By Dr.
J. Shaffer
About three years ago, Dave and Arlene Philo
sold their house at 30 Olin to buy 58 Lake. They had won a Preservation
Award from the Ocean Grove Historical Society for their work
on the Olin cottage, but, apparently, the Philos’ thirst
for preserving architectural gems was not satisfied.
58 Lake is a long building – stretching
over two lots between Lake and Asbury Avenues – with ample
yard (in Ocean Grove!) both in front and back. The house has
a complex history. It is clear from the exterior, with its varying
roof heights, that it was built in three sections. The central
third of the house is the oldest. Dave and Arlene have been
told that this original structure is the “Cookman Cottage”
and thus dates to early in Ocean Grove’s history. The
front third, with its distinctive witch’s hat turret,
was probably built in the 1890’s, when the Queen Anne
style was all the rage. The rear third, towards Asbury Ave.,
was probably added in the 1920’s.
Over the years, the exterior of 58 Lake had
all but disappeared. The wrap-around porch had been turned into
a sunroom using odds and ends of lumber and windows of various
sizes. The entire house had been encased in aluminum. Although
previous owners had removed some of the siding on the front
to reveal the original Queen Anne sheathing, which includes
dragon scale shakes and sawtooth siding, the Philos knew there
had to be more. They decided to uncover and preserve it all.
Dave came before the HPC with photos which showed
that, while portions of the porch had been destroyed to make
way for the sunroom, some original elements were still embedded
in the walls. He planned to save the four turned posts, three
sections of railing, and nine decorative brackets, and proposed
to use these original elements to replicate, down to the last
detail, what was needed to complete the porch – five posts,
four sections of railing, and nine brackets.
The Philos had old postcards looking across
Wesley Lake from Asbury Park (apparently there were no marauding
Canadian geese back then) that showed the original façade
of 58 Lake with a stick and ball railing on the small second
floor porch. Dave proposed removing the later twentieth-century
wrought iron railing and recreating this typical Queen Anne
detail.
While the Queen Anne front of the house is spectacular
– indeed, the Queen Anne style was all about being spectacular
– the Philos were excited to uncover the middle third
of the house. The HPC asks homeowners to try to find out what
the original siding on their home is if they are proposing exterior
work. Dave’s exploratory surgery revealed no less than
four (!) layers on this section. Outermost was the aluminum,
then came asbestos siding, below that wood clapboard, and, finally,
the original board and batten – so typical of Ocean Grove’s
earliest summer cottages, but so rarely intact today. Dave proposed
uncovering and preserving this vertical siding. As for the 1920’s
addition, the goal was to reveal and preserve its wood clapboard.
The Philos’ application was a no-brainer
for the HPC; their plans, which included repainting the house
in historic colors, were approved unanimously. Thanks to the
Philos, 58 Lake now proudly reveals its quirky history –
its simple board and batten cottage core, its stunning Lake
Ave. front with classic Queen Anne forms and over-the-top decorative
detailing, and its small, clapboard rear addition.
This building’s mixture of forms, styles
and materials is typical of Ocean Grove’s historic homes.
Few of them were built all of a piece. Rather, they are additive
works that can tell us much about changing forms and tastes
in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Dave still has to uncover the east side of the
house – removing those multiple layers is no easy task!
After that, there is still more work to be done. Dave says that
his next big project is to rehabilitate the windows, many of
which – most noticeably the exquisite Queen Annes, with
their small panes of colored glass – are original. He
plans to remove, scrape, putty, paint, re-weight and re-hang
each one, which will add even more luster to this jewel at 58
Lake.
- Dr.
J. Shaffer is an architectural historian. She has been on the
HPC for almost three years.