The living past Lafayette District tries to protect and restore its treasures
Feb 15, 2002 | 71 views | 0 
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The declining environment over the last century, however, has prompted a group of area residents to campaign for Historic District Status, a state and federal title that facilitates restorative projects through grants and protects the district from development that threatens historical landmarks.
Claimed by the Dutch West India Company in 1630, the area quickly became the site of commercial activity. By the mid-19th century, an extensive network of railroads and the Morris Canal allowed trains and steamships to bustle back and forth. In due time, the Lafayette District housed mansions on one side and tenement houses for factory workers on the other. The factory-related jobs drew a large immigrant population, fluctuating between Irish, Slavic, Greek, and Hispanic immigrants during different periods. Most recently, the area has been a predominantly African-American community. Unfortunately, the factory jobs of yesteryear have long disappeared, leaving an economic vacuum within the community.
However, living symbols of former affluent times remain standing. But the rhombus-shaped district slowly deteriorated in the latter part of the twentieth century.
"I know a lot of 50-plus year residents that complain about the deterioration of the area, the vacant lots, the abandoned boarded-up houses," said Rosalyn Browne, president of the Communipaw Avenue Block Association. "And it used to be a beautiful area and we would like it to be restored."
Browne's Association has partnered with the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, a non-profit historical preservation advocacy group, to bring a renewed sense of dignity to the district. "If a person understands that a certain area is historical and they understand that they are privileged to live in that area," Browne said, "then they would think twice about throwing chicken bones on the property."
But Browne sees preservation and restoration affecting more than the perception of the residents. She believes that areas that manicure its historical components eventually attract new investment. "We want investors to come in and preserve the history in some sort of way and do what they do best in revitalizing the area," she said.
Initial steps
John Gomez, president of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy (JCLC), has taken the initial steps for gaining the Historical District Status for the Lafayette area from the State Historic Preservation Office and the National Register of Historic Places. His group has begun filling out the necessary applications.
The status, he said, would "open the doors to significant preservation grants, tax credits, and loans."
The JCLC recently celebrated its first success by gaining the historical landmark status for the Powerhouse in downtown Jersey City.
Gomez decided to focus on Lafayette at the beginning of this year when he released his annual "Landmarks-At-Risk" list. "Personally, it saddens me to walk along its historic streets and look out upon empty lots, where just a few years prior there stood in their sullen places either a Dutch homestead or a Queen Anne Cottage."
v According to Gomez, Paulus Hook, one of the four downtown historic districts, was spared such needless demolition through its state-awarded status. Using the same tactics that saved the Powerhouse, Gomez hopes bring this protectorate title to Lafayette by raising community awareness, publishing articles in preservation journals, and filing a lengthy application to state and federal preservation agencies. Like the Powerhouse, he believes that a historically preserved district would add to a growing tourism industry in Jersey City and generate new wealth.
Browne has taken the lead in spurring community awareness by scheduling a series of walking tours. Close to 20 people joined Browne on Feb. 2 for a Saturday morning walk to Lafayette's historic churches. Among the five churches visited was the Cornerstone Church of Christ, erected in 1906. Designed by John T. Rowland, architect of the Jersey City Medical Center, the stone structure mimics the architectural style of the Roman Catholic Church, bringing a classically artistic design to Jersey City. More lectures and walking tours have been scheduled for March 2 and 18.
The city has already begun the process of attracting new investment in the area within the Morris Canal Redevelopment Plan. The plan outlines a vision for new commercial development and residential units to replace abandoned buildings, vacant lots, and empty storefronts. While the plan does not specifically address the preservation of historical structures, city planner Michele Alonso said that the planning staff seeks ways of turning old structures into new uses. The process, known amongst planners as "adaptive reuse," is currently being put into place.
An abandoned factory also designed by Rowland, The American Type Foundry Company Building, has been designated as a site for artists' studios, like the ones at 111 First St.
Alonso said that this building lends itself to artists' studios because it retains the spatial features of a factory, allowing artisans like sculptors to create large works of art.
In addition, the city has agreed to renovate Webb Park, formerly Lafayette Park, which was founded in 1902 as a recreational resource for an overpopulated district. Browne looks forward to a restored park, free from the cracked benches, littered grass, and the drug-dealing environment that has plagued it most recently.
For more information on the walking tours and lecture series, contact Rosalyn Browne at (201) 432-6565.
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