PSEG North Central Reliability Project mentioned in B Feeney email rcd 11 14 2025

HPO Project# 11-1547-7 HPO E2012-033 PROD Page 1 of 8 State of New Jersey MAIL CODE 501-04B DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NATURAL & HISTORIC RESOURCES HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE P.O. Box420 Trenton, NJ 08625-0420 TEL. (609)984-0176 FAX (609)984-0578 CHRIS CHRISTIE Governor KIM GUADAGNO BOB MARTIN Commissioner Lt. Governor MEMORANDUM TO: Susan Michniewski, Project Review Officer Land Use Regulation FROM: Daniel D. Saunders, Administrator Historic Preservation Officer SUBJECT: Essex, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset & Union Counties, Multiple Municipalities PSE&G North Central Reliability Project LUR File# 0000-11-0008.1 DATE: May 3, 2012 Tue Historic Preservation Office (HPO) appreciates receiving for our review and comments Intensive-Level Architectural Survey, North Central Reliability Project, PSE&G Services Corporation, Essex, Morris, Somerset, Union, and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey, prepared by Richard Grubb and Associates, Inc., and dated February 2012. Summary: (New SHPO Opinions): Twelve (12) newly identified historic properties have been evaluated in the submitted report as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places: (1) Public Service Electric and Gas Company Northern Inner Ring Transmission Line; (2) West Orange Switching Sub-Station; (3) Metuchen Switching Sub-Station; (4) Force Farmhouse, 339 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Livingston Township; (5) Phebe Beach House, 76 Beaufort Avenue, Livingston Township; (6) Squiretown Public School (Horizon School), 51 Old Road, Livingston Township: (7) Anderson Squire House. 144 Walnut Street, Livingston Township; (8) Darling-Noe-Miller House, 184 Southern Boulevard, Chatham Township; (9) Southern Boulevard School, 192 Southern Boulevard, Chatham Township; (10) S.G. Milosy Greenhouses, 1325 Terrill Road, Scotch Plains Township; (11) Sea Captain Brown's House, 1391 Raritan Road, Scotch Plains Township; (12) Mount Saint Mary Academy, 1645 Route 22 West, Watching Borough. The project as currently described will have an adverse effect on three (3) historic properties, Public Service Electric and Gas Company Northern Inner Ring Transmission Line, Littell-Lord Farmstead at 23 and 31 Horseshoe Road, and Gershom and Elizabeth Frazee House.

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HPO Project# 11-1547-7 HPO E2012-033 PROD Page 2 of 8 Identification of Historic Properties The North Central Reliability Project will convert and increase the capacity of an existing Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) Company 138 kV transmission line and three switching sub-stations to 230kV. The project will affect sections of a 138 kV transmission line known historically as the Northern Inner Ring Transmission Line. The sections to be affected by the North Central Reliability Project operate between PSE&G Company's West Orange, Roseland, and Metuchen Switching Sub-stations, I concur with the conclusion of the submitted report that the following twenty-one (21) previously identified historic properties are within the delineated Area of Potential Effects (APE) of the proposed project: Llewellyn Park Historic District, New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places (NJ&NRHP) listed Pennsylvania-New Jersey Interconnection, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, September 9, 2011 Roseland Switching Station, New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) Opinion of Eligibility, September 9, 2011 Washington Place Schoolhouse, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, November 20, 1981 Dickinson House, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, November 20, 1981 10 Garden Place, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, November 20, 1981 Old Main Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad (DL&WRR), SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, April 24, 1996 Union Avenue Bridge, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, January 20, 1999 Lafayette Avenue Bridge, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, January 20, 1999 Passaic River Parkway, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, March 18, 2005 Nathaniel Smith House, NJ&NRHP listed Gladstone Branch of the DL&WRR, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, October 20, 2010 Littell-Lord House (Farmstead), 23 and 31 Horseshoe Road, NJ&NRHP listed Fanwood Park Historic District, NJ&NRHP listed Fanwood Railroad Station, NJ&NRHP listed Central Railroad of New Jersey Mainline Historic District, Determination of Eligibility (November 30, 1995) and SHPO Opinion of Eligibility (June 1, 1991) Lampkin House, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, April 28, 1989 Gershom and Elizabeth Frazee House, NJ&NRHP listed Ash Brook Golf Course and Reservation, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, March 18, 2005 Homestead Farm at Oak Ridge, NJ&NRHP listed Lehigh Valley Railroad Historic District, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, March 15, 2002. I also

e and Reservation, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, March 18, 2005 Homestead Farm at Oak Ridge, NJ&NRHP listed Lehigh Valley Railroad Historic District, SHPO Opinion of Eligibility, March 15, 2002. I also concur with the recommendation of the submitted report that the following eleven (11) historic properties are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). These are new SHPO Opinions of Eligibility. The Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) Company Northern Inner Ring Transmission Line is described by the submitted report as a "132,000-volt, double-circuit transmission line" that "extends for approximately 52 miles and is carried on standard square, tapered [lattice braced] steel transmission towers from the Kearny [Hudson County] Generating Station to four switching/ sub-stations at Athenia [Clifton], Roseland, West Orange, and

HPO Project# 11-1547-7 HPO E2012-033 PROD Page 3 of 10 Metuchen." The Northern Inner Ring was constructed between 1926 and 1928 and "encircles" PSE&G's "northern service territory and the state's historically urban and industrial core." The report notes that "The Northern Inner Ring eventually formed part of the infrastructure necessary for PSE&G to function effectively and to help it implement the company's more ambitious plans for a 220,000-volt power pool known as the Pennsylvania-New Jersey Interconnection between itself, Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO), and Pennsylvania Power and Light (PP&L), completed in 1932" and cites character-defining features as the "tall narrow steel transmission towers, long straight stretches of remote right of way, widely spaced outdoor switching substations [each] with adjacent multi-story brick support building housing a control room, offices, storage space, and a tall transformer repair shop." The justification of eligibility concludes that the Northern Inner Ring Transmission Line is "eligible for listing in the National Register at the state level under Criterion A in the area of Engineering, Industry, and Commerce and under Criterion C as a significant and distinguishable entity. The Northern Inner Ring Transmission Line established a means to back up and supplement power to the utility's internal system of generation and radial distribution networks by means of a 132,000-volt transmission line and four new switching/ sub-stations." The system "facilitated the distribution of dependable electrical energy to the state's historically urban northern industrial core, helping to meet the region's increasing demand for electricity and transforming industry in the process. In conjunction with other high-voltage transmission lines built at the same time by PSE&G and other utilities, the Northern Inner Ring Transmission Line formed the first part of the utility's comprehensive plans to integrate its entire system through 132,000-volt transmission." The justification of eligibility also notes that the National Register of Historic Places eligible Northern Inner Ring Transmission Line continues beyond the limits of the current North Central Reliability Project and that "future surveys of other sections of the line may lead to changes in the property's period of significance and boundaries." The period of significance of the

North Central Reliability Project and that "future surveys of other sections of the line may lead to changes in the property's period of significance and boundaries." The period of significance of the portions of the Northern Inner Ring Transmission Line that will be affected by the North Central Reliability Project is identified as from 1927, with the beginning of construction, to 1951, with changes resulting from the opening of the Sewaren generating station. The West Orange Switching Sub-Station and Metuchen Switching Sub-Station are described as "retaining the same Art Deco styling and overall form as the [individually National Register of Historic Places eligible] Roseland Sub-station." The justification of eligibility concludes that both the West Orange and Metuchen Switching Sub-stations are eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A in the area of Architecture as a distinctive and well-preserved example of Industrial Art-Deco-style architecture associated with the electrical utility industry. The West Orange Sub-station includes the central brick control room and repair shop, brick gate house, and brick and cast-iron perimeter fence. The Metuchen Substation consists of the central brick building containing the control room and transformer repair shop. Both the West Orange and Metuchen Switching Sub-stations are key-contributing buildings to the PSE&G Northern Inner Ring Transmission Line. The Force Farmhouse, 339 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Livingston Township, is described in the report as "a well preserved and an excellent example of Gothic Revival style architecture" and a "building that retains nearly all of its building fabric and detail." These features include "wood clapboards, wood sash windows, bracketed cornices, ornately decorated porches, and double wood central doors." The justification of eligibility concludes that, because the Force Farmhouse

HPO Project# 11-1547-7 HPO £2012-033 PROD Page 4 of 10 "still conveys the feeling of a prosperous rural farmhouse associated with the locally wellestablished Force family," the building is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C. The Phebe Beach House, 76 Beaufort Avenue, Livingston Township, is described by the report as a "one-and-a-half story, wood-shingled vernacular frame dwelling built in three stages, beginning circa 1730" and "reported to be the oldest remaining structure in Livingston Township." The Phebe Beach House is significant as a "well preserved example of eighteenth-century residential architecture" associated with the Beach Family, "who were early settlers to the region, local landowners, farmers, and, during the eighteenth century, shoemakers." The justification of eligibility concludes that the Phebe Beach House is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A and Criterion C. Squiretown Public School (Horizon School), 51 Old Road, Livingston Township, is described by the report as eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C as "an excellent example of the Collegiate Gothic style retaining a high integrity of materials and design" and under Criterion A for "its historical associations with the development of public education in Livingston Township." The Anderson Squire House, 144 Walnut Street, Livingston Township, is described as "an intact and well-preserved example of a multi-generational farmstead with a mid-eighteenth century vernacular central block and early nineteen century Federal style northern block." Agricultural outbuildings on the property include a barn, corncrib, and shed all "dating from the late nineteenth century to circa 1940." The Anderson Squire House is associated with the "settlement of Livingston Township and the locally well-established Squire Family." The Squire Family, "who were among the earliest settlers of western Essex County, from which the local place name Squiretown is derived,... owned and occupied the Anderson Squire House for 200 years." Because of its historical associations with the settlement of Livingston Township, the "well preserved northern block, which is an excellent example of Federal-style architecture," and the surviving outbuildings, the Anderson Squire House is

th the settlement of Livingston Township, the "well preserved northern block, which is an excellent example of Federal-style architecture," and the surviving outbuildings, the Anderson Squire House is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A and Criterion C. The Darling-Noe-Miller House, 184 Southern Boulevard, Chatham Township, associated with the early and long-term Chatham residents William Darling, Lewis Noe, and Smith M. Miller, is described as "a well preserved and intact farmhouse originally built circa 1750 and expanded through the 1830s" and "one of the oldest remaining dwellings in Chatham Township." The building is described as having an original circa 1750 two-bay section possibly built by Thomas Darling and modification and additions through the 1830s that attest to the changing lifestyle and architectural taste of subsequent owners, Lewis Noe and Smith M. Miller. The justification of eligibility concludes, because the house is associated with prominent early Chatham residents William Darling, Lewis Noe, and Samuel M. Miller and "retains most of its historic building fabric," the Darling-Noe-Miller House is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A and Criterion C. Southern Boulevard School, 192 Southern Boulevard, Chatham Township, is described as "a good example of the Colonial Revival style and retains a high integrity of materials and design" and, therefore, is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C. The Southern Boulevard School is also an important building in the history of

HPO Project# 11-1547-7 HPO E2012-033 PROD Page 5 of 10 education in Chatham Township and the justification of eligibility concludes: "For its association with the history of public education in Chatham, and as [a] representative example of early twentieth century school architecture, the Southern Boulevard School is recommended eligible under Criterion A as well." The S.G. Milosy Greenhouses, 1325 Terrill Road, Scotch Plains Township, are described as a series of commercial greenhouses constructed circa 1925 with later additions and alterations dating from the 1930s. The facility includes a "two-story, brick main block on the south" and a "power plant on the north" with a work shed between them and greenhouses extending "from both sides of the work shed, with 4 large buildings on the northeast and 11 smaller greenhouses on the southwest." The power plant has "an attached, tapered cylindrical brick smokestack with the name Milosy laid in glazed brick on its west side." The significance statement concludes that, because the S.G. Milosy Greenhouses are "architecturally significant as a representative, intact example of greenhouses constructed between 1925 and 1939, primarily for the cultivation of orchids," the property is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places at the local level of significance under Criterion C. Sea Captain Brown's House, 1391 Raritan Road, Scotch Plains Township, is described as a locally significant example of a two-thirds Georgian house with kitchen wing constructed circa 1775. Because it has retained "notable elements of the style," and "the design reflects its original appearance, and the survival of interior features including five-corner fireplaces, a cooking hearth, and wainscoting is notable," the justification of eligibility concludes that Sea Captain Brown's House is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C. The survey form also notes that the house may have additional significance under Criterion A for its association with the Revolutionary War in the Scotch Plains, "in particular the hardships suffered by local residents as British and American troops passed through the area in 1777, culminating with the Battle of Short Hills." Mount Saint Mary Academy, 1645 Route 22 West, Watching Borough, is described as "an outstanding example of a Beaux Arts style educational facility

in 1777, culminating with the Battle of Short Hills." Mount Saint Mary Academy, 1645 Route 22 West, Watching Borough, is described as "an outstanding example of a Beaux Arts style educational facility and as a representative work of William A. Boring, a noted architect and architectural educator." The base survey forms describes Mount Saint Mary Academy as an "academic campus comprised of The Mount, a three story [Beaux Arts style building with a low pitched hipped roof and right faced stone walls] building with basement constructed in 1908 and rebuilt after a fire in 1912; Gabriel Hall (1913); the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception (1955); Saint Joseph Hall (1960); and the House of Prayer (1908)." Additional buildings on the campus include McCauley Hall (circa 1965), a gymnasium (circa 1980), athletic stadium (2008), and landscaped gardens. The Mount and Gabriel Hall are located along the south face of First Watchung Mountain. William A. Boring, a prominent New York area architect, designed numerous public and private office and commercial buildings and residential estates in the New York City region, including the East Orange Municipal Building and, in partnership with Edward L. Tilton, the United States Immigration Station at Ellis Island. Boring also taught architecture at Columbia University and, in 1931, became the school's first Dean of the School of Architecture. The justification of eligibility concludes that Mount Saint Mary Academy is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C in the area of architecture because The Mount is "a representative example of a Beaux Arts style educational institution and the work of William A. Boring, a notable architect working in New York City from 1891-1915. It