Duke Mansion Can Be Saved

October 11, 2015

After learning about the proposed demolition of the Doris Duke mansion, it seems ironic that the executive director of the Duke Farms Foundation, Michael Catania, is the one who is calling for the mansion’s demolition.

NJ taxpayers once funded Mr. Catania’s salary as a deputy commissioner of the NJ Department of Environmental Protection under Governors Byrne and Kean, and before that his salary at the Office of Legislative Services. In that role he drafted many landmark NJ environmental laws, including the NJ Conservation Restriction and Historic Preservation Restriction Act.

Now he is the point man for demolition?

For whatever reasons, the Duke mansion was allowed to deteriorate. It is not beyond repair or beyond the state of “arrested decay,” which is a term used by the State of California to preserve Bodie State Historic Park. The Duke mansion is not beyond the state of “preserved ruin,” which is the term used by Philadelphia PA to preserve Eastern State Penitentiary. Both sites bring in tourist dollars to their respective regions.

Some of the reasons for the demolition of the Duke mansion are the cost of mold and asbestos remediation, and the cost of heating the mansion. Mold has existed since the beginning of time. It is dealt with on a daily basis by home owners not as wealthy as the Duke Farms Foundation. Shore owners had experience with mold remediation after hurricane Sandy. They had houses repaired, rehabilitated or re-built. Mold issues can be remedied.

Asbestos remediation is also dealt with by ordinary home owners and businesses. Once it is removed it is gone forever.

Heating costs affect everyone, and there are ways to alleviate the ever increasing costs. Perhaps more vision is needed. The Duke Farms is conservation and environmentally conscientious, and the existing solar array and geothermal wells could be utilized or a windmill could be considered with the appropriate local government approvals.

Ms. Doris Duke was a reclusive individual, who considered the Hillsborough Duke Estate to be the place that she felt most comfortable. The people of the region knew her from news reports and tabloids as the “poor little rich girl.” The iconic Duke stone wall separated her from the rest of the world yet she gave so much back to this region, state, and nation.

Her family papers, located at Duke University Library archives, detail the meticulous care that she and her family gave to the Duke mansion. Those extensive family papers are the blue print for rehabilitation, restoration, and preservation of the mansion. The depth of the documentation of the mansion should certainly be noted. If Ms. Duke did not care about the mansion then those papers would have been destroyed.

People like Ms. Duke had blind faith that those coming behind them would simply know their wishes. She saw no need to specifically express not to demolish her home. The mansion is approximately 58,000 square feet, and it is listed in the top twenty largest houses in the United States.

What would Winterthur be without the DuPont mansion? Winterthur has approximately 130,000 visitors a year. What would the Morristown National Historical Park be without the Ford Mansion? In 2013, more than 300,000 people visited Morristown National Historical Park, spending almost $17 million and supported almost 200 jobs according to a study by the US Geological Survey.

Why does the Duke Farms Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation have no vision about the significance of the Duke mansion to the entire cultural landscape that is Duke Farms? What is a farm without a residence?

The Duke mansion deserves to be saved not just to preserve the structure or preserve the legacy of the Duke Family. It deserves to be saved for the economic engine that it could provide to stimulate the region’s economy, job growth, and cultural and heritage tourism.

Sincerely,

Nancy A. PiwowarPlainfield, New Jersey 07063