BELLMAWR PARK MUTUAL HOUSING CORPORATION, 38 & 40 HABS NJ-1264-C VICTORY DRIVE HABS NJ-1264-C 38 & 40 Victory Drive Bellmawr Camden County New Jersey WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA REDUCED COPIES OF MEASURED DRAWINGS HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street NW Washington, DC 20240-0001 HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY BELLMAWR PARK MUTUAL HOUSING CORPORATION, 38 & 40 VICTORY DRIVE HABS No.: NJ-1264-C Location: 38 & 40 Victory Drive, Bellmawr, Camden County, New Jersey The building is located at latitude: 39.870237, longitude: -75.102695. This point was obtained on July 22, 2016, using Google Earth (WGS84). There is no restriction on its release to the public. Present Owner: Bellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation 31 Peach Road, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08031 Significance: Bellmawr Park was constructed in 1941 and consisted of 500 units, as part of a joint federal program with the Congress of Industrial Organizations for workers at local shipyards who could not afford to buy homes. The community, along with Audubon Park and Pennypack Woods in Northeast Philadelphia, were also testing sites for "mutual," or cooperative home ownership and new concepts in community planning, modern architecture and mass-produced housing. Description: 38 & 40 Victory Drive is a single story, vernacular duplex in a minimalist ranch style house design. The living units are one story, vinyl siding, wood framed construction over a crawl space with masonry walls, block piers and wood girder to support the wood floor framing. Living units are symmetrical and are comprised of a living room, kitchen/dining area, bedroom(s) with closet(s), a bathroom, linen and storage closets, and utility room. The two residential unit building is one story, vinyl siding over original asbestos siding, vinyl windows, typical asphalt roofing shingles, brick chimney, crawl space (depth varies), 8” block foundation walls, front covered porch with main entrance door and light fixture, rear door with steps to rear yard with roof cover. The length of the building is 61’-10” long and 24’-4” wide. The foundation walls are 8” block walls with concrete footings, block piers and wood girder at approximately the center line of the building. The exterior walls are 2”x4” wood studs with black paper covered gyp- rock sheathing and vinyl siding over original asbestos siding on the exterior side and plaster or gypsum board on the interior side of the exterior wall. BELLMAWR PARK MUTUAL HOUSING CORPORATION, 38 & 40 VICTORY DRIVE HABS No. NJ-1264-C Page 2 The main floor framing consists of wood 2x floor joists running from front to back. Floor framing is supported by the load bearing foundation walls (front and rear) with a wood sill plate and a wood girder approximately at the center line of the house running in the long direction, supported by block piers. The attic floor framing consists of wood 2x joists running from front to back. Roof framing is supported by the load bearing exterior walls (front and rear) and the center bearing wall located under the main support girder in the crawl space. Roof rafters run from front to back and are supported by the front and rear bearing walls and the ridge beam. Roof pitch is approximately 5 to12. Front porches are of masonry construction and have various railing types. Stairs to the porches and rear doors are of masonry construction, risers on average are 8”+/- and treads are 16”+/-. The front porches are covered with a roof which is an extension on the main roofing system. The rear steps are covered with a roof which is an extension on the main roofing system. Each unit has two (2) access doors. Front doors are 32” wide and 80” in height, the rear doors are 30” wide and 80” in height. Original wood doors have been replaced with newer steel or composite doors, wood frames have been capped with aluminum with storm doors. Windows are double hung with insect screens. There is a variety of configurations, single window, double and triple window configurations. Some of the original wood windows have been replaced with vinyl double hung windows with insect screens. Some of the double window configurations have been replaced with bow style windows, see plans and photos. All windows have a capped aluminum trim surround 4”+/-. The front facade has vinyl shutters. The roof is a gable style roof with a 5:12+/- roof pitch, roof rafters running front to back. Typical asphalt shingles covers the roof rafters and wood sheathing. The two (2) brick chimneys (one per unit) extend approximately 24” beyond the exterior roof and is located on the front side of the gable roof. The eaves are roughly 12” wide on the front and rear facades. On the interior of the units, the floor plans consist of a living room, kitchen/dining area, bedroom(s) with closet(s), a bathroom, linen and storage closets, and utility room. The attic is constructed conventional wood framing, used for light storage and has an exposed chimney shaft. Members access the attic though either an attic access hatch or pull down attic stairs. Flooring throughout the unit is hard wood with wood base molding. Over the years, carpet, vinyl and ceramic tiles have been installed over the hard wood floors. The utility room floor is concrete. BELLMAWR PARK MUTUAL HOUSING CORPORATION, 38 & 40 VICTORY DRIVE HABS No. NJ-1264-C Page 3 The walls are either the original plaster, gypsum wall board or wood paneling. The ceilings are either the original plaster or gypsum wall board, and some units have ACT either glued directly to the ceiling or as a drop ceiling in a metal grid. All the doors, door surrounds, and door framing are constructed with wood. All doors and windows have full perimeter wood trim elements. The unit hardware is typical door and window hardware, replaced over the years as required. All rooms have small crown molding, base board trim and all doors and windows have full perimeter wood trim elements. The original coal fired heating system has been converted to a gas forced hot air system. All units have ducted force air systems. Both units have running water. Both units have the original 100 amp electrical service. History: 38 & 40 Victory Drive were built in 1941 with a completion date of October 1942+/-. The designer was Mayer & Whittlesey, John N. Nettle Associated Architects, 31 Union Square, New York, New York. The builder of 38 & 40 Victory Drive is not known. The Bellmawr Park Housing division was originally developed by the US Government as a means to house the defense workers needed to build ships in nearby Camden. The Mutual Ownership Defense Housing Division of the Federal Works Agency part of the United States government, operating from about 1940 to 1942 under the leadership of Colonel Lawrence Westbrook, was an attempt by the United States Government, late in the New Deal, to respond to the housing needs facing defense workers and develop housing projects for middle-income families utilizing the cooperative/mutual housing ownership concept.[1] Under pressure by entrenched real estate interests and intense and competing resource needs caused by World War II, the Division lasted for only two years. As stated in the Second Annual Report of the Federal Works Agency: "As a group, defense workers were also poor candidates for individual home ownership because the duration of their employment was uncertain, and because few of them had savings adequate to finance the down payment on new homes. Recognizing these characteristics, attention was given early to some special form of housing to meet squarely the economic problem of the defense worker and one which, at the same time, might lead to an ultimate solution of the housing problems of millions of other American families of similar economic status." Limited staffing resources within the Division also resulted in poor management practices, and a number of the projects were investigated for cost overruns and poor construction standards. Although only eight projects were ever built by the Division, all but one were eventually purchased from the government by their residents and continue to operate as mutual home corporations. The Mutual Ownership Defense BELLMAWR PARK MUTUAL HOUSING CORPORATION, 38 & 40 VICTORY DRIVE HABS No. NJ-1264-C Page 4 Housing Division projects can be considered a rare but important example of successful public housing within the United States. [2] References: 1. House of Representatives Hearings on House Resolution 5211, (A Bill to Authorize An Appropriation of An Additional $300,000,000 For Defense Housing). "Hearings Before the Committee On Public Buildings and Grounds, July 9,10,11,15,16,17,18,22,23,1941." Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1941. p.146 2. National Housing Agency, "The Mutual Home Ownership Program," p.4. Sources: Original paperwork and original building plans provided by the Bellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation. Additional building information has been gathered by preforming existing condition surveys for each individual unit / building. Additional information has been provided utilizing the online service of Wikipedia. Project Information: This Historic American Buildings Survey has been prepared in conjunction with Bellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation’s Board of Trustees and Employees, Bach Associates, PC the Architect / Engineer, Steven M. Bach, PE, RA, PP, CME and Dirk Muits III, AIA, NCARB, National Park Service, New Jersey Department of Transportation, New Jersey Historic Preservation Office Due to the NJDOT Rt. 295/42/I-76 Direct Connection Project, the existing residential building is going to be condemned by the NJDOT and demolished. New replacement buildings which are functionally comparable will be constructed within the existing property of Bellmawr Park Mutual Housing Corporation.