[conn1234]

Hi- I have heard that there has been a lot of development in Monroe that has detracted from its charm (small town, main street)? One person I talked to mentioned roads being widened. I didn't have time to visit Monroe when I was in CT recently. Can anyone say anything about this? True or not true? Thanks!

[acornsower]

Monroe is probably the closest thing Fairfield County has to New Jersey. Main Street is five miles long and lined with strip malls and shopping centers (it hasn't been widened and frequently has bumper-to-bumper traffic). The town has one of the nation's largest concentrations of split-level houses from the '60s and raised ranches from the '70s (not to mention nail salons), and any open land that's left is rapidly being covered over with chipboard-and-plastic tract mansions. Outside of the very nice town green (protected by a Historic District ordinance), the town is very short on charm.

[Samantha22]

Can you tell me how Monroe CT compares to New Jersey? This is the first time I have ever heard a comparison of such.

[acornsower]

New Jersey = hodgepodge development resulting from economic gain being the primary consideration in permitting proposed development. Main Street Monroe--and a growing portion of Route 111--are pictures of suburban sprawl all too typical of what much of this country has become over the last 30 or 40 years.

In my youth Monroe was beautiful New England countryside peppered with 200-year-old houses, fields, and woods, and was virtually identical to the nearby towns of Easton and Redding. But those two towns took pride in their essential character and expended untold efforts to preserve it, while Monroe took the other route--virtually 'anything for a buck.' The once-beautiful Stepney Green has become a commercial horror; Pepper Street groans with the cancer of industrial development; "cluster" developments permit humongous cheesy houses to be built 20 feet apart (with no side windows), and there are traffic jams on what were not too long ago dirt roads passing cow farms.

Well-to-do people from Manhattan seek out the old secluded historic homes in Easton, Redding, and other unspoiled towns in the region known for their "quintessential New England" qualities as weekend homes. Nobody would dream of doing that in Monroe! And while I understand that some people actually like raised ranches and the convenience of having CVS Pharmacies and Subways at every turn, that, I feel, is what God invented "the Garden State" (along with Long Island) for.

[sugarlips]

Originally Posted by acornsower

New Jersey = hodgepodge development resulting from economic gain being the primary consideration in permitting proposed development. Main Street Monroe--and a growing portion of Route 111--are pictures of suburban sprawl all too typical of what much of this country has become over the last 30 or 40 years.

Come one...that is such a jerky thing to say. New Jersey has some areas that have historical main streets that are full of charm. Why the hate? Have you been to through the entire state of NJ? I can't speak for Northern New Jersey but Southern New Jersey has some very nice small towns that have preserved their historical character.

Seriously, a well thought out and more articulate response would have been to compare Monroe to a specific NJ town that you have believe represents this hodgepodge development you describe.

Now, I don't appreciate the cookie-cutter developments either. For a real wake-up call, take a visit to the southwest or cali where every third house looks the same and you can reach out and touch yours and your neighbors shared block wall from your kitchen window. Where on every other corner there is the same stores in strip mall format...walmart...home depot...fast food...chain restaurant....repeat over and over for miles and miles. After a visit there, you will see Monroe in a completely different light.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by sugarlips

Come one...that is such a jerky thing to say. New Jersey has some areas that have historical main streets that are full of charm. Why the hate? Have you been to through the entire state of NJ? I can't speak for Northern New Jersey but Southern New Jersey has some very nice small towns that have preserved their historical character.

Seriously, a well thought out and more articulate response would have been to compare Monroe to a specific NJ town that you have believe represents this hodgepodge development you describe.

Now, I don't appreciate the cookie-cutter developments either. For a real wake-up call, take a visit to the southwest or cali where every third house looks the same and you can reach out and touch yours and your neighbors shared block wall from your kitchen window. Where on every other corner there is the same stores in strip mall format...walmart...home depot...fast food...chain restaurant....repeat over and over for miles and miles. After a visit there, you will see Monroe in a completely different light.

Excellent points Sugarlips! Jay

[acornsower]

Hey--lighten up on me! The intent of my post was NOT to besmear the entire state of New Jersey.

In trying to convey a thought in the most expeditious manner one often paints things or places with a broad brush. Newark has some magnificent neighborhoods overlooking Branch Brook Park and of course the fascinating Ironbound district, and Detroit has portions of its northeastern quadrant where the homes equal or exceed the splendor of those across the line in Grosse Pointe--but if I compared something to 'Newark and Detroit' you'd get the picture. Likewise, I once heard a well-to-do Southport matron describe an overly pretentious house as 'so Cleveland,' and I knew at once that she was not referring to the modest two-family houses that make up 90% of that city.

The originator of this thread had heard about a surfeit of development in the town, and I responded from the standpoint of someone whose family has been a part of Monroe since the 1800s. Ill-conceived large-scale developments began there during the 1960s and those early mistakes have compounded ever since, and the old families are aghast at what has transpired. If you would prefer please read 'San Bernardino County' for 'New Jersey' (but then of course you have those boulevards of hundred-foot date palms lined with gracious old Victorian mansions in Redlands...).

Yes, I've been to Cape May and seen the beautiful 18th-century brick manors in Salem and gotten happily lost in the dreamy Pine Barrens. But when somebody responds to my post regarding Bridgeport with a remark that he hadn't noticed all the positive changes because he was too busy running for his life, I laugh!

[sugarlips]

Well, your last explanation is much more eloquently expressed and was much more convincing as to why you feel that Monroe has lost the charm it once had in the past.

My problem was with your statements and not with you.