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.