Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission

Study Area For Proposed Historic District(s)
Final Recommendations - September 28, 2010

---

Download

RECOMMENDED FOR INCLUSION IN POTENTIAL HISTORIC DISTRICT (1 OR 2 HISTORIC DISTRICTS)
Street	Addresses	Prop- erties	Pre- 1900	1900    - 1940	Post 1940	Streetscape Characteristics / Evaluation
Brook Lane	Entire street	5	1	3	1	Includes landmark Webster Martine House. Well-preserved 1920s Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival houses built on a subdivision of the Webster- Martine Farm.
Cedar Brook Road	Entire street	12	0	11	1	Predominantly well-conserved Colonial Revival houses of substantial size. One non-contributing 1963 bi-level. A subdivision of the Webster-Martine Farm.
Evergreen Ave	Edgewood to Woodland	49	0	43	6	Except for 6 post 1940 houses, all of the houses on this long avenue are early 20th century Shingle Style, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, and Foursquares ranging in age from 1905 to 1931. Overall good historic character – 6 of the 45 contributing houses have vinyl or other replacement siding.
Highland Ave	Hillside to Woodland	15	0	8	7	Half of the houses on this street are substantial 1920s Colonial Revivals, all retaining historic features. Of the 7 post 1940 houses, at least 3 are late Colonial Revivals that harmonize with the earlier houses in scale and design.
Kensington Ave	Watchung to Evergreen	22	2	17	3	Early residential avenue, laid out by 1878. The 900 block between Watchung and Prospect comprises all but 2 properties – strong early 20th c. historic character, mainly Colonial Revival and Shingle Style houses with little vinyl siding. Two notable late 19th century houses (Victorian Italianate and Queen Anne). Only 3 post-1940 houses, one of which is a compatible Cape Cod.
Prospect Ave	Edgewood to Woodland	43	4* *there are 5 more pre-1900 houses on the omitted 900 block	29	10	Prospect Avenue is an important early residential street, laid out by 1878. Consequently there are a higher number of pre-1900 houses on this street than any other in the study area, although the street as a whole is dominated by 1920s and 1930s Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival houses. The 900 block of Prospect (between Park and Edgewood) is uneven; most have vinyl siding and major alterations, and therefore this block has been omitted from the potential historic district. Instead, it is recommended that the two best preserved houses on the 900 block (935 and 943), which are brick Victorian Gothic houses built in the 1870s, be designated as individual landmarks or added to the adjoining Crescent Area HD.
Woodland Ave	Watchung to Highland	14	3	10	1	The street was surveyed from Watchung Avenue to Marlborough Avenue, including 30 properties in all. The block between Watchung and Highland Aves is the strongest, with large early 20th c houses and two pre-1900 houses. Two properties at SW cr of Highland (980 and 986 Woodland) should also be included. Beyond Prospect Ave. (1000 block and above), over half of the street is post 1940 ranches, bi-levels and split-levels.

 

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR INCLUSION IN POTENTIAL HISTORIC DISTRICT
Street	Addresses		Prop- erties		Pre 1900		1900 - 1940		Post 1940		Streetscape Characteristics / Evaluation
Chetwynd Ave	Entire street		31		0		26		5		Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival houses from the 1920s and 1930s. Vinyl siding on some. Overall historic character of street is good, but scale and character of housing is different than most of the study area.
Edgewood Ave	Entire street, west side		2		0		2		0		1920s Colonial Revivals, wood siding. One property on East side of street (Block 819, Lot 22) is within recommended HD area.
Evergreen Ave	Park Ave to Edgewood Ave		4		0		4		0		This block includes three modest 1920s Colonial Revival houses, all with replacement siding (composition shingle or vinyl) and other alterations. Evergreen School, a 1920s classical revival building, is also on this block and should be considered for individual designation along with a number of other historic Plainfield schools.
Hillside Ave	Hillside Ave HD line to Thornton		4		0		4		0		Houses are different in size, scale and age than Hillside Avenue HD but similar to those on neighboring streets such as Chetwynd and Marlborough Aves. Inclusion of this section of Hillside Avenue only makes sense if the adjoining Chetwynd and Thornton avenues were to be designated as well.
Lake Street	Entire street		16		1		10		5		One c1896 vernacular Victorian w/ vinyl siding. Early 20th c houses of modest size interspersed w/ later split-levels and ranch house. Vinyl siding/alterations on many.
Marlborough Ave	North side of entire street		19		0		19		0		1920s & 1930s Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival houses of modest size. Replacement siding is evident on at least 8 houses. Overall historic character is fair, but scale and character of housing is different than most of the study area.
Martine Ave	Entire street		63		2		51		10		Of the 51 houses on this street built between 1900 and 1940, the older ones (Shingle Style, Col Rev, Foursquares, Craftsman) are on the 1100 to 1200 blocks, while the 1300 and 1400 blocks are 1920s and 1930s Col Rev and Tud Rev. Most of the post 1940 houses are also on the 1300 and 1400 blocks. Vinyl siding is starting to impact Martine Avenue’s historic character.
Park Ave	East side, Prospect to Thornton		16		3		11		2		3 large late 19th c bldgs, heavily altered. Over half of the 1900-1940 bldgs (mostly large Colonial Rev houses) are vinyl sided and/or insensitively altered for office/cmrcl uses.
Pine Street	Entire street		5		1		0		4		One c1890s small vernacular Victorian house – the rest are post-1960 split-levels and bi-levels.
Thornton Ave	Entire street		15		3		10		2		Streetscape dominated by 1920s Colonial Revival houses, most with vinyl siding. 3 late 19th c. Queen Anne/Free Classic houses, all vinyl sided with alterations. 2 ranches.
Spring Street	Entire street		2		1		0		1?		One c1890s small vernacular Victorian w/ alterations
Watchung Ave	1066-1018		3		0		0		3		All post 1940 bi-levels and split-levels.