To the Editor:

The Witherspoon-Jackson (W-J) Neighborhood has a compelling legacy that we should never forget in acknowledging the inhumanity of slavery and segregation. Structures in the neighborhood date back to the early half of the 19th century, but the roots of those whose ancestors were slaves (some were slaves right here in Princeton) date back to before the American Revolution. This unique history of a once-segregated neighborhood is the story of the whole neighborhood, and is not that of any one person or structure.

Action is required to preserve the physical representation of the fundamental legacy of Princeton’s African American community (as well as its Italian American history) so that it is not lost forever. The buildings and their distinctive porches are the memory-bank of a close-knit community that has survived through struggle and hardship that is unique, nationally.

The formation of an historic district will preserve this legacy by maintaining the structures, character, and streetscape of the W-J Neighborhood, augmenting the physical and cultural viability of a neighborhood that has been the home for generations of African Americans, and later also a home for immigrants chiefly from Italy and Ireland, and most recently from Latin America.

This very neighborhood was found in 1994 by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to be eligible to be on the National Register of Historic Places. Now the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) recommends that this neighborhood join with 19 other local districts that have far less profound stories.

Many people hope that this historic district designation will help to stabilize property values. While the mission of the HPC is to preserve just the historic character of the neighborhood, its reviews of proposed tear-downs with an eye for alternatives, along with limits on the construction of outsized buildings that are out of scale, may also help to moderate growth in valuations for the neighborhood.

The HPC has recommended a Type II designation for the district, which permits considerable flexibility for its home-owners. Routine maintenance that does not change the house’s appearance from the street is permissible without HPC review, and the HPC will work with the homeowner to find less expensive alternatives for more extensive alterations. And just because the neighborhood is an historic district doesn’t mean that developers and architects alike can’t participate in preserving the neighborhood’s critical important legacy, while still moving forward with creative projects.

A review of recent tear-downs of historic structures in the neighborhood reveals a genuine urgency for immediate action. In my career I have had major roles in setting up both a residential and a commercial district; I have prepared applications that put two structures on the National Register; and I have had a major role in restoring three structures, one of which was converted to a multi-modal transportation center. None had the compelling legacy of survival and cohesion of the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood. Let us preserve that legacy and learn from it.

Kip Cherry

Dempsey Avenue