The next award cycle for HSP’s Preservation Awards will be in 2011

 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PRINCETON PRESENTS ANNUAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARDS

On Sunday, May 17, 2009, the Historical Society of Princeton presented its annual awards in recognition of outstanding contributions to historic preservation in Princeton. This year’s four Preservation Award winners include three private residential buildings and one individual: 38 Wiggins Street; 14 Alexander Street; 3 Lafayette Road West; and Maynett Breithaupt.

A local lawyer, Fergus A. Dennis, built 38 Wiggins Street in 1897, adding a small wing as an office in 1906. Lietta Kahn's grandfather, Louis Kahn, purchased it around the time of the Great Depression. In 1947 his son, Benjamin, inherited the house and created five apartments, including one in which the Kahn family lived for a time. When it became hers in 1992, Lietta Kahn restored the house as a single family dwelling, maintaining and refurbishing many original features. These included the reproduction of the finial on the roof and restoring built-in copper gutters.

The house is a notable presence on Wiggins Street, but the property also includes an important reminder of Princeton's past in the series of sheds and other outbuildings at the rear. All have been restored. Among them is a two-story wooden barn, deemed unsalvageable by one contractor. James Stiles, however, braced or replaced failing studs and beams, reframed the doorways, and found pine siding that matched the original.

Ann and Tom Chapman’s new garage by architect Max Hayden, at 14 Alexander Street, complements their 1830s Greek Revival house, once lived in by T. S. Eliot in 1948. The small garage is in keeping with the character and scale of the Mercer Hill Historic District. The Chapman’s house on Alexander Street, originally called Canal Street, is part of a harmonious 19th century neighborhood of small houses built for local tradesmen of this period. Many of the Greek Revival houses in this part of Mercer Hill were designed by or modified by local builder-architect Charles Steadman.

The view of the Chapman’s garage from Alexander Street is both charming and adds interest to this private alley. The 1874 lithograph, Bird’s-Eye View of Princeton, NJ, shows that this small alley once had many similar outbuildings. The Chapman’s new design contributes to the architectural integrity of the neighborhood and also the architectural past of a very old Princeton alley.

Ronald Berlin, architect, and Baxter Construction completed the meticulous exterior restoration of the home of Moulay Hicham Ben Abdallah and Malika Benabdelali. Completed in 1930, 3 Lafayette Road West is a Colonial-style residence of unusual refinement, with carefully thought-out details, rigorous classical proportions, and richly-colored argillite stone walls; thanks to this exterior restoration, these features can now be properly seen and appreciated. The centerpiece of the work, which included renewal of roofing, windows, doors, and stonework, was the reconstruction of a deteriorated and altered semicircular portico and balustrade, a front entrance gem that now sparkles again. This commendable project shows exemplary workmanship and design throughout, made possible by the sensitive guidance of a dedicated owner.

Also receiving a Preservation award from HSP is, Maynett Breithaupt, a dedicated and effective advocate for historic preservation. Combining her professional skills in design and her love of history and historic architecture, she has argued the cause of preservation successfully in many forums including the Board of Trustees of the Historical Society of Princeton, where her advice and leadership were invaluable.

Maynett served as a member of the Princeton Township Historic Preservation Commission from 1992 through 2007 and as its chair for ten years. Her fellow Commission members have praised Maynett’s fairness and ability to balance competing interests and have cited her ability to listen, to learn and to convey information quietly as being key to the Commission’s achievements. During Maynett’s chairmanship, a project that linked five communities in three counties, the King’s Highway Historic District, was placed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.

The Preservation Awards Committee is proud to present these awards to worthy projects in the Princeton community during National Preservation Month, whose theme in 2009 is This Place Matters!

The Historical Society of Princeton is a museum and library dedicated to interpreting the history of Princeton, New Jersey. In 2004, the Historical Society of Princeton purchased the Updike Farmstead located in Princeton Township. Plans are underway to renovate the historic farmhouse and barn into permanent museum space, as well as educational space for school aged children and adults.

Photo:

2009 Preservation Award winners:  Standing from left Ronald Berlin, Jim Baxter, Max Hayden,  Maynett Breithaupt, Lietta Kahn, and Tom Chapman.