Montclair's garden grows

Staff Photo by Cecelia Levine

The sun shines through the pergola at Van Vleck House & Gardens.

The crane that looms high above the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Valley Road serves as a constant reminder that Montclair isn't what it used to be. But a few blocks away are about six acres of greenery that remain much as they were a century ago: Van Vleck House & Gardens.

When Joseph Van Vleck Sr. moved to Montclair from Brooklyn with his family in 1868, he envisioned a haven tucked away from the clamor of cars and commerce. In 1916 his son, Joseph Van Vleck Jr., designed and built the Mediterranean villa that stands today and in 1939 his son, Howard Van Vleck, took over the property with his wife and four children.

In 1993, after decades of tending to the lands enclosed by the wrought-iron gate of 21 Van Vleck St., Howard Van Vleck left the property to the Montclair Foundation. It has since transformed the house into a center for nonprofit organizations to gather and has tended to every aspect of the property to preserve it as it was presented.

Over the decades, Van Vleck House & Gardens has suffered normal wear and tear. Given a small budget to work with, the Montclair Foundation fixed what it could. In 2008, the organization drew up a Master Plan which would home in on major facets of the property that needed repairs. According to Charles Fischer, executive director of Van Vleck House & Gardens, the plan sought to sustain the property for public enjoyment in accordance with the initial vision of members of the Van Vleck family.

With the help of many donors - who raised a combined $2 million through a capital campaign that was launched in 2008 - and Rodney Robinson Landscape Architects Inc., of Wilmington, Del., Fischer and his team undertook major renovations and minor detailing to maintain the Van Vleck family's former property.

Addendums and reparations include signage around the property; new perennial gardens and planting beds, such as rhododendrons, azaleas and other seasonal flora; a new irrigation system; a revamped barn which became the new Visitors' and Education Center; and a new parking lot.

Renovations to the house include minor detailing, a new North Mountain Avenue entrance, and repairs to stone steps, fountains, and walkways.

Fischer said he and his team will continue to regularly tend to the property and house with the intent to bring back and maintain its former glory.

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Montclair's garden grows