Protect Historic Mine Street

Your contributions will help fund our three campaign objectives -- "The Three Ps:"

1. Protect the Mine Street Historic District, which received a certification of eligibility to be listed on the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places on August 8, 2014. Mine Street is located in the heart of Rutgers University's original, historic College Avenue Campus between College Avenue and Guilden Street. 

2. Promote appropriate development on Mine Street that is in keeping with the street's current architecture and historic signicance, thereby maintaining the integrity of the district and protecting it from destruction. This includes expected legal expenses in 2015 of at least $40,000 (based on our actual costs between August and December 2014).

3. Preserve the Mine Street Historic District permanently through registration on the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places. This includes fees for a professionally prepared application.

Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated. And you can make your donation or contribution private to the public.

How we will achieve our objectives:

Protect ... Our first step was preparing the pre-application for a certification of eligibility letter from the NJ State Historic Preservation Office (granted on 8/8/14). We are now in the process of raising public awareness and building a coalition of supporters for a Mine Street Historic District to keep it from being harmed or lost.

Promote appropriate development ... We do not oppose new development. Our position is it must be appropriate for the Mine Street Historic District. As such, we are actively objecting to a development threat in the middle of historic Mine Street that is not in keeping with the current architecture and would irreparably alter the street scape. We have hired attorneys to help us defeat an application before the New Bruswick Planning Board for a four-story, 52-unit open-market apartment building that would replace three 100-year-old structures on a three-lot parcel, where 18th-century artifacts have been unearthed. The hearings on this application started in March 2014 and will continue into 2015. To date, the effort has been funded solely by us. With additional financial support, we will be able to sustain the fight on behalf of Mine Street for as long as necessary. Mine Street's three short blocks offer a unique opportunity to shed light on otherwise-overlooked aspects of New Brunswick's rich heritage; and therefore, this threat to its character and value must be thwarted.

Preserve ... The ultimate goal is getting the Mine Street Historic District registered on the New Jersey and Historic National Register. Situated at the crossroads of local and state history, as well as national and U.S. higher-education history, this area is a rare gem to be acknowledged and preserved. With financial assistance, we will be able to hire a professional who is qualified to prepare the full application for registration of the Mine Street Historic District, ensuring it is recognized and enjoyed for generations to come.

DID YOU KNOW?

- The street's name is the only known commemoration in the city of the largely forgotten/unknown New Brunswick mine (sometimes referred to as the "French Mine").

- Mine Street is paved with yellow bricks beneath the blacktop. Residents and Rutgers students of the past fondly recall traveling the "yellow brick road" between Easton and College Avenues. 

- Mine Street's history dates back to some of the area's earliest landowners, and was once part of a larger area owned by famous resident Philip French. It is one of the few primarily residential streets in New Brunswick that has remained untouched by development.

- The well-known folk-music venue the Mine Street Coffeehouse  (sometimes referred to as "1 Mine Street") started in October 1973 in the basement of the Second Reformed Church building at the corner of Mine Street and College Avenue.

- No. 13 Mine Street is distinguished as being one of only three 18th-century farmhouses still standing in New Brunswick along with the well-known Henry Guest House and Buccleuch Mansion .

WHO WE ARE

Leading this campaign is Jennifer O'Neill, homeowner of 15 Mine Street, two-time Rutgers alumna and former RU administrator (with support from her family). We believe Mine Street is a special place in New Brunswick's Sixth Ward where residents, students, professionals, faith-based organizations and businesses have co-existed for centuries in a setting that is all-too-rare and should be preserved.