Historic district in Princeton

(NOTE: Summertime has already meant shorter posts and periods of silence. Expect much more of the same until late August)


While the 1950s produced some incredible examples of modern architecture, Princeton is talking about turning a somewhat less exceptional 1950s neighborhood into an historic district. In isn't that Clover Lane is a reco historic treasure, but no one wants the McMansions that are pushing into this neighborhood built on prime real estate in one of America's most prestigious communities.

The Times reports:

The proposed historic district "is representative of the many residential subdivisions constructed during the postwar building boom from 1945 to the late 1950s," according to a report that Metuchen-based historic preservation consultant ARCH¯ Inc. completed in February for the township under a $5,000 contract that likely will be amended.

"Its greatest significance is due to the fact that it is one of the few extant examples of Modern style subdivisions in the Princeton area and New Jersey," the report states.

The modern designs usually included clean lines, structural simplicity and lots of glass to connect the interior with the outdoors. Interior walls were kept to a minimum so living areas would flow into one another and to give the little houses the feel of a larger space, according to the ARCH¯ report. Other distinctive elements present in the Deer Path and Clover Lane houses include trapezoidal windows and butterfly roofs that slant upward toward the edges rather than peaking in the middle.

But the interesting idea comes near the end where the article mentions that other most neighborhoods haven't discovered how historic district status can be used as an anti-teardown tool. Yet.