WESTFIELD — Efforts to create Westfield’s second locally-designated historic district are underway on West Dudley Avenue, where property owners are stepping forward to preserve and protect their 100-plus-year-old, Queen Annestyle homes.
“The preservation of historic architecture is a keen interest of mine, so it was not a difficult decision for my husband and me to designate our own 1902 Queen Anne-style home,” said Jacqueline Brevard, who serves as a member of the Westfield Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). “We live in a block facing Clark Memorial Park, where many of the homes were built around 1888-1903 on land originally owned by the Clark family.”
On Monday, the HPC announced that Ms. Brevard, who owns a twostory home at 266 West Dudley Avenue, and two of her neighbors have opted to put their homes up for consideration as locally-designated properties of historic interest.
“Our neighbors have lovingly restored their historic homes, and I got the bright idea for us to become the second historic district in Westfield — the West Dudley Historic District; the first being the Kimball Historic District,” Ms. Brevard said. “I hope that others join us. We are also hoping to include Clark Memorial Park in the new district, and have had discussions in this regard with town officials.”
According to a nomination packet prepared by Tim Adriance, a Bergenfield-based historic-restoration consultant, and Barton Ross, the town’s historic preservation architect, the three houses date back to the days when the railroads helped to transform the community from an agricultural farm village to the busy residential town that it is today.
“The subject houses on West Dudley Avenue exhibit many classic characteristics of the Queen Anne style, including a dominant frontfacing gable; an asymmetrical façade; a mix of wall finish materials including horizontal wood siding; grouped window; porches and detailed accents,” the nomination report states.
“I love it when we get to see commission members walking the walk, so to speak,” HPC Chair Jennifer Jaruzelski said. “We always love to see it when residents get excited about voluntarily designating their own homes.”
The nomination report will now be sent to the Westfield Town Council and Westfield Planning Board for final review and approval.
In other HPC news, Ms. Jaruzelski said Monday that plans to add downtown Westfield to the National Register of Historic Places are moving ahead.
“Realistically, we won’t see this happen until sometime in early 2025,” she said. “It’s a long process, but we’re making progress.”
The next meeting of the Westfield Historic Preservation Commission will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, June 24, at the town hall.
