Covanta Warren

One of the more interesting experiments in power generating technology has been the implementation of garbage fired power stations. Rather than using a high efficiency fuel source like coal or natural gas, these plants run on municipal waste instead. The premise is the same; the trash is burned and the resulting heat is applied to water in the boilers. This creates steam, which is used to spin a turbine generator. One of the largest providers of Waste to Energy power in the country, Covanta, built one such plant in Oxford in the late 1980's. 

Covanta Warren opened in July 1988. At the time there wasn't much any development around the property. The adjascent landfill was still being cleared, it didn't open for another two years. 

At its peak the facility was handling 550 tons of waste a day. That translated to between 13 and 14 megawatts of power production. That may not sound like very much compared to the output of the average coal plant, but it was still enough to power over 10,000 homes.  

The econonics of Waste-to-Energy facilities are complex, and are largely affected by federal regulations. These pressures eventually began to outweigh the fiscal benefits of keeping the plant open, so Covanta announced in 2019 they were closing the facility. 

The complex only sat idle for a few years. I visited once during that time, regrettably without my camera. It was not the most impressive plant, and Oxford is a fairly inconvenient place to get out to from where I live.

 I found out from my brother one day in March of 2024 that it was in the process of being demolished. I can't say I'm too sad to see it go. I think the area will look a lot better without the obtrusive industrial facility sticking out from the trees. It goes on to join a long list of retired and eventually demolished power plants in the state. 

Brick Presbyterian Church

Source: TFPNJ Historic Postcard Archive

Sometimes a building will be so iconic, it becomes synonymous with a specific neighborhood. Sometimes it's a hospital, or a tall tower, but more often I find it's a church. The first example of this that comes to mind for me is, without a doubt, Brick Church. 

The Presbyterian congregation that founded Brick Church formed in 1832, but it wasn't until 1878 that the iconic red brick structure rose up on the corner of Main Street and Prospect. The new house of worship was designed in a handsome Romanesque style. 

The founding congregation was dwindling by the turn of the century. The building was sold to the Temple of Unified Christians, a small Haitian ministry. 

The large building was more space than the congragation could keep up with. The main sanctuary was slowly falling apart while the Temple used the large choir room in the back. I had been keeping an eye on the building as it continued to deteriorate. Over the years. Every so often I would see a member of the congregation outside the building. One time I asked if I could go inside and take pictures. Unfortunately I was flatly rejected.

The Temple Of Unified Christians eventually left the building in 2020, right around the time Covid was running rampant. I continued to check up on the building, but without an official closure announcement I wasn't totally sure if the building was totally unoccupied yet. Then one day a friend of mine who was in the area let me know there was a door ajar out back. 

The next morning  I was inside documenting the building. The main sanctuary was less impressive than I always imagined, but I was very grateful to finally see what was on the other side of the stained glass.

Then on April 19th of 2023 that same friend sent me a frantic message. " Dude.... did you know they're tearing down brick church??" accompanied by a screenshot that showed the work. I flew down to the site to see it for myself, and sure enough there was a massive hole ripped through the most structurally intact portion of the building.

The demolition was done under the cover of darkness because the owners knew they would never be able to get the proper permits for the work if they went about the demolition the right way. 

Horrified passers-by called the police, who showed up and promptly halted the work. Unfortunately too much damage had been done, and the building was now beyond fixing.

The church sat wide open to the elements for almost a year as the city decided whether or not to allow the owners to finish the job. Eventually they were given the go ahead, and work started up again in March of 2024.

There are so many people to blame here. Whether by ignorance or malice, this historic treasure which was the namesake for the neighborhood is now gone. The demolition was done so quick and sloppily, and with almost no attempts made to salvage the beautiful, priceless interior. Hopefully this loss will serve as a motivation for city officials to never let this happen again. 

Snuffy's Pantagis Renaissance

Snuffys Steakhouse was founded by William Robertson in 1932. Robertson was local speakeasy proprietor who had operations all throughout the neighboring towns. With prohibition ending just a year later, Snuffys hit the ground running. 

The resteraunt expanded in the late 1960s. The building was transformed from a glorified burger stand into a banquet hall. Several large new rooms were added, including the Crystal Room, Gaslight Room, and Fireplace Room.

Robertson ran the resteraunt until the early 1970s. After several decades of success, he decided to retire. Snuffys was sold to the Pantagis family the following year.

The Pantagis family rebuilt Snuffys in the late 1970s and into the 80's. They changed the rather humble banquet hall into a tacky, gaudy psuedo-palace. Every ceiling was adorned with mass produced stained glass and cheap embossed millwork. While impressive to the untrained eye, the building was really a poorly constructed clashy nightmare. 

The Covid 19 pandemic had a major impact on every aspect of the wedding industry, and the Pantagis banquet hall was no exception. The family decided to abruptly close the business on October 20th, 2020. Covid 19 was cited as the main reason for the closure, but the business  owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes as well.

After several years sitting empty, Scotch Plains approved plans to demolish the venue. Work started right at the beginning of 2024, and continued swiftly until the lot was clear. Lots of folks were upset that none of the stained glass or woodwork was saved, but I don't think they really understood how little value any of it had. A Lidl grocery store will soon be built on the lot, certainly more of a benefit to the town than the vacant building was. Snuffy's goes on to join Pals Cabin, The Circus, and the Chatterbox on the long list of iconic. NJ resteraunts replaced for generic retail.