A small wooden building along the Delaware Canal would be torn down and replaced with a small park across the street from George Michael’s Canal Street condo development.
By: Linda Seida
NEW HOPE A piece of New Hope’s arts history will be demolished unless someone steps forward to save it.
A small wooden building along the Delaware Canal was used as an art studio by painters and sculptors. No one knows exactly when it was built or who built it.
Opinions differ over whether the building is an unredeemable "shed" or a "cottage" worthy of saving.
Modernist painter Lloyd "Bill" Ney, who lived in New Hope for 40 years and died in 1965, used the studio, according to former Councilman Robert Gerenser. So did sculptor Harry Rosin, who created a sculpture of Connie Mack for Veterans Stadium.
Developer George Michael and his son, Paul Michael, representing 28 Mechanic Street Investors LLC, asked the Borough Council on Nov. 15 for permission to demolish it. They want to replace it with a small park featuring benches and an area where an artist could set up an easel.
The structure sits on the east side of the canal and north of West Mechanic Street, across the canal from Mr. Michael’s Canal Street development project, where luxury condos will sit.
Paul Michael described it as an "old shed, abandoned," with a "large, unsightly wood deck." He said there is no electricity, no plumbing and "no real historical value there."
Mr. Gerenser had a different view.
"It’s been said it’s in disrepair and constructed of substandard materials," he said, but that’s "part of its charm. The artist grabbed whatever he could to construct it. I happen to think it’s charming."
It’s another example of the quirky and unique items Bucks County artists painters, sculptors, photographers, writers and poets used or constructed while in New Hope.
Author and screenwriter Dorothy Parker, who moved to Bucks County in 1936, met friends at the Towpath House on Mechanic Street, which was a hub of the arts. There they constructed an outdoor bar in a tree house, using scrap lumber, according to Mr. Gerenser.
The town’s Historic Architectural Review Board recently considered Mr. Michael’s request, deadlocking in a 3-3 vote.
A 4-1 vote last week of the partial council will permit the demolition, but only after waiting 60 days for someone to step forward and shoulder the responsibility and expense of moving the structure to another location.
President Richard Hirschfield said the council also wants to see the final plans for the park "before anything is done" because only an artist’s concept was presented.
Councilman Rey Velasco and Councilwoman Claire Shaw were absent because of illness.
Councilwoman Geri Delevich, who called the structure a "cottage," voted against the demolition.
She said there are "two camps" in New Hope. One prefers new things, and the other likes "quaint, quirky" and items with "character."
"I’m upset to see the new destroy the old," she said. "We like old. We like our quirky things and odd angles."
Ms. Delevich wanted to hold Mr. Michael to the terms of an agreement he made with the council last year when he said he would offer the site to an artists’ group rent free.
Mr. Michael’s representatives said no one stepped forward to take advantage of the offer.
However, one group, Artsbridge, did express interest, according to Ms. Delevich. When they called the developer’s office, they were told the offer was off the table, she said.
A representative of Mr. Michael’s company said she did not recall saying that and would have to check her notes.
Mr. Michael said he would donate $5,000 toward the cost of moving the structure.

