- City:
- Closter, NJ
- Site Type:
- Civic Facilities, City and Town Halls
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Completed:
- 1938
Description
“Closter Borough Hall, erected in 1938, was a triumph of effort and cooperation between our local leaders of that time and the able workforce provided by the federal Works Progress Administration (the “WPA”). Its style is described as Art Deco/Moderne, or “WPA Moderne,” a label which denotes both the aesthetic elements of the architecture and its practical origins…
Architect Carl G. Mettberg designed the building, and the WPA labor to construct it was provided at very little cost (25% of its actual value). A ceremonial laying of the cornerstone took place on March 12, 1938…
Some stylistic details which are make this building interesting are the light-yellow colored vertical ornamentations on the front of the building, which are meant to evoke the image of a Mayan temple. This style was popular at that time in many Art Deco buildings. At the top of each of these areas there is a circular design with outward-projecting “darts.” During Borough Hall’s earlier years, flagpoles projected above the roofline at the top of each of these decorative towers. Another stylistic feature that is still present is the horizontal band of the stucco dentil molding, running across the building near the parapet.”
The building has been added to since its original construction.
Source notes
https://www.closterhistoricpreservation.org/documents/newsletter/newsletter21_spring08.pdf Photograph courtesy of Kyle ChigerSite originally submitted by Evan Kalish on October 11, 2013.
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When the time came to address renovations or replacement of its Borough Hall, Emerson NJ’s neighboring community, Closter, elected to embrace its history & designate its Borough Hall an Historic Landmark, with the mayor stating, “It’s an historic building, which is a hallmark of Closter” (Heymann). “That status would protect the building from demolition and exterior changes. It also would make the building eligible for more grants” (Yellin). This can be an option for Emerson’s Borough Hall and its beautiful murals-also a Works Progress Administration project. I am currently advocating for preservation to be part of the upcoming Emerson, NJ municipal complex project