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Posts Tagged ‘Manchester Inn in Ocean Grove’

After the Manchester Inn.

Posted in Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, Photographic Gallery, Black and White, Photographic Gallery: Ocean Grove, tagged , on November 24, 2015| 2 Comments »

Manchester Inn, Ocean Pathway, Ocean Grove. c.2002. Paul Goldfinger photo. ©

Manchester Inn,1880-2010,  Christmas c. 1998.    Ocean Pathway, Ocean Grove. c.2002. Paul Goldfinger photo. ©  Silver -gelatin darkroom print.

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger

The Manchester Inn was supposed to be turned into condominiums until it burned to the ground in March, 2010.   According to zoning, it should have been replaced by a single family house, but the Board of Adjustment gave the owner variances to build two houses and to make them 3 1/2 stories high instead of the zoned 2 1/2 stories.  The owner was also allowed to infringe on the flare zone.

The rationale for the variances was that the Manchester Inn was preceded by two historic houses which were replicated in the new houses.  This is yet another example where zoning legerdemain prevailed over the protests of citizens.

MAUDE MAGGART   sings Irving Berlin

 

 

 

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Is Ocean Grove in danger of becoming Disneyland?

Posted in Ocean Grove history, tagged , on October 29, 2014| 8 Comments »

Manchester Inn. 2004. By Paul Goldfinger ©

Manchester Inn. 2004. By Paul Goldfinger ©

Historic preservation is in the hands of the HPC, but sometimes they can get overruled at the board level. Has the job being done to save our historical architecture been successful, or is our town in danger of losing its battle to remain historically relevant and accurate?

As you know, two very expensive homes were built where the Manchester used to reside, before it burned down in the winter of 2010. Today, an Ocean Grover alerted us to an analysis regarding those two new houses and whether or not they were created true to history.

This is the link which he sent.  It is highly technical, but for those of you who like to dig into these matters, here it is:

architectural analysis link

It would be wonderful if the HPC were to respond to this critique, but that is not going to happen unless they change their mind about  reaching out to our many readers.

I guess most of us trust the process in town of doing the right thing, but perhaps our confidence is misplaced. Make sure you read J. Cortese’s comment as well.—-PG

ps

Here is a link to a Charles Layton article in July 2011 regarding the approval process for those two new houses on the Ocean Pathway.    Manchester article on BF   Many commenters expressed concerns about favoritism and double standards at the Zoning Board.

MAUDE  MAGGART sings Irving Berlin

 

–Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger

 

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