Pitman Grove

Pitman Grove is located in Pitman, Gloucester County, New Jersey. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1977. The Pitman Grove Area is on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. It developed from a summer camp meeting at the turn of the 20th century. In the center of the Grove area is a circular park. In the center of the park is the Pitman Grove Auditorium. Twelve avenues, numbered one through twelve, radiate like spokes on the hub of a wheel from the circle.[3]

Pitman Grove
LocationBounded by Holly, East, Laurel, and West Avenues (both sides), Pitman, New Jersey
Coordinates39°43′50″N 75°7′58″W
Area20 acres (8.1 ha)
Architectural styleSecond Empire, Italianate
NRHP reference No.77000870[1]
NJRHP No.1412[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 19, 1977
Designated NJRHPJuly 10, 1976
Pitman Grove Museum
Houses in Pitman Grove

Pitman Grove Auditorium (1871) The first structure on this site was a temporary “preaching stand” built in 1871. This was quickly replaced by a twelve-sided pavilion, about fifty feet in diameter capped by a cupola, covering a stage raised off the ground and protected by a wood railing at its perimeter. In 1878, the Auditorium was remodeled, and a new, rectangular-plan wing added to provide seating capacity. The building was expanded in 1911 adding 24-foot side aisles at both the north and south elevations. Gas lanterns lit the Auditorium beginning in the early 1880s with electrical arch lights added in 1897.[4]

Architectural features include: colored Queen Anne Style windows, a combination of vertical board and batten siding with shingled siding above at the east end entrance, and a three-bay arrangement of a wide central aisle flanked to each side by a smaller side aisle.

The auditorium changed in the early 1960s to reflect a more modern style. An extensive renovation in 1993-94 attempted to restore the building to its pre-1911 appearance. Despite renovations over time, many original materials and features remain.

Built by the New Jersey Camp Meeting Association the auditorium continues to be used for camp meetings each summer as well as a place of secular assembly throughout the year. It is now owned by the Borough of Pitman.

Other nearby Camp Meeting Association buildings included: Whitecar Tabernacle which was located on the unit block of Fourth Avenue and was used mainly for children's religious services and instruction. Lizzie Smith Temple was located at the corner of Wesley and South Avenues

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Gloucester County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. April 1, 2010. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 18, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
  3. An Overview of Pitman: Its History and Charm. Pitman Memorabilia Committee, 2017.
  4. An Overview of Pitman: Its History and Charm. Pitman Memorabilia Committee, 2017.


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