On March 12 at the Hanson House in Cranford, the 2016 Cranford Residential Preservation Award was presented to Jim and Julie Murphy, and the Cranford Commercial Preservation Award was presented to Lyn n Suga-Rafanelli of Just4Pooches. The Award is sponsored jointly by the Cranford Histor ical Society and th e Cran ford H istoric Preservation Advisory Board (HPAB).
In presenting the awards, Maureen Strazdon, Chair of the Cranfor d Historic Preser vation Advisory Board, noted both historic and current conne ctions between the buildings that weren’t known when the awardees were chosen. Historically, in 1899, Mr. F.W. Hun ter, who built the Mu rphy’s house, bought property in the area where Just4Pooches now stands, and so he may have owned the land. Currently, the architect on bot h buildings was Ronald Meeks of Cranf ord, and the construction was done b y Siano Br others Contracting of Cranford.
The Residential Award given to Jim and Julie Murphy was for th eir work on their house at 302 Prospect Av enue. The house was built in 1897 at a cost of $20,000 by owner Fred W. Hunter as part of the Roosevelt Manor section of town. Mr Hunter died in 1903, and the house was purchased by a Mr. Woodling that same year for $7,550. It is an eclectic blend of Roman, Greek, and Fle mish clas sical styles. T he i nte rior features a circular center hall with receiving parlor and main living room to the right an d library and dining room to the left, and kitchen, butler’s pantry and mai d’s st aircase in the rear. The house was purchased in 2003 by the Murphys, and in 20 05, ba sed on extensive rese arc h and old ph otos, they started the restoration project to return it to its original look. The entire process took 10 years.
The Co mmercial Award was pres ented to Lynn S uga-Rafanelli, owner of Just4Pooches at 208 North Avenue West. The ho use was built in 1875 near the i ntersection of North Avenue West and Orchard Street. It’s unclear who lived in the building early on since the first listing for an occupant of the house in the Cranford Directory is in 1906, a Joseph Richards. Ms. Suga-Rafanelli bought the building in 2014. She restored the exterior of the house to its former glory, adding whimsical touches such as the dog bones integrated into the porch design. In 2015 Lynn moved her pet emporium, Just4Pooches, from North Union Avenue to the house.
The Cranford Historical Society and the Cranford Historic Pr eservation A dvisory Boa rd salute the M urphys and Ms. Suga-Rafanelli for their interest in p reserv at ion a nd their efforts to preserve the character of Cranford. Founded in 19 27, t he Cranford Historical Society is a private organ ization whose missio n is t o preserve and perpetuate the history of Cranford. The Society operates the Cran e-Phillips House on Union Aven ue Nor th, and is headquartered at the Hanson House on Springfield Avenue.
For more information, visit www.cranfordhistoricalsociety.com. The Cran ford Hist oric P reserv ation Adv isory Board (HPAB) is a To wnship com mittee established in 1 993. HPAB’s mission is to aid in the preservation of Cranford ‘s archit ectural heri tage through documentati on o f significant structures , edu catio n of the public as to the va lue of prese rvation, and advi ce t o the Township o n laws and activ ities impacting preservation . You can find more information on HPAB at www.preservecranford.com.
(above, l-r) Jim and Julie Murphy with Maureen Strazdon.
