10 Most 2025: Van Houten House – City of Paterson (Passaic County)

The Van Houten House, located within Paterson’s 26.6-acre Westside Park along the Passaic River, is a historically significant city-owned property dating back to the early 18th century. Originally part of a working farm acquired by the Society for the Establishment of Useful Manufactures (S.U.M.) from the Dutch-American Van Houten family, the house includes two distinct sections: a 1741 east wing, a modest one-story stone structure typical of Dutch-American colonial homes, and a larger 1831 west wing, built after a fire, featuring Greek Revival influences under a gambrel roof.

Once preserved as part of the park’s historic landscape, the Van Houten House has suffered serious neglect since its closure to the public in 2011. Its chimney collapsed in 2018 and a fire followed in 2019, yet the city has taken no action to stabilize or protect it. Officials have even considered demolition, putting one of Paterson’s oldest remaining homes—and a rare example of early Dutch-American architecture—at serious risk of being lost.

The Public’s Interest in History Goes Beneath the Surface
When it comes to historic landmarks, most people picture buildings: a grand mansion, an old farmhouse, or perhaps a commercial structure that holds significance to the origins of a municipality. But what if we scratch beneath the surface? What past secrets and stories might lie in the soil of long-undisturbed land? Two New Jersey communities…
10 Most 2025: The Universal Building – Jersey City (Hudson County)
The Universal Building, located at 50 Journal Square in Jersey City, is a significant architectural and cultural landmark now at risk of demolition. Built between 1925–1926 by Henry W. Runyon’s Universal Securities Corporation, it is an early example of a flatiron-style skyscraper, standing eight slender stories high on a triangular lot. Designed by the renowned…
Preservation and Politics in Plainfield
First and foremost in the practice of historic preservation planning is always its connection to local politics. This is the story of a challenge that I faced a while back, as Chairman of the Plainfield Historic Preservation Commission. Our Administration has placed great effort behind packaging parcels of available land, such as lots where buildings…