The front of the Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage
The entrance sign that welcomes you
The History of the Sam Azzez Woodbine Museum:
(from the museum’s website):
The Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage is an independent non-profit charitable organization preserving the unique history of Woodbine, NJ.
Established in the 1890’s through Baron de Hirsch’s philanthropy, Woodbine began as an agricultural colony for Russian Jewish immigrants seeking freedom denied in their homeland. As poor soil conditions limited farming, Woodbine evolved into Cape May County’s manufacturing center while maintaining founding values of education, religion and inclusion.
The museum occupies the historic Woodbine Brotherhood Synagogue, listed on the Natural Register of Historic Places. The restored sanctuary hosts special services, while the Brotherhood Hall houses exhibitions including the community-contributed Collective Memory Wall.
The historical significance of of the Town of Woodbine
The entrance to the museum
The museum is another interesting look at New Jersey history and the development of the immigrant story of assimilation into American society.
I was given a personal tour by the Assistant Curator and she explained the resettlement of Russian Jewish immigrants by a wealthy patron into this South Jersey community.
The main gallery of the museum
The panels tell the story of how these community came into being and how these people built a community through agricultural and eventually manufacturing and small businesses that supported the community around it. It established a town that was self sustaining and grew to the community center.
The panels show the growth of Woodbine as a community
The residents established their own sports teams, community organizations and civic groups like the councils and fire and police departments.
The records of the many town organizations of Woodbine
Display of one of the first families to settle in Woodbine
Display of the religious faith of the community
One of the most touching displays is of survivors of the concentration camps during the holocaust. These pictures represent these women as children and them today.
The display of the women who survived the camps
The history of the community and the growth of diverse businesses in Woodbine
Creating and building the Synagogue in the community
On the second floor of the building is the old synagogue of the community which is only used during the high holidays. This is used by descendants of the community and family members of theirs.
The inside of the synagogue on the second floor of the building
The front of the temple
The chandelier is original to the temple
The space was being prepared for the Jewish New Year and the crowd of people who would be attending.
The Memorial Wall
The traditions of the religion being practiced in the community
The self-government of the community
Still the younger generation was all American and wanted to assimilate into society with an all American past time of things like baseball.
The Woodbine youth baseball team
The uniform of the old baseball team for youths in the town
The last display is of the famous alumni who once lived in the community. These are the men and women who once lived here and went on after all odds to do great things and make our country better.
The Hall of Fame
The museum I thought had a bit of an identity crisis as I really did not know what the museum was about.
I was pleasantly surprised to find an interesting part of New Jersey history I had never known. It just goes to show you how a museum can educate you with just one visit. The Assistant curator said there will be more to come in the future.
Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. CEO/Co-Founder Professor Justin Watrel and his Executive Team outside the Wortendyke Barn in Park Ridge, NJ for a Team Field Trip.
The 1740 Miller-Kingsland House-Boonton Historical Society
445 Vreeland Avenue
Boonton, NJ 07005
Open: For special events and the Pathways Tours-Contact Boonton Historical Society
My review on TripAdvisor:
The Miller-Kingsland Homestead at 445 Vreeland Avenue
I went to visit the Miller-Kingsland Homestead, which is part of the Boonton Historical Society, during the Morris County’s Pathway’s tour and discovered a beautiful little historical home situated on picturesque piece of property. I saw by the signs that the grounds were maintained by the local Garden Club, who did a wonderful job landscaping the grounds.
The Living Room in the extension on the house
The portraits of Mr. & Mrs. Kingsland
The Dining Room in the old section of the home
The historic home is filled with period furnishings and decorations, none it seems local to the home. Still you can see how the home has changed over the years with additions and renovations. The older part of the home is now part of the Dining Room.
The Pewter ware collection on the Dining Room table
The fireplace in the original house kitchen now in the Dining Room
The formal Dining Room in the extension of the house
The formal Dining Room in the newer section of the home
The antique China Closet with Teapots
The outside of the house
The grounds of the home
The house sits on a quiet bend in the road and the properties landscaping was just beautiful. Even on this gloomy, rainy day, it was nice to walk around quickly and admire the flower beds and the lawn.
