Upon the Passing of Mr