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Apparently the place was built by a real eccentric type of person. My friend does not know the name, but the guy apparently loved having a big lawn in front of his place and liked his peace and quiet. Weird with today's roads right in front, but back in the 1950's when the place was built (c. 1950's), Route 1 was "only" what we see as the Northbound side and Jersey Avenue actually came out onto Route 1 by the old Coca-Cola Bottling Plant which is on the Southbound side just below what's left of the mall where the old PathMark used to be.
In the basement there is apparently a full three lane bowling alley and what today could be called a media room with a projection system just like you would find in the old movie houses.
I had not heard of it being used an animal shelter, though I do know the North Brunswick Animal Shelter was somewhere around that part of North Brunswick. IIRC, it may have been over where the current Verizon store is located, but I cannot say that with certainty.
Anyway, the property is unique. When I have time, I'm going to touch base with the tax assessor's office in North Brunswick just to see what other information may be available.
Thank you for ferretting out that information, RUNYYfan!
Despite others' claims that it had been a commercial building of some kind, I was convinced that the very large porch area and expensive stone construction ruled out commercial construction/usage.
While I am surprised that the building apparently dates back to the '50s, I guess that the wealthy/eccentric owner was able to hire a very futuristic architect for this design job. In any event, it appears that I was more or less on target when I stated that whoever built that house apparently had more money than he had taste.
As to the reality that Route 1 was originally much further from the building, I was aware of that.
That area originally featured a drive-in theater, just south of the traffic circle, more or less in the location of the Wal-Mart. Even though I lived in Hudson County at the time (1967), I recall that area fairly well because I was stopped and ticketed for speeding by the NJSP right in front of that drive-in, and I do recall that the original highway was much narrower, and the southbound lanes were nowhere near as far to the west as they are nowadays.
Now, if you can find out the remaining details--who built the house, and who is still paying property taxes on the structure--that will clear up most of the mystery of this building.
Just asked a friend who is a bit older than me. He said the dude who had it built somehow inherited a lot of money when his parents divorced. Back then it was not the commercial/industrial area that it is now and he had a large "mansion" built to get back at his brother with whom he apparently had a strained relationship at the time.
The township owns it now. That is marble imported from Italy, but the structure is not worth anything now that its surroundings are basically an industrial park. And who with any amount of money would want to live right next to Arm & Hammer (not there anymore either now - and used to be Goodyear before that). Good luck getting out of the driveway at 4PM.
I do not know when it became an animal shelter or what the story was surrounding that, but I do remember something like that being in that area during the mid to late 1980s.
If the township owns that building, I wonder why they do not just knock it down. As it is, in addition to being an eyesore, it represents a liability if some kids get hurt on that untended property.
If the township owns that building, I wonder why they do not just knock it down. As it is, in addition to being an eyesore, it represents a liability if some kids get hurt on that untended property.
The same can be said for that retention pond right across the street. Someone could drown in that too.
The same can be said for that retention pond right across the street. Someone could drown in that too.
An abandoned house and a Retention Basin both prevent an "attractive nuisance" to foolhardy kids and other individuals, and both could potentially be the scene of an accidental injury or death. However, I really hope that you are jesting and that you are able to distinguish between the two situations!
Retention Basins are installed in order to prevent--or at least to attenuate--flooding caused by run-off of large amounts of rainwater from paved areas. In fact, state regulations mandate Retention Basins in many instances of new construction, be it a residential development, a commercial project, or the widening of a highway--as in the case of the Rt 1/Jersey Avenue situation.
Then we have derelict, abandoned housing.
Can you explain what benefits accrue to the residents or the government of the Township of North Brunswick by allowing this attractive nuisance to stand for so many years?
Can you point me toward any regulations that cause North Brunswick's local government to have to keep this structure standing?
An abandoned house and a Retention Basin both prevent an "attractive nuisance" to foolhardy kids and other individuals, and both could potentially be the scene of an accidental injury or death. However, I really hope that you are jesting and that you are able to distinguish between the two situations!
Retention Basins are installed in order to prevent--or at least to attenuate--flooding caused by run-off of large amounts of rainwater from paved areas. In fact, state regulations mandate Retention Basins in many instances of new construction, be it a residential development, a commercial project, or the widening of a highway--as in the case of the Rt 1/Jersey Avenue situation.
Then we have derelict, abandoned housing.
Can you explain what benefits accrue to the residents or the government of the Township of North Brunswick by allowing this attractive nuisance to stand for so many years?
Can you point me toward any regulations that cause North Brunswick's local government to have to keep this structure standing?
I really hope that your response was in jest.
Yes it was.
In all seriousness, according to the guy who gave me the bit of info about it, he said they are talking about knocking it down, but no one knows when that will actually happen.
I have lived here for two years and I have to say although the services are very good as far as recycling, garbage and leaf pickup and plowing the roads in the winter, it seems to take them forever to do anything like fix or knock down old buildings. The Lamppost Lounge on Livingston Ave burnt down years ago, which left a big hole in the ground there and they put up a temporary fence around it. Only last year did they even fill the hole with dirt and start building something there out of wood.
Location: Splitting time between Dayton, NJ and Needmore, PA
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Originally Posted by HubCityMadMan
Just asked a friend who is a bit older than me. He said the dude who had it built somehow inherited a lot of money when his parents divorced. Back then it was not the commercial/industrial area that it is now and he had a large "mansion" built to get back at his brother with whom he apparently had a strained relationship at the time.
Bingo! I circled back with a friend of mine who used to live in the area and he confirmed the inheritance and strained relationship with family members. And he also confirmed that is imported Italian marble.
He was intrigued that the town actually bought the place. Seems like a waste of money unless they are going to tear it down and turn the area into another soccer field (sarcasm). They could probably make money on selling off the marble!
So I passed this home yesterday, and it got me thinking about this thread and if there was any new info. It was slow at work today so I did some digging on the net.
The home was built in 1972. 4900 sq ft. It is not owned by the city, its actually owned by an LLC which i am pretty sure is owned by the original owners kid(s). Mater of fact, i am fairly confident that the owners kids live in the large homes adjacent to this home. Notice how large the adjacent lots are compared to the rest of the homes in the area. The family owned a lot of land, a lot. They sold some parcels to the Maloufs and others along rt 1. I couldnt find any info on the orig owners folks to see how they acquired said land. I would kill to see the inside of the home. I assume tresspassing is out considering the kids live next door. too bad.
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