Jersey Shore Magazine

j e r s e y s h o r e • S p r i n g 2 0 1 9 59 or puddingstone of the Highlands." Many residential properties also proudly claim elements of peanut stone for fireplaces, driveway mark- ers, hardscape elements, and more. At least two homes, one on Route 36 in Atlantic Highlands and one on Leonardville Road in Middletown, have complete peanut stone facades. When infamous crime boss Vito Genovese bought a farm on Red Hill Road in Middletown around 1935, he wanted to create a landscape similar to the water gardens found in his native Italy. The result was a rockery of three cascading pools, a miniature "Mount Vesuvius," a parterre enclosed by low walls, a twelve-column gazebo, driveway markers, property borders, and even a greenhouse foundation, all crafted of peanut stone. Today, the proper- ty is the Monmouth County Park System's Deep Cut Gardens, and over eighty years later, the peanut stone has grown only more interesting with time's patina and the proliferation of blooming phlox, sedum, and moss- es that have established themselves along the rambling walls. It adds a rustic romanticism to Deep Cut's already bucolic atmosphere. Romanticism, but with a decidedly quirky charm, also defines the cot- tage at 509 Sylvania Avenue in Avon by the Sea. Built in the early 1940s by retired architectural engineer Bart Tourison, the entire home is con- structed of peanut stone, concrete, iron, and other salvaged materials. Unlike the Gothic Revival style of All Saints', the effect here is very unas- suming. "It's a cottage, and it looks like a Hobbit house of peanut stone walls, not just veneers, with a faux thatched roof and everything," com- ments Woehr. According to an April 9, 1950 Asbury Park Press article by W. A. Prouty profiling the home, Tourison obtained the peanut stone from the Holmdel area for approximately $7. a load. Tourison's intention was to incorporate building ideas he had formed during his many years as an architect. Some more unique aspects, according to the Press article, were: • Shaped like a horseshoe, the home originally surrounded a sunken greenhouse with its own heating system. (Today, it appears to be a deck.) • The wall of the building's main room was to be composed of framed glass panels that could be raised like overhead doors to let in sun and air. (Today, sliding glass doors achieve a similar effect.) • Finding the cost of glass brick too high for a shower enclosure, Tourison went to the 5&10 and purchased glass ash trays, which he then lined in double rows of four and connected with a mixture of concrete and plaster. • In the center of the floor is a trap door to a dark, damp cellar where Tourison planned to grow mush- rooms. • On top of the roof, Tourison con- structed a beehive. According to the most recent realty listings, the interior includes custom redwood pine detailing, vaulted ceil- ings, slate floors, stained glass win- dows, and a large peanut stone fire- place. As Prouty wrote back in 1950, "[Tourison] has built a house, like which, it may be safely said, there is no other up or down the coast." Indeed, 509 Sylvania and the handful of other architectural land- marks and accents throughout Monmouth County stand today as unique testaments to a mostly bygone era of using materials found in the Jersey Shore's native environment. u Christine Menapace is a freelance writer, regular contributor to this magazine, and a part time naturalist with the Monmouth County Park System. An original version of this article appeared in the Fall 2017 Monmouth County Park System Green Heritage newsletter. For more information, visit www.MonmouthCountyParks.com. Paul Scharff The "Old Stone Bridge"over Grand Avenue in Atlantic Highlands. The bridge was constructed in 1896 with peanut stone. With the great amount of peanut stone deposited in the hills of Atlantic Highlands, the historic town and surrounding area once served as the epicenter of peanut stone construction.

• Cover