The grounds of the home
The outside gardens of the home in the Spring
The History of the home:
(From the Boonton Historical Society Pathways Tour Book and Wiki):
When Isaac Kingsland purchased the property on Vreeland Avenue from Jacob Miller c 1798, he began a dynasty that would include four New York City lawyers, a comptroller of the City of New York, a Civil War aide to General Benjamin Butler, a college president, three nuns, and a troupe of nationally known marionettes. Similarly, the property itself went from small to large to small again, from the home of farmers, a carpenter and a blacksmith, to a boarding home for horses and the headquarters and studio premises for a company of touring entertainers (Boonton Historical Society).
The Miller-Kingsland House is the oldest recorded home in Boonton. The original Dutch house was one-room with a sleeping attic, built by Johannes Miller around 1740. This room, which is complete with a large cooking fireplace and beehive oven, makes up the west wing of the current structure. The property was sold to Isaac Kingsland in 1798. He added the two and one-half story main section in 1808. It features Dutch style and a gambrel roof (Wiki).
The Miller-Kingsland house sits on a beautiful wooded landscape with a stream flowing through it. The property today comprises some 2.5 acres including the historic frame house and a barn. It is the oldest recorded house in Boonton and is listed on the NJ and National Registers of Historic Places (Boonton Historical Society).
The breezeway of the home. This was for entrance of the home
Location of the house:
(from the Borough of Closter, NJ website)
The Harold Hess Lustron House, located at 421 Durie Avenue, Closter NJ 07624, is currently owned by the Borough of Closter and is operated as a house museum by the Friends of the Lustron Committee of the Closter Historic Society. It is open to the public on the second Saturday of each month from noon to 2 p.m. (Boro of Closter, NJ website).
History of the Harold Hess Lustron House:
(from the Borough of Closter, NJ website)
In 1949, Harold Hess, a recently married returning WWII veteran saw a sample Lustron House displayed at Palisades Amusement Park. In 1950, he purchased the Westchester Deluxe model with attached breezeway and one car garage. Originally he wanted the 3 bedroom, two car garage model but felt fortunate to receive what he got as the company was already heading into bankruptcy. Mr. Hess faced six months of planning and zoning board meetings in Fort Lee. He failed to get a permit to erect the modern metal house and turned to the Closter area where more relaxed building codes provided an opportunity to build the novel construction of the all-steel prefabricated house.
World War II vet Hess never lost faith in his house of tomorrow and was the proud owner till his death in 2004. He raised his family here and remained pleased with the house until the end, noting that there were some adjustments such as finding repairmen with enough problem solving creativity to make repairs to a steel house with a combination dishwasher/clothes washing machine next to and filled by the kitchen sink faucet. Other minor matters were hanging pictures with large industrial magnets and interior spring cleaning with automobile wax. The attractive steel walls never need painting or wallpapering so the color scheme never changed.
Closter’s Harold Hess Lustron House, listed on both the state and national registers of historic places, was scheduled for demolition in 2014. Thanks to advocacy by then-mayor Sophie Heymann and positive action by the Zoning Board, an unusual compromise was reached with the developer-owner of the property to donate the historic house to the Borough of Closter. The Borough of Closter applied for a $25,000 grant in 2016 to have a Preservation Plan written for the Lustron House. The grant was awarded by the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office with monies provided by the National Park Service and did not require any local matching funds. The plan was completed in 2017, work has begun and will be implemented fully over time.
The barbecue grill in the breezeway
The Laundry Room as you walk into the house
The display on Laundry room
History of the Lustron House: Current day
(from the Borough of Closter, NJ website)
There are only two Lustron houses remaining in Bergen County. The other is located in Alpine and has no local historic preservation protection. Approximately nine have survived statewide and an estimated 1500 remain nationwide.
