The Maplewood Municipal Building — more popularly known as Maplewood Town Hall — is now on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places.
“Having our beautiful town hall honored by both Registers shows the hard work of Maplewood’s Historic Preservation Commission,” said Deputy Mayor Kathy Leventhal in an email to The Village Green. She credited the leadership of HPC Chair Virginia Kurshan.
The Municipal Building, like many of the schools in town, is the work of the architectural firm of Guilbert & Betelle. Its construction was completed in 1931.
The designations make the building eligible for possible grant money and tax credits. The state designation also provides the building with some protection. The national designation does not — unless the building has obtained federal money.
Per the National Park Service website: “From the Federal perspective (the National Register of Historic Places is part of the National Park Service), a property owner can do whatever they want with their property as long as there are no Federal monies attached to the property…. If Federal monies are attached to the property then any changes to the property have to allow the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (www.achp.gov) to comment on the project.”
At the state level, the New Jersey Register of Historic Places Act requires that “actions by state, county, or local governments, which may impact a property listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places, be reviewed and authorized through the HPO” — the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office.
The letter from the Administrator Daniel D. Saunders of the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Natural & Historic Resources to Mayor Vic DeLuca reads:
I write to inform you that the Maplewood Municipal Building at 574 Valley Street in the Township of Maplewood, Essex County was entered into the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on May 1, 2014. The New Jersey Register is the official list of New Jersey properties worthy of preservation. The Maplewood Municipal Building is now protected by the review process for public projects established by New Jersey Register of Historic Places Act (N.J.A.C. 7:4).
I am also pleased to inform you that the Maplewood Municipal Building was entered into the National Register of Historic Places on October 1, 2014. The National Register is the Nation’s official list of cultural resources significant in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.
