Burlco site among N.J.'s most endangered

Arneytown, an 18th-century hamlet in Burlington County, is one of the 10-most-endangered historic sites in New Jersey, according to Preservation New Jersey.

The Trenton-based nonprofit group releases a list each year in an effort to draw public and government attention to the needs of the state's heritage.

Three other locations in South Jersey also are threatened: the Atlantic City Post Office; the Belcoville Post Office in Belcoville, Atlantic County; and the Beach Theater in Cape May.

The rest of the sites identified by Preservation New Jersey are in central and North Jersey and include a Jersey City church, a Scotch Plains golf club house, and an aging Morristown business district.

The Burlington County site is so small it's easily missed. Arneytown, recognized by the state and federal governments as a historic site, consists of three historic buildings - two occupied houses and the old Arneytown Tavern.

The tavern - which dates to 1731 - has been vacant and deteriorating for seven years. Preservation New Jersey says it's up for sale and vulnerable since there is no local historic preservation ordinance to protect it from demolition or alterations not in keeping with the building's history.

In Atlantic County, the Atlantic City Post Office also is endangered. Built in the 1930s, the post office conveyed a sense of permanence and civic pride with its neoclassical design, Italian marble floors and murals. But Preservation New Jersey says the building is imperiled by a road project.

Also in Atlantic County, the Belcoville Post Office is in need of restoration and rehabilitation estimated to cost $1 million. It was built by Bethlehem Steel in 1918 to service its new munitions plant and the thousands of workers who populated the area in a matter of weeks during World War I.

In Cape May County, the Beach Theater, a prime beachfront property, faces possible demolition. The building was designed by well-known theater architect William Lee, built in 1950, and considered quite innovative for its time. It has a storefront design with accompanying shops.