938). History of Woodbury, New Jersey, from 1681 to 1936. [Woodbury, N.J.: Gloucester County Pub. Co.]

Col. G. G. Green passes away. (1925, Feb 26). Gloucester county democrat

Green mansion purchased by St. Patrick's parish as site of parochial school. (1943, Sept 9). Gloucester county times

McAlester, V., & McAlester, L. (1984). A field guide to American houses. (p. 251). New York, NY: Knopf.

Pepper, A. (1971). The glass gaffers of New Jersey. (p. 194). New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons.

3-hr. blaze damages St. Patrick's school; all classes called off. (1968, May 22). Gloucester county times

Woodbury Multiple Resource Area: Partial Inventory of Historical and Architectural Resources, nomination document, 1988, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.

Gray Towers: Part Two

Mayor, freemason, and businessman Lewis M. Green owned significant land and property throughout Woodbury. His patent medicine laboratory was situated on the lot on the corner of Green and Cooper, near where the Gray Towers' Stable House now sits. Before Green owned the land it was the site of a brickyard, according to a Woodbury Daily Times article from 1910 ("Some Recollections..," 1910). In 1872, Green's son George Gill, got involved with the growing family enterprise and sometime in the late 1870's, the 8-acre parcel of land adjacent to the factory fronting Hester's Branch (a natural creek runoff from the Delaware River) was landscaped. "A map from 1880 suggests that Hester's Branch, behind Green's mansion and factory, was dammed to create a scenic lake as part of the picturesque landscaping. An aerial drawing of the same lake in 1886 depicts a fountain in the center of this small body of water. By 1892, Hester's Branch resumes its smaller, original path as depicted in 1876" (Bensinger & Glahn, 1988). For a glimpse of the Hester's Branch landscaping, see the photo at the bottom of this post.

Paschal Medara (I've also seen spellings of Paskell Madera) was the contractor / carpenter turned architect employed to design the centerpiece to this location; G.G.'s eventual residence. In the Victorian era, there was no formal education required to practice architecture and training was largely journeyman-based. At some point in his career Medara settled in Woodbury and befriended the Green family. He not only designed G.G.'s Gray Towers but also the large brick patent medicine laboratory (now the Woodbury Mews), Green's Opera House block (which is currently being restored to National Preservation Standards), and Lewis M. Green's mansion which once stood at the corner of Broad and German (now Barber). Medara worked for a number of years with a Mr. Allen and erected many houses in the Woodbury area; his contracting firm known as Allen & Medara. Medara died at age 66 in Philadelphia and is buried in the Mantua Cemetery ("Paskell madera dead," 1910). Fortunately we still have a couple of his magnificent structures standing to remember him by.

Not much else is known about Medara, but fortunately primary source recollections and papers have survived pertaining to his magnificent creation, Gray Towers. Thanks to G.G.'s Great Great Grandson, Scott Drake, these important Woodbury recollections have been preserved and shared. Much of the following was collected by Drake from a Mr. Robert Luba who worked for G.G. Green Jr. at his 2nd home "Fox Ledge" in Sparta, NJ in the 1940s. I am excited to be able to share this very detailed information that until now, has remained largely unknown.

The following is the architectural description and floorplan renderings of Gray Towers from Medara's firm:

Just one corner of one room!
Believed to be the Northwest corner of the Parlor.

The house is built of Blue Gray Stone of rubble and broken range style, pointed in white ; the windows are all of French Plate Glass ; the Verandas are large 12 to 14 deep ; the inside finish is of Walnut, Butternut, and Chestnut ; Hardware made especially for the house, is of Nickel and Gold finish, does not tarnish ; the plumbing was done by the day and all pipes run perpendicular to and from cellar ; each stationary basin and water pipe has a separate trap ; bath porcelain lined ; wood work of fine furniture finish ; house heated by steam ; electric bells all through each and every room ; burglar alarms, & ; ventilation in every room, top and bottom ; manufacture gas from a machine of 110 lights capacity, which gives excellent satisfaction ; chandeliers all imported patterns, and made especially for the house, and hundreds of other matters necessary to make a first-class house which we have not room to mention. Mr. Paschal Medara, the architect, now living at Woodbury, would be pleased to give plans and specifications for any style house or cottage required at a low price by sending any kind of rough sketch on paper with some description of what is wanted, he will return his estimate for plans and detail drawings, which is the only way to build even the cheapest kind of cottage, in order to have no mistakes. For any further information please address Mr. Paschal Medara, Architect, Woodbury, New Jersey.

The Floorplans for each level. NOTE: this was before the back mansard tower addition was designed (click for larger):

So now that we have a feel for the layout and some of the features found throughout the mansion, let me further illustrate the quality of the items. According to a 1917 article in The Gas Record, the chandelier in the parlor (pictured above) is described as a "beautiful French bronze affair originally costing over $400." This may not sound like much by today's standards, but $400 in the 19th century is equivalent to approximately $9,000 today! Stop to think how many of these were most likely in the house!

Other stories of interest regarding Gray Towers recorded by Mr. Luba include:

*It took 1500 tons of coal a year to heat.
*Naturally very cool in the Summer.
*G.G. Jr. would take cigars from his father's billiard room to the tower to smoke. The Japanese servants would bring food up to him.

*The mansion was reopened for Blanche Green, G.G. Jr.'s daughter's wedding in the 40's after being closed 7 years.

*Some of the original furniture was relocated to G.G. Jr.'s Fox Ledge house in Sparta, NJ.

*Used to have a watchman with a 62 inch waist.

*School kids were always breaking in but never damaged anything. G.G. Jr. said he found a neat row of school books on front steps one day while kids were inside. He would block up the entrance but they would find another way out. Kids used to get in through coal chute.

*G.G. the III used to skip school and go up in the towers and stay all day, the house was so big that no one ever saw him go in or out.

Read Part Three: The Deconstruction, Remuddling, and Demise of Gray Towers.

 Read Part One: HERE
Read Part Three: HERE

from the 1st Green Almanac 1877

Gray Towers on right from 1886 Woodbury map

Gray Towers and grounds, Woodbury, NJ 1886

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Bensinger, T., & Glahn, D. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. (1988). Woodbury multiple resource area: Partial inventory of historic and architectural resources (0MB No. 1024-0018). Retrieved from website: http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/64000501.pdf

Paskell Madera dead. (1910, July 30). Woodbury daily times, p. 1.

Some recollections of Deptford Township 55 years ago. (1910, January 25). Woodbury daily times, p. 1.

The lake and grounds surrounding Gray Towers