“Lustron” is a trademarked name that stands for “Luster on Steel.” The shiny efficiency of these homes mirrors the optimism that was felt by this country as its GI’s re- turned home triumphant from the Great War. Lustron homes are one-story ranch-style houses built on concrete slabs. They are very modest in size, averaging 1000 square feet of living space. Most of the Lustrons built were two- bedroom models, although a three-bedroom model did be- come available towards the end of production.
The Lustron house was the brainchild of Carl G. Strandlund, who saw the possibilities of utilizing steel left behind from the war effort to create needed housing. Strandlund had previously worked for the Chicago Vitreous Enamel Products Company that manufactured steel enamelware for refrigerators, stoves, and other household appliances. Connecting this technology to the housing industry was the ticket to success in securing federal funding necessary to start production. The Lustron Corporation opened a one-million-square-foot plant in Columbus, Ohio in 1947. But just as quickly as the company’s star rose, it plummeted, and the Lustron Corporation closed in 1950 due to overwhelming debt.
Elements of streamline design abound in Lustron homes, which feature built-in vanities, bookshelves and dining room/kitchen cabinetry, as well as pocket doors and sliding closet doors – all made of porcelain-enameled steel. Lustron homes were marketed as having “cheerful convenience” and “easy-to-keep-clean brightness.” They cost approximately $10,000 each and came in four colors: maize yellow, surf blue, desert tan and dove gray. All of the pieces of a Lustron home could be carried to the building site in one specially designed truck, and construction could be completed in as little as one week.
Interesting features of the Lustron house included the “Thor” dishwasher-clothes washing machine that was located in the cabinetry next to the kitchen sink. Another unique aspect of these homes was the heating system, which supplied radiant heat through a plenum chamber in the space above the metal ceiling panels. Each Lustron house came fitted with a metal identification tag stamped with the model and serial numbers and located on the back wall of the utility room.
The kitchen looked like a complete replica of my grandmother’s and my aunt and mother’s houses in the late 1960’s and early 70’s.
The late 1950’s kitchen
The kitchen of the past
A closer look to the kitchen of the past
The kitchen’s of the past were designed for efficiency but not for socialization. This is why kitchens have grown over the last seventy years to accommodate socialization of everyone ending up in the kitchen.
The Dining Room area off the kitchen
The seating area for the family had lots of light but could be quite tight
Everything was in its place on the shelves
The next part of the tour was the bedrooms which were off to the back of the house. Each was decorated with period clothing, furniture and other Knick knacks.
The Children’s bedroom was the first stop. I saw many toys from my childhood.
The bed had all sorts of puppets and games on it
The shelves were lined with books and board games from the era of the late 50’s and 60’s
Vintage science sets and clothing were on display in the Children’s room
The Master Bedroom had a display of Easter hats
The selection of hats from the 1950’s and 60’s
The Vanity was stocked with jewelry and perfume while the drawers were filled with girdles, white gloves and corsets
The advertising for this home offered all the wonderful amenities
We next moved onto the bathroom which looked like my old bathroom before the renovation
The bathroom
The last room we toured was the Living Room. The room was designed with Danish inspired furniture and clean lines. The room is full of furnishings and decorations from the 1960’s and 70’s done in the Modern Danish look. The room has a very early 1970’s feel about it.
The Living Room
The Living Room
As we finished our tour of the house, we passed through the breezeway again and the patio area. There was an outdoor seating area on the patio.
The Patio just outside the breezeway
The private desk just outside the breezeway
The fondue pot in the corner
The table on the breezeway
When I got back into the house from the outside, I toured one more time and walked around the Living Room. That’s when they showed us the record player.
Seemed like a good place to hide the household’s records
It really was like walking through a time capsule of my past. As I walked through every room, I felt like I was going to see my Grandmother and Great Aunt walking through the door and my mother in her early 30’s yelling at us again to get off her furniture. For a Gen X visitor, it is a step back into our past. What a unique museum.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 