Preservation group cites threats to sites in Cherry Hill, Camden

Two South Jersey properties are on a preservation group's list of most endangered historic places in New Jersey.

The local sites include a Route 70 gatehouse that served the long-demolished Garden State Park racetrack in Cherry Hill.

Preservation New Jersey also cited a house in Camden City that was intermittently used by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Cherry Hill gatehouse is the only remnant of the original park, which was built in the early 1940s and burned down in 1977.

A successor opened in 1985, but was demolished after the track's sale in 2003 to make way for stores and homes.

The land holding the gatehouse is now being offered for sale "with plans for further commercial development," said Preservation New Jersey.

"Without immediate intervention, Cherry Hill risks losing the only structure left of Garden State Park," it asserted.

A landmark disappears: 40 years ago: Garden State Park burns

It called upon the township and any future developer "to think creatively and proactively seek out adaptivereuses, rather than abandon or demolish the gatehouse."

Cherry Hill officials have said the gatehouse has protections in place because current township approvals for any use of the site require its preservation.

Cherry Hill Mayor David Fleisher has vowed to protect the gatehouse, noting the planning board required its preservation when it approved a proposed off-track betting facility at the site in 2020.

While the OTB project has fallen through, Fleisher said in February that any new owner "will hear loud and clear that the protection of the gatehouse must be part of their future plans,"

According to Preservation New Jersey, King occasionally stayed at the Camden house while attending Crozer Theological Seminary in suburban Philadelphia from 1948 to 1951.

The house, at 753 Walnut Street, "has juggled with issues such as neglect, flooding, vandalism, and fire," said Preservation New Jersey.

It said a nonprofit bought the property two years ago, but faces a lack of funding and other challenges.

The group said it supports those advocating for the site's restoration "and its adaptive reuse into a cultural center for the Camden community."

The sites are chosen to spotlight "historic, architectural, cultural, and archeological resources in New Jersey that are in imminent danger of being lost," the nonprofit said.

The list is compiled annually from nominations by the public.

It said selections are based on a property's "historic significance and architectural integrity" and "the critical nature of the threat identified."

The group also considers the likelihood that being listed will help efforts to protect a site.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.co m.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Preservation group cites threats to sites in Cherry Hill, Camden