This day 20 March, 1939 - Meadowbrook Village Model Rooms

Nearby Meadowbrook Village had an open house 20 March, 1939 with a very illustrative write-up about the furnishing styles.  It's a real decorator "snap-shot" of the era, and today would go well with anyone's style who likes the Cottage-core or Grand-Millenial aesthetics, even see some Scandi-style going on here!
While there aren't specific photos, a fun adventure all the same.

Here is what the article looked like in context to the newspaper...

And another random chair ad published in the same edition which I thought fun with the border of various furniture models all around the perimeter of the photo.

and this article below was published the year prior almost to the date, 23 March, 1938

more details about Meadowbrook Village as it was being created. I would love to find copies of these "moving pictures". 

Have you visited the historic marker out front of the buildings on E. Front Street?

This article mentions a Meadowbrook Village newspaper, have you seen a copy? This article was published 9 April, 1940

What is neat is that for this project we do have blueprints, unlike the SFH homes built no more than 2-3 years prior, and the blueprints illustrate known items that were selling features such as the greenhouse 

and of course the infamous pool.  

Fun stuff !

Some news from the very first Spring days of Meadowbrook in 1937

 Published Meadowbrook news of March 1937 - click to enlarge the articles

In March 1937 . . .

Also, the cornerstone of North Plainfield Borough hall . . . 

Where do you think this nature image was taken ? 

By the Green Brook?  Are those the Watchung Mountains in the distance?

A similar article, but in another nearby newspaper.... 

this was found in the Central New Jersey Home News New Brunswick, a rare "outside" news snippet beyond the Courier News publication which was the typical "home" to most of the Meadowbrook news.

an advert in March 1938 the following year

with both winter and summer air-conditioning

100 years ago in Miami - George E. T. Wells, architect, the early days before Meadowbrook

Who likes a prequel show?  You might know the series, "George E. T. Wells, Architect: Meadowbrook", but what about the prequel, "George E. T. Wells, Architect: Miami!!"

A new neat find! The Meadowbrook Inc. President, George E. T. Wells, was typically written about in the newspapers; occassionally quoted, but those quotes were about the details of a project.

A recently discovered article is neat because he wrote it, exactly 100 years ago in 1925. It is interesting to "see" the thinking of the architect and his philosophy about his work. This was written 11 years before beginning work on Meadowbrook, so its as close as we have, so far, of a in-the-mind-of-the-auteur moment to our intial 'neighborhood design.

Reminder to click to enlarge the images to read them better.

What do you think? Curious if any of his perspectives resonate with you too?  

I thought these were insightful tidbits

.... .... ... ... ... 

and here was a changing street scene that illustrates the progress there, looking back like we do here

100 years ago in 1925 (11 years before Meadowbrook Inc.) George E. T. Wells was building hotels in Miami. Here are some of those buildings and a photo of him published in 1926.

and here he is quoted in 1929 during the great depression, at least he kept his hat

More various early photos - Mali Drive and Abbotsford Road

 More various photos - Mali Drive and Abbotsford Road

Here is a link to the intersections of Mali Drive and Abbotsford Road "today"

and one more link to a street view of "today"

Mali Drive photos