86 Buena Vista Avenue – “Box Lawn”
John and Kristen Hall – Restoration/Rehabilitation

Older structures where major original features have been carefully preserved or replicated for original use

• John and Kristen purchased 86 Buena Vista Avenue, also known as “Box Lawn” in 2013
• Built in the 1880s, Box Lawn was primarily a summer home
• By 2013, the exterior had fallen into extreme disrepair.
• Exterior siding was removed by the Halls and new cedar shingles installed on the entire home and garage.
• New wooden windows installed and metal sliding doors were replaced with period wooden doors.
• Exterior iron railings were removed and replaced with a weather resistance engineered wood railings to match the original wooden railing of the wrap around porches.
• In order to gain access to the veranda, custom mahogany storm doors were made to replace the fixed storm windows that covered the original chestnut doors in the parlor.
• Additionally, there has been extensive renovation on the interior of the home and new landscaping on the property.
• The Commission is pleased to have residents who are committed to preserving our historic properties

Roberta H. Van Anda – Preservation Champion

Celebrating an individual dedicated to preserving Rumson’s heritage

• Bobbie is a local Historian and author and has lived in Rumson for most of her life
• She was a teacher at both Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School and the Rumson Country Day School
• Bobbie served on local boards of education, as well as, the New Jersey State Board of Education
• For over a decade she was the editor of the Rumson Borough Bulletin and a member of Rumson Community Appeal
• As editor of the Borough Bulletin she researched and wrote many in depth articles of famous Rumson homes and can be found on the HPC website.
• Bobbie recently authored the book “Legendary Locals of Rumson”
• She continues to be a valuable resource to the Historic Preservation Commission in our work and is a wealth of information!
• The Commission wishes to thank Bobbie for her continued support and her dedication to the preservation of Rumson’s history.

Randall Gabrielan – Preservation Champion

• Turned his avocation of local history into a second career.
• Has written dozens of historical books, numerous article and research reports that include many individual properties in Rumson.
• Has served over 13 years as Executive Director of the Monmouth County Historical Commission in Freehold is currently Commission Vice-Chair.
• Mr. Gabrielan also serves as the County’s appointed historian.
• When our Commission first embarked on the mission to catalog and review our town’s inventory of historic and significant buildings it was a large undertaking to say the least.
• Mr. Gabrielan’s books were invaluable as a resource, both as a reference and an architectural style guide.
• We owe Mr Gabrielan a great debt of gratitude for the passion and commitment to the history of not only Rumson, but many of our surrounding towns.

90 West River Road
John and Marjorie Tedesco – Stewardship

• Property at 90 West River Road is owned by John and Marjorie Tedesco.
• Three buildings dating back to 1889 exist on the property: Carriage House/Ballroom, working Carousel in the old stables and a Guest House containing a private chapel.
• Architect for the estate was William Welles Bosworth of Bosworth & Holden in New York, who designed the buildings for Edwin Drexel Godfrey. Godfrey who was tied by marriage to the Hoaglands who owned Auldwood, a magnifient estate in Rumson.
• While the original main house on the property was lost in a fire, the Tedesco’s rebuilt a beautiful home on the property twenty-five years ago.
• Fortunately, the 1889 buildings remained and have been painstakingly restored and maintained by the Tedesco’s.
• Rumson is fortunate for the dedication and commitment of stewardship that has preserved a part of Rumson history when large and magnificent estates were abundant.

30 Lafayette Street
Jon and Lauren Carras –
Sympathetic/Sensitive Addition

• 30 Lafayette Street in Rumson is a Victorian home built in 1887. When Jon and Lauren Carras bought it in 2011, the home had fallen into disrepair. The plaster walls were caving in, the porch was starting to collapse and the home needed a total gut renovation.
• Looking to expand the home, the Carras’ designed an addition that would seamlessly incorporate a third turret on the back of the house to mirror the two original ones on the front of the house.
• The home was stripped of all siding and the addition was added to the back of the home. Then new cedar shingles were put up so that the home had a uniform look that would age appropriately and wouldn’t look like an addition was ever done in the first place.
• As a finishing touch, gaslights were added on both sides of the original front door to flicker beneath the stained glass windows that may have been taken out of a local church when the home was being built.

The Historic Preservation Commission would also like to thank Jon and Lauren Carras and John and Marjorie Tedesco for their hospitality and tours of their respective properties.