Krueger Mansion

{{short description|Historic house in Newark, New Jersey, United States}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Krueger Mansion

| nrhp_type =

| image = High Court Sts castle jeh.jpg

| caption = The Krueger Mansion in 2010

| location = 601 High Street (Martin Luther King Boulevard), Newark, New Jersey

| coordinates = {{coord|40|43|57|N|74|10|54|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = USA New Jersey Essex County#New Jersey#USA

| built = 1888

| architect = Henry Schultz

| architecture = Late Victorian

| added = November 9, 1972

| area = {{convert|1|acre}}

| refnum = 72000778{{NRISref|2009a}}

| designated_other1_name = New Jersey Register of Historic Places

| designated_other1_abbr = NJRHP

| designated_other1_link = New Jersey Register of Historic Places

| designated_other1_date = January 14, 1972

| designated_other1_number = 1277{{cite web|title=New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Essex County |url=http://www.state.nj.us/dep/hpo/1identify/lists/essex.pdf |publisher=New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office |page=3 |date=January 10, 2010 |access-date=April 13, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327025729/http://www.state.nj.us/dep/hpo/1identify/lists/essex.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2009 }}

| designated_other1_num_position = bottom

| designated_other1_color = #ffc94b

}}

The Krueger Mansion is located in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The mansion was built on the corner of Court and High Street (now Martin Luther King Boulevard){{Citation|last=Andrews|first=Jacob|title= Boulevard in Newark Runs From Decline to Rebirth|newspaper=The New York Times|date= January 5, 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/05/nyregion/05econ.html?_r=1&scp=8&sq=Mosque%20Theater%20in%20Newark%20Names%20Cultural%20Executive&st=cse|quote=2011-03-20}} in 1888 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 1972. As of 2023, it has been completely restored and elaborately landscaped as part of an artisanal workspace project.{{Cite web|url=https://www.corcoran.com/listing/for-rent/597-m-l-king-blvd-newark-city-nj-07103/71173545/regionId/112|title=The Krueger-Scott Mansion, 597 M L King Blvd, Newark City, NJ 07103 Property for rent|website=The Corcoran Group}}

History

The 40 room mansion was built in 1888 by Gottfried Krueger (1837–1926), founder of Newark's Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company and owner of several other breweries.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/11/08/archives/gottfried-krueger-of-newark-dies-at-89-brewer-and-former-lay-judge.html

|title=Gottfried Krueger of Newark Dies at 89; Brewer and Former Lay Judge of the Highest Court in New Jersey|newspaper= The New York Times|date=November 8, 1926|access-date=September 6, 2010 }} The construction cost at the time was $250,000. The mansion was sold to the Valley of Newark Scottish Rite Freemasons in 1926 for $100,000. A 700-seat auditorium was added to the mansion to accommodate for various meetings. The mansion was purchased in 1958 by Louise Scott for $85,000. Scott operated a beauty school out of the first floor of the mansion while keeping the upper levels as her private residence. The mansion was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Scott died in 1982 and ownership of the mansion passed to the city of Newark.{{cite web|title=High Street/MLK Boulevard: Part I|url=http://www.newarkhistory.com/mlkblvd.html|publisher=Newark History|access-date=4 April 2011}} In 1991, the New Jersey Historic Trust funded a bond for $625,812 to stabilize the exterior of the building.{{cite web|title=Krueger-Scott Mansion|url=http://www.state.nj.us/dca/njht/funded/sitedetails/kruegerscottmansion.html|publisher=New Jersey Historic Trust|access-date=4 April 2011}} The city of Newark matched that amount, and over the years devoted more than $4 million to turning the home into a center focusing on the black contribution to Newark's development. The federal government contributed an additional $1.5 million.,{{cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Jacobs (journalist) |title=Cost Hinders Effort To Reclaim a Castle; After $7 Million, Newark Wearies Of Restoring a Looted Landmark |date=September 25, 2000 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/25/nyregion/cost-hinders-effort-reclaim-castle-after-7-million-newark-wearies-restoring.html |access-date=September 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426004621/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/25/nyregion/cost-hinders-effort-reclaim-castle-after-7-million-newark-wearies-restoring.html |archive-date=26 April 2022 |url-status=live}} but after a decade of work, plans to turn the house into an African-American cultural center were frozen by the city's Municipal Council, which refused to allocate any more money for the project.

Construction

The mansion is a three-and-a-half-story, Late Victorian style building with a five-story circular tower. A wrap around porch, steeply pitched roof, asymmetrical facade and arched front entryway are characteristic of the Queen Anne Style. The building is a balloon frame structure with a brick facade. The interior consists of lath and plaster walls with wallpaper covering and wood molding. The flooring is made of hardwood set into patterns. The pedimented windows are an Italianate influence here.

Conversion to artisan housing and workspaces

In late 2020, the city and the company Makerhoods broke ground on refurbishing the mansion into live/work spaces for local experienced "makers" in the food, beauty, craft and other small-scale artisan industries for $1800 a month by application only.{{cite web | url=https://www.nj.com/essex/2020/09/historic-mansion-neglected-for-decades-in-newark-slated-to-become-artisan-housing.html | title=Historic mansion neglected for decades in Newark slated to become artisan housing | date=17 September 2020 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.makerhoods.com/apply | title=Newark Makerhoods Live/Work }}{{cite web| url = https://njbiz.com/newark-makerhoods-break-ground-reinvention-krueger-scott-mansion/| title = Newark, Makerhoods break ground on reinvention of Krueger-Scott Mansion - NJBIZ| date = 18 September 2020}}

As of 2023, the mansion had been almost completely restored and landscaped.

Gallery

File:Krueger_Scott_Mansion.jpg|Corner of Court Street and Dr. MLK Jr. Boulevard.

File:Krueger_Scott_Mansion2.jpg|Dr. MLK Jr. Boulevard side.

File:Krueger_Scott_Mansion3.jpg|Court Street side.

File:Krueger_Scott_Mansion4.jpg|Front Facade of Dr. MLK Jr. Boulevard side.

File:Exterior_5.jpg|Front porch.

See also

References

{{Reflist}}