One man's dream is re-realized

Ask Vineland residents about the Dr. Seuss-like castle on Mill Road, and chances are they'll have stories to tell.

Some may have met its eccentric creator, George Daynor, who led an unusual life of highs and lows - from Klondike gold-rush prospector to stock investor who lost everything.

Daynor's so-called Palace of Depression opened on the site of a swampy junkyard in 1932, attracted hundreds of thousands of Shore-bound visitors, and was razed in 1969.

But determined locals, including the director of the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections, haven't given up trying to rebuild it, even after vandals and thieves knocked down walls and stole building materials in recent years.

They're now making steady progress with the help of scores of young volunteers and New Jersey Youth Corps workers.

Brick and stone walls - decorated with colored glass, gargoyles, and car parts - are going up, mimicking the fairy-tale look of Daynor's creation.

The Jersey Devil's den and the kitchen used for storytelling have been re-created, along with a labyrinth of odd underground walkways.

"I was 4 or 5 years old when I met Daynor, and he scared the hell out of me," said Kevin Kirchner, 60, the city official and president of the Palace of Depression Reconstruction Association, a nonprofit in charge of the project. "He had a beard and long hair and looked like a werewolf."

The Grimm Brothers quality of the old man's palace - with its distinctive turrets and spires - inspired the imaginations of children. Visitors such as Kirchner never forgot their tours.

"Now I give up my Saturdays, and my vacation and comp time, to work here," Kirchner said. "We want to turn it into a city park and attract crowds again."

His association depends on donated money and services of residents and companies to complete the work, which is expected to take at least two more years. The city owns the four-acre site.

"I don't know that we'll get hundreds of thousands, but I know people will come," Kirchner said. "We've already gotten up to 30 visitors a day while we've been building."

Members of the New Jersey Youth Corps are the newest fans of Daynor, who died at age 104 in 1964, long before they were born. They are earning their high school equivalency diplomas and getting work experience - for minimum wage - performing construction jobs at the site.

"It's history, and it's repeating itself," said Elizabeth Ramirez, 23, a Vineland resident, who helped build a wall. "I've been here four years, and I thought this was just a junkyard. I didn't know about [the Palace of Depression]. It's very interesting."

How could anyone not be drawn into the story Daynor's quintessential storybook castle?

"An old guy built this place out of scrap and junk - out of nothing during the Depression," said another Youth Corps worker, Joshua Carrasquilla, 18, of Vineland. "To me, that's inspiring."

The site got its name from the economic turmoil at the time of its opening on Christmas Day 1932. After Daynor lost his money in the stock market, he devoted himself with P.T. Barnum-like energy to the construction of the palace.

"I came here as a kid," said Vineland resident Jeffrey Tirante, 51, an artist and caretaker at the site who was married there in 1986. "I saw it three years before it was torn down - and it was amazing even then."

Tirante created a model of the palace and has helped build the foundation of the main building. He will do artwork in the "fantastic castle," as Daynor called it, and in a visitors center.

"Daynor and his wife came here looking for land that they could work" in 1929, he said. "They found a junkyard on top of a swamp and thought they hit pay dirt."

Their creation had myriad archways fashioned from car fenders, walls covered with car parts and broken glass, and a gate made from a baby crib. It also had a periscope, a ham radio, an indoor wishing well, and a "Knockout Room," in which he offered to knock out depression with a dangling brick.

"The Palace of Depression was brought about by a man who had faith in himself and in his works," Daynor told a Washington Times-Herald reporter in 1939. ". . . Self-educated, no schooling, and with no instructors and no textbooks, he started to work without plans, tools, or money."

Daynor loved to pop up and surprise visitors by using a network of tunnels. He'd also take them to see a statue of the Jersey Devil in his Jersey Devil's den in the basement.

"This is educational," said one of the Youth Corps workers, Deja Higginbotham, 20, of Trenton, who saw the den this week. "It keeps the history of this site going. What happened here was a long time ago, but nobody forgot."

The palace made a big impression on Ernie Marcacci - many decades ago. At age 80, the retired marble and tile contractor is now using his skills to rebuild it. One of his specialties is creating circular patterns of brick and stone in the walls.

"At night, I go through the work in my mind," said the longtime Vineland resident. "I sketch it out and then try to create it. Right now, I'm doing a wagon wheel design. . . . I'd like to be here when everything is done."

For Marcacci, Tirante, and Kirchner, the reconstruction of the palace recaptures warm memories. It was Daynor's dream, and now it's the dream of many others.

"I was fascinated by the place and want to bring it back again so others can enjoy as I did," Kirchner said.

To volunteer or contribute, call Kevin Kirchner of the Palace of Depression Restoration Association at his city office at 856-794-4113 or go to www.ourhero.biz/tovolunteerforthepalace.htm

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