[ad_1]
In 1933, Newark’s population reached its historic peak and the school districts were overcrowded.opening That September, Weequahike High School was opened to alleviate severe overcrowding. But the $1 million Art Deco schoolhouse designed by Guilbert & Betelle is much more than that. Its importance to the entire state was recognized last November when it was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.
The school is listed on the National Register and is now eligible to be listed on the National Register, helping to further cement the legacy of its designer, Gillbert & Betelle was a Newark-based firm that was famous in its day, but its memory has faded over the years.
“Gilbert and Bert Taylor were important architects who were somewhat forgotten,” said John Gomez, founder of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy and a member of the state review board that approved the listing.
“They are sometimes confused with Cass Gilbert,” said principal Michael Mills. Mills + Schnoering Architects, also a member of the state review board.
To add to the confusion, James Betelle, co-founder of his eponymous firm, worked for famed Gilded Age architect Cass Gilbert at the turn of the last century Pass. However, in 1910, he and Ernest Gilbert (no relation to Cass Gilbert (note the different spelling of the last name)) finally broke out on their own, a brave move as they did not have the proper funds. To support day-to-day operations, the partners were without salaries for a time, and to save on overhead costs, they opened a modest office in the attic of an art store in Newark.
Despite two major setbacks – the outbreak of World War I and the death of his partner Gilbert in 1916 – Bertel persevered. By the 1930s, when Weequahic opened, his firm occupied an entire floor of the Newark Chamber of Commerce building he designed, which still stands today at 22 Branford Place. On the occasion of his firm’s 20th anniversary, a Newark News reporter called him “one of the greatest authorities on school building design,” having designed schools worth more than $70 million.
While other architects dabbled in school architecture, for Bettel writing papers on the subject was a lifelong passion. One thing that Bettel tried to convey in his writings was that schools should not only be functional, but also beautiful. In an article titled “Architectural Styles Applied to School Buildings,” Bettel wrote: “Good taste requires that our dress and behavior should conform to the customs of the community, and this applies to our buildings as well as to our general Behavior.”
Beautiful schools cost more to build, but Bettel believed it was money well spent because they improved society, produced productive citizens, and doubled as community centers.
“There’s a saying that the bigger the school, the smaller the prison,” Bettel told the Newark News.
Bethlehem was fortunate to live in an era marked by the massive construction of schools. The reason for this surge was to compensate for the stagnation in domestic construction during World War I, and the economic boom that followed.
Throughout his career, Bertel favored the Academic Gothic style because it was “essentially academic.” It’s also more practical, as it allows architects more freedom to place large windows, allowing natural light to fill classrooms. Other styles, such as Colonial or Classical, dictate where windows should be placed, resulting in darker interiors. Many of the schools he designed in the Collegiate Gothic style include Columbia High School in South Orange, Southside High School in Newark, and the Central King Building on the New Jersey Institute of Technology campus.
However, in the 1930s, Betelle became enamored with the decorative arts, building the High School for the Arts, Weequahick High School, and the Essex County Vocational School on North 13th Street in Newark, before permanently closing his firm in 1939 . Newark has more Art Deco schoolhouses than anywhere else in New Jersey, said Rachel Craft, a historian with Hunter Research. Hunter Research is the author of the nomination for the state register.
The reasons for Bettel’s departure during his prime have been the subject of much speculation. He was only 60 years old at the time. But his writings show that he believed he had made enough of a mark on his industry. For much of American history, American art and architecture suffered from an inferiority complex. The design of the new building was inspired by the Italian Renaissance, Greek antiquity, the French and English Middle Ages, and even Egypt. In any case, the source material always comes from a distant time and place. But Betelle believes the 1930s marked a shift in modern American architecture.
“European school architecture has little to offer us in terms of new design,” Bettel wrote in a 1932 article titled “Trends in the Design of School Buildings.” “Few schools were built in Europe after the war, so America had some of the best schools in the world. Europe must look to us for new ideas in schools, just as she does in other areas. “
[ad_2]
Source link