H I S T O RY
INSIDE STORY
At 100,
More Beautiful
Than Ever
WRITTEN BY ERIN ROLL
40 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE MAY 2016
COURTESY THE VAN VLECK HOUSE & GARDENS
T
he Van Vleck House &
Gardens is observing a
special birthday in 2016,
and its supporters are
inviting the community to
come and celebrate with
them throughout the year. It has been
100 years since Joseph Van Vleck Jr. built
the house that now stands at 21 Van
Vleck St. in Montclair; the theme for the
events is “Past, Present, Future.” The gala
festivities in the fall will both honor the
Van Vleck family, and look ahead to what
comes next. “It really goes to more than
just the house, obviously,” says Executive
Director Chuck Fischer. “It’s really about
the philosophy of what the family did
since they were here.” Central to that
philosophy, he says, is a long tradition
of giving back to the community.
It was Joseph Van Vleck Sr. who
bought a nearly six-acre piece of property
in what is now Montclair during the
1860s. In the 1870s, he, his wife Amanda
and their 10 children decided to make the
township their permanent home. Joseph
Jr., the couple’s youngest son, built the
Mediterranean-style villa that now stands
on the property. “There were other houses
there beforehand, but this is the one that
has endured, is the most classic and was
designed by a Van Vleck,” Fischer says.
The Montclair Foundation acquired the
house and gardens from the Van Vleck
family in 1993, and took responsibility
for its maintenance, agreeing to keep the
gardens open to the public, and to educate
them about the house’s history. Launched
in 1978, the Montclair Foundation was
created to identify and give grants to local
non-profits whose missions are to support
the Montclair community, and has provided
aid to a large number of area organizations, including Toni’s Kitchen, the Human
Needs Food Pantry, Outpost in the Burbs
and Jazz House Kids. Van Vleck House &
Gardens provides the venue for many of
their events during the year, including classical and folk music concerts, storytelling
events and summertime movie screenings.
“You come to the property and walk
around, you see that it’s really in many
respects a sanctuary for people who live
in apartments,” says Fischer. “They just
want to get away from things. We see
people sitting on benches, walking the
property, just really taking the time to let
things fall off of themselves for a while.” ➤