UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 5
October 3, 1996
4 Delaware Ave. properties get Better Newark Award

     Four University properties-12, 28, 30 and 34 West Delaware
Ave.- were recognized by the city of Newark during the summer as
recipients of "A Better Newark Award." The program highlights
properties that promote beautification of the city with
improvements to their appearance through structural renovations
and landscaping.
     The University properties were selected because of their
overall external appearance and environmental and energy
conservation improvements.
     According to David Hollowell, UD executive vice president,
the renovation of the four buildings was envisioned during the
design of the Trabant University Center by Philadelphia architect
Robert Venturi, of Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates.
     While the Main Street entrance of the Trabant University
Center- combined with the architecture of Daugherty Hall and the
nearby Evans House-presents an attractive sequence of buildings,
the rear of the massive new structure is less interesting
architecturally. The four colorful, residential-style, Delaware
Avenue structures-and the accompanying landscaping and recent
relocation of Alumni Park-offer an attractive view to passers-by.
     "The objective is that one's attention is drawn to the
renovated houses," Hollowell said, "and not to the rear of the
University center. We're received a number of positive comments
already, and this area will look even better once the newly
planted landscaping matures."
     The renovated structures house individual graduate student
offices and provide facilities for organizations related to
student activities and programs, including the Office of Greek
Affairs, the Marching Band and the Medical Scholars Program, plus
offices for faculty in history, philosophy and foreign languages
and literatures.
     The renovated homes also complement the other buildings in
the area, many of which have been included on the National
Register of Historic Places.
     According to Hollowell, during the last several years, the
University has made the renovation of historic structures a
priority. The four Victorian-style homes on Delaware
Avenue-painted in colors that represent their era and which
complement their architecture- represent the style of housing
built in Newark during the turn of the century. From the very
beginning of the Trabant University Center planning, the
improvement and preservation of these historic structures was
important and critical to the success and acceptance of the
project's overall design.
     Plans are being made to renovate the houses at 46-56
Delaware Avenue, also owned by the University, in the spring of
1997.