

Northern New Jersey Chapter
Monthly Program
Victorian Society in America
Northern New Jersey Chapter
VSA-NNJ meets monthly from September to June for lectures and events
related to 19th Century history, usually on the third Monday of the month.
Our next program will be:
Llewellyn Park
Presented by Rita DiMatteo
Monday, April 17, 2023 at 6:30 PM
Montclair Women's Club, 82 Union Street, Montclair NJ
This venue is handicap accessible. Parking is available behind the building and on the street.
Light refreshments, coffee and tea will be served.
The program is free for members, and $10 for guests.
Join us for a "postcard tour" of Llewellyn Park as seen through a collection of vintage postcards from the book “Greetings from Llewellyn Park,” created by artist Bill Westheimer and edited by Rita DiMatteo. The presentation will delve into the origins and development of Llewellyn Park, one of America’s first planned suburbs, located in West Orange. Among the topics covered will be the design of the community and its landscape in the 1800’s, neighborhood life in Llewellyn Park, and its significance as home to Thomas Edison and other prominent residents. The presentation will include an overview of efforts to preserve the integrity of its common parkland and historic structures and a discussion of the recent historic restoration of the Llewellyn Park Gatehouse, designed by prominent 19th century architect Alexander Jackson Davis.
Rita DiMatteo is a Trustee of Llewellyn Park and has lived in the Park for 17 years. She has been active in the Llewellyn Park Preservation Foundation and the Llewellyn Park Historical Society, which maintains the Park’s Archives, a collection of documents, photographs and artifacts, some dating back to the founding of the Park in 1857.
The presentation will be preceded by our much-anticipated Annual Silent Auction. Please consider donating your gently used treasures or new quality items to our annual fundraiser. You can then turn around and bid on other fantastic finds!
For more information, please contact christinapmayer@gmail.com or 973-886-9956.