State Historic Sites Council opposes Morven Master Plan application

Recommendation to commissioner puts plan for visitor center and administrative building in question

By: Marjorie Censer
   The New Jersey Historic Sites Council voted Thursday to oppose Historic Morven Inc.’s site Master Plan that would add an administrative building and a visitors’ center on either side of the estate and demolish the pool, pool house and tennis court complex in the rear.
   After a nearly seven-hour meeting, the council voted 4-3 to recommend to the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection that the application not be accepted.
   The council could not come to a consensus on the Morven site — some contended that Morven should consider locating the support buildings elsewhere, while others suggested consolidation of the two buildings. Without a consensus recommendation, the council had little choice but to take a vote — recognizing that the commissioner can approve the application, despite the council’s advice.
   Morven Museum and Garden, owned by the state and operated by Historic Morven Inc., was constructed by Declaration of Independence signer Richard Stockton in the 1750s. The Route 206 mansion was later home to General Robert Wood Johnson and served as the governor’s mansion from 1954 until 1982.
   Members of the council criticized the generality of the plans for the buildings and said they felt uncomfortable approving a plan about which they know so little. The size of the buildings is known — the visitors’ center will be roughly 5,000 square feet, while the administrative facility will be approximately 2,600 square feet — but they have not yet been designed by New York-based Rafael Vinoly Architects.
   Council members also expressed support for retaining the pool house — if not the pool and tennis court. Morven representatives argued that the pool was a modern addition, installed in 1941, and detracted from the sense of the building as an 18th- and 19th-century home.
   Members of the council said the pool house contributed to an understanding of Morven as a governor’s mansion, and noted a tension between supporting the removal of the pool house but advocating for the construction of two other modern buildings.
   "How do you reconcile two intrusions against one that has some history on the property?" asked Councilman David Markunas.
   Morven Executive Director Martha Wolf said the pool house, pool and tennis court were designed and built as a unit — it doesn’t make sense to save one and not the others. Additionally, she said, much of the history of the home as a governor’s mansion is maintained in the museum.
   James Bryan, a consultant to Morven, contended that the support buildings, unlike the pool house, contribute to the mission of the nonprofit organization.
   Though Morven itself is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places, the pool house, pool and tennis court are technically not included, said Dan Saunders, state historic preservation specialist. However, members of the council and Mr. Saunders noted that they would likely be included as contributing features if a new nomination were written today.
   Members of the public, too, urged the council to be cautious in its consideration. Anne Weber, a Princeton Township resident and architect, called the pool house one of the few public exhibits of architecture from its period.
   "There’s a really rampant loss of modern architecture in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township," Ms. Weber said. "I really feel that a pre-emptive demolition is not good policy."
   Though no council member said he or she was fully comfortable with the plan, some expressed support for Morven’s goals and said the visitors’ center and administrative building are truly necessary.
   "I think they absolutely need this space," Councilman John McKinney said. "They are jammed."
   He added that the buildings are small and would be minimally intrusive.
   Ms. Wolf emphasized the energy and time that have gone into the plans. Representatives of Morven showed prior plans — one of which included a fan-shaped building on the front lawn and another that suggested rehabilitating the pool house. They said this plan seemed best for Morven and for its visitors and neighbors.
   The advantages, Ms. Wolf explained, would be additional green space, buildings that are not visible from the front, an improved public garden, and a gateway created between the Princeton Battle Monument and Morven.
   The recommendation will be forwarded to Commissioner Bradley Campbell.