Preservation New Jersey

Promoting the economic vitality, sustainability, and heritage of New Jersey’s diverse communities through advocacy and education.

2019 Ten Most Endangered Historic Places in NJ

The 2019 list of the 10 Most Endangered Places was announced in the courtyard of the State House Annex in Trenton on Thursday, May 16th, at 10:00AM.

The 10 Most Endangered Historic Places program spotlights irreplaceable historic, architectural, cultural, and archaeological resources in New Jersey that are in imminent danger of being lost. The act of listing these resources acknowledges their importance to the heritage of New Jersey and draws attention to the predicaments that endanger their survival and the survival of historic resources statewide. The list, generated from nominations by the public, aims to attract new perspectives and ideas to sites in desperate need of creative solutions.

Several challenges face properties on this year’s endangered sites list, including neglect and deferred maintenance, threats incurred by redevelopment and new construction, difficulties raising adequate historic preservation funding, and the need for creative adaptive reuse proposals. Half of the sites on this year’s list are owned by government, highlighting a recurring theme of neglect by entities entrusted by the public with the care of our historic resources. The causes of endangerment among government properties vary from prolonged deferred maintenance, to damage by forces of nature, to a general lack of awareness or respect for the resource. In all cases, insufficient financial resources are a root problem, hindering government from adequately maintaining and protecting their historic resources.

As we acknowledge each year, selections to the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places list are based on the likelihood that historic buildings and places can be brought back to useful and productive life. PNJ proudly points to many properties previously listed among the 10 Most Endangered that have now been saved and preserved or rehabilitated and have once again become character-defining and economy-boosting assets to New Jersey’s communities. As we announce this year’s list, we are encouraged by the Borough of Metuchen’s recent announcement that it is under contract to buy the Forum Theatre, which was included on our list in 2016. The borough plans to incorporate a rehabilitated Forum Theatre into a new Metuchen Arts District that will include a restaurant and other spaces to enjoy the arts. Although PNJ’s 10 Most Endangered Properties list is published once per year, the fight for the preservation of our historic and cultural resources is daily, and the news of the Metuchen Theatre is evidence that bringing awareness of such threats can bring about creative solutions.

For press inquiries, contact:
Courtenay D. Mercer, Director
609.583.0881

The 2019 Ten Most Endangered Historic Places in NJ list:

Lee Brothers Park Pavilion

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  The Lee Brothers Park Pavilion, located on Lake Hopatcong, is a unique surviving example of lake-style recreational architecture in New Jersey. Brothers, Clarence J. Lee and Edwin Lee, purchased the 10+-acre property in 1919, when Mount Arlington was a major tourist destination. They ... » Learn More about Lee Brothers Park Pavilion

Port Colden Manor

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  The 1835 Port Colden Manor is the Port Colden Historic District's largest and most impressive contributing resource. It is an outstanding provincial example of Greek Revival architecture. The massive stuccoed-stone structure with low-pitched hip roof exhibits characteristic Greek ... » Learn More about Port Colden Manor

The Park Theater

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  The Park Theater was erected 1930-1932 as The Passion Play Theatre, named for the then popular annual Lenten performance put on by the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church featuring a mostly local German-American community cast of players, make-up artists, costume and set designers, ... » Learn More about The Park Theater

Van Ness House

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  The Van Ness House was built by one of the earliest Dutch families to settle in western Essex County. Simon Van Ness brought his family to Fairfield in 1701 to claim the ownership of this land, and was one of the founders of the Reformed Church of Fairfield in 1720. The house was ... » Learn More about Van Ness House

Historic Firehouses

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  The 20th century saw a rapid evolution in emergency services. While firehouses began to be purpose-built in the 19th century, and in a few cases earlier, the advent of gas-powered fire trucks and telephone communications in the 1920s saw a blossoming of community emergency services ... » Learn More about Historic Firehouses

East Point Lighthouse

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  East Point Lighthouse sits on an outcropping of land where the Nationally-designated Wild and Scenic River system of the Maurice River enters the Delaware Bay in Cumberland County. Built in 1849, it is the second oldest existing lighthouse in New Jersey, and two years ago underwent a full ... » Learn More about East Point Lighthouse

Lackawanna Train Terminal

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  The Lackawanna Train Terminal opened to great acclaim in 1913.  Designed by the ill-fated William Hull Botsford, who went down on the Titanic, it served as the terminus of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between Hoboken and Montclair, which allowed thousands of local ... » Learn More about Lackawanna Train Terminal

The Wildwoods

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  The Wildwoods are a collection of four towns incorporated between 1885 and 1920 on a barrier island located at the southern end of New Jersey in Cape May County. For over 100 years, the towns have been a popular shore resort known for its beaches and boardwalk. A mid-twentieth-century ... » Learn More about The Wildwoods