the rix mix: Two venerable houses

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Two venerable houses

Two wonderful houses occupied for decades by the Rinaldo & Rinaldo law firm in the Elmora section of Elizabeth close to where I live, & not used for much as business was handled at another local office. Recently, the firm "officially" moved to a building a few miles away, a truck carried off the remaining office equipment & files, & a chain link fence installed around three adjacent Westfield Ave. properties. I don't know how these buildings could be preserved - they aren't Victorians in Plainfield or Asbury Park, just venerable old houses. Perhaps there are already plans to raze them & build more of the standard design two & three family houses that sprout up wherever something in this neighborhood is torn down, with ground floor garages & postage stamp balconies. Or maybe "luxury" condos, as they now promote ordinary buildings that have no fitness center, pool, or scenic views of the Manhattan. A house somewhat ike the one on the left around the block from me was torn down last summer before I got a photo. It could have been rehabbed, at great cost, but it was huge. Now there's an overgrown lot with a frontloader parked on the property. My guess is that the builder is trying to get a variance for two or even three 2 families on the lot. Fortunately, most of smaller frame houses in the area are in pretty good shape, remarkable because so many are fixed up to look like they're supposed to look.

Labels: Elizabeth NJ

# posted by Bob : 5:46 PM

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Heartbreaking, isn't it? Every town that used to have a stock of these old beauties now is full of big brick and stucco McMansions.

As a Craftsman bungalow junkie trying to put arts & crafts touches in a POS cape, I could just cry.

# posted by

Jill : 12:54 PM

Bob, you can throw out a million reasons for teardowns in places like Elizabeth: crushing property taxes, the flight of private capital, declining incomes, rising land values, crime, high energy costs, and so on.

I wonder about the present condition of the old WFMU house in Springdale Ave. in East Orange. That block was like a Roman ruin, except that it was composed of victorian and colonial revival homes.

# posted by

Jeff : 2:10 PM

There's some well-kept bungalows in Rahway. There are surprisingly few teardowns in my section of Elizabeth. Of course, nobody wants a McMansion here. But the stock of sturdy frame houses appeals to the growing middle class Hispanic population, who choose to root themselves in Elizabeth & raise families. With 49% of the population now, they can be fairly certain the next mayor will be Hispanic. Most at risk are the larger houses. Elizabeth has few restorable Victorians left because they gave way for apartments in the 50s & 60s.

# posted by

Bob : 3:06 PM

I should add that a large Orthodox Jewish commmunity has an enormous investment in this part of Elizabeth, & stayed stubbornly in place during the 70s & 80s. My Dunkin' Donuts is spotlessly clean, & kosher.

# posted by

Bob : 3:27 PM