Jersey Shore Magazine

J e r s e y s h o r e • s p r i n g 2 0 1 4 54 "Since the mid-1990s, it's like Hitchcock's birds have come to the town and tore down the houses. So many homes are gone and so many new ones have been built," remarked Cathleen McCusker, president, Preservation Alliance of Spring Lake. As with many vintage homes in the area, the Swain House has been demolished in the name of progress. To the chagrin of preservationists and armchair architects alike, the lot will be sold; a new house will be built; and another landmark home at the Jersey Shore is swept away in the tide of modernity. "Of all the historic homes in Spring Lake, this was by far my favor- ite," said Brittany Lavelle, native of Monmouth County and founder of BVL Historic Preservation Research. The Swain House holds a special place in Lavelle's heart: it's the home that inspired her to become a historian. Upon hearing about the demolition, she raced over to the lot at 101 Passaic Avenue and sat in her car with her head in her hands. "It broke my heart. I just cried," Lavelle remembers. "All of us are very upset about the Swain House," McCusker agreed. McCusker and Lavelle are not alone. The Swain House had achieved unof- ficial landmark status in the town. Decaying and dark, the home was at once spooky and mesmerizing. Its green-peaked turret, murky windows, and overgrown landscape provoked the imagination: "It's Spring Lake's version of Grey Gardens. Can't you picture Little Edie dancing in the foyer?" "It channels Boo Radley." "Mr. Rochester's lunatic wife lived in the attic." "Two words: The Munsters." Why was it abandoned? Was there anyone inside peeking out from behind the curtains? Was it really empty, after all? Unearthing information about the home's demolition proved to be as enigmatic as the home itself. If cocktail party whisperings are to be believed, the home was knocked down to gain access to buried trea- sure. An established Spring Lake family is rumored to have owned the home; however, some sources say the last residents were actually feral cats. And before that? Spinster twins and their reclusive brother. The most plausible rumor, however, is that the lot was considered more valuable emptied, subdivided, and sold. Unlike the home's owners, Lavelle saw past its disrepair and imagined it in its heyday. "Ironically, the fact JERSEY SHORE HOMES tHe SWAiN HOuSe, continued from page 53 Circa 2013, decaying, dark, and in disrepair, the home was at once spooky and mezmorizing. Courtesy of the Spring Lake Historical Society

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