127 Bath

The lovely home at 127 Bath dated back to either the late 1800s or early 1900s. 

The property originally extended all the way back to Lowden Court, and east to the old New York and Long Branch Railroad right of way. 

Throughout the 1950s and 60's the lot was chopped up and everything except the mansion was demolished. Garden apartments were constructed all around the main home.

Before the pandemic hit the mansion housed an adult daycare known as "Our House" they vacated rhe building around 2021 when the building and adjacent Ronald Mcdonald House were donated by Monmouth Medical Center to tbe city of Long Branch.

The city announced a bold plan in 2024 to build a new Health and Wellness retreat on the former estate. The residents of the Ronald Mcdonald house were blindsided by the news. The city claimed there weren't any families living there at the time, which was disputed by the families reporters found when they went to check. 

I didnt even know the mansion existed until I was driving by one summer morning. I drove down from Essex to visit a vacant building on the campus of Monmouth Medical Center. I got in and left with plenty of time to get myself to work, until the mansion caught by eye. After finding a place to park I ran through the building taking photos. It ended up being so much cooler than the medical building I had come for. 

Despite the bad press the city moved forward with their plans in 2025. The mansion and several apartments were demolished in order to make way for the new park and wellness center. 

The architect has pledged to pay tribute to "Gilded Age" long branch in the design, but whether that happens or not remains to be seen. 

Leonardis/Drew Funeral Home

Sometimes when I'm writing an article about a building I get overwhelmed by all the relevent information I have to comb through. Other times I have to search high and low for any little breadcrumbs the internet has to offer. This story is definitely an example of the later.

The Leonardis Memorial Home on Sanford Ave operated out of a large turn of the century home on the corner of Florence Place. The residence was largely gutted and rebuilt in the 1960s to accomidate the business, who had another location on Lafayette St.

Leonardis eventually moved out to Florham Park. The Vailsburg location was sold to the Drew Funeral Home chain, who were already well established around Essex County.

Drew Funeral Home used the facility until 2013. Unfortunately it wasn't long before the vacant building had fallen into disrepair . The property was taken over by city of Newark, and anyone who reads this blog can probably guess what happened next. The city boarded up the building and walked away. Metal thieves made quick work of the copper pipes and wires, while the occasional squatter took up residence inisde. I passed by the building man times over the years, only stopping to check it out once. 

After a decade of sitting vacant, the city finally demolished the shuttered funeral home in 2023. The land where the building sat is still vacant, but the whole block certainly does look better without the crumbling structure towering over it. Hopefully some new affordable housing will soon take its place. 

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. 

Empty Cloud Monastery

Sitting in the middle of a neighborhood, two blighted monastery buildings sat behind a large stone wall. The main building of the small complex found new use, while two residential buildings and the gatehouse crumbled with time.

I don't know when these beautiful buildings were built, but they are likely over a century old. When the monastery moved to the property they kept the house mostly original, with the addition of some Dalle De Varre windows and cross-lite doors. 

Every bedroom in the home had its own fireplace. 

Despite some peeling paint, the buildings remained in very good shape. 

I would drive by the buildings often, each time making sure to close any doors or windows I found open. I wanted to make sure the property didn't fall into serious disrepair. 

Thankfully someone purchased the property and began renovating the buildings. Before long they were occupied again.

The converted garage on the property had been heavily modified, unlike the home out front. 

But the second floor was much nicer looking. A furnished kitchen greeted me as I ascended the stairs, and the spacious dormitories mostly all had fireplaces as well.

It makes me so happy to drive by the structures now, as I was convinced they would inevitably be demolished. Finally a happy ending for once.