Ocean Grove Record

From the Files of the HPC

The after shot - 115 Main Avenue.
115 Main: A Work In Progress
By J. Shaffer When Steve Mandeville and Victor Aluise moved to Ocean Grove in 1998, they bought a house on Broadway. But Steve let the realtor know that his favorite house in town was 115 Main. The realtor remembered. When 115 Main came up for sale in 2007, Steve and Victor sold their Broadway home and moved north. 115 Main is huge, stretching across two lots from Main to Mount Hermon. It was built in the mid-1890’s, but Victor and Steve learned that it was not the first house on the site. Dr. Alday, one of the founders of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting, owned the lots. His original home – the smaller “Alday Cottage” – stood on the Mount Hermon lot. This house burned down in the 1880’s. When Dr. Alday built his new home, he chose the then-fashionable – and grandiose – Queen Anne style. Steve and Victor have a photo – a copy is available to the public at the Historical Society – that shows just how spectacular 115 Main was. The core structure of Dr. Alday’s turreted house is still intact, but many exterior details have been lost. The original windows are gone, as is the original railing on the first floor front porch, although a glimpse of its intricate design remains on the side stair, facing Delaware Avenue. The porch was altered to support a large deck (a tiny second floor porch that was tucked next to the tower was long gone). The entire house was covered in asbestos shingle. Steve and Victor intend to preserve and restore 115 Main. Given the scope of the project, they decided to take it step by step, over time. Steve came to the HPC in June of 2007 with plans to replace the modern windows with custom Queen Anne style windows and to paint the entire house. The HPC approved the application, but, because Steve and Victor had not settled on the paint colors, the Commission asked them to submit their final choices to “tech review” before they began work. Tech review, conducted by two board members, serves a dual purpose. The board members look over applications to ensure they are complete before they are presented at a formal meeting. They also can approve simple, straightforward applications that clearly adhere to the Historic District’s Preservation Guidelines, saving the homeowners a trip to an HPC meeting. When it comes to exterior paint, the HPC automatically approves colors from the Benjamin Moore historic palette. Within those extensive choices, there is something to suit everyone’s taste, whether they wish to achieve a vibrant, multi-colored effect or something more subdued. Since Steve and Victor submitted colors from the historic palette, their paint color choices were approved in tech. During the HPC meeting, Steve mentioned that he and Victor eventually intended to remove the house’s asbestos siding. Given the sheer size of 115 Main, uncovering the exterior is a daunting task, and hard on the wallet. Steve and Victor proposed tackling this project bit by bit, and submitted an amendment to their original application outlining their first step. As the Board requests, they had taken off some of the asbestos to see what was beneath. They found that the original clapboard and shingles remained. For the first stage of work, they went for instant gratification, exposing the bay that faces Fireman’s Park. This portion of the house had the fabulous, varied decoration so typical of the Queen Anne style. Steve and Victor’s application stated their intent to preserve all the original material that they could, and replicate what was unsalvageable. Fortunately, the intricate cut shingles and vertical board that form decorative bands across the bay were in good shape and needed only to be scraped and painted. The clapboard under the windows was rotted and had to be replaced with new cedar planks. By exposing the bay, Victor and Steve highlighted the relationship of 115 Main to its surroundings. While it carries a Main Street address, the house is not really about Ocean Grove’s central street: it’s all about the park. (In fact, the park was once known as “Alday Park.”) The house sits on the corner of Delaware, far back from Main, and its turret and bay face Firemen’s Park, taking advantage of that open space for dramatic effect. After they have refreshed their coffers, Steve and Victor plan to apply to the HPC to uncover the turret, which promises to provide more flash. Thus they will begin another step in what promises to be a long but terrifically worthwhile project. Dr. J. Shaffer is an architectural historian. She has been on the HPC for almost three years.
The before shot - 115 Main Avenue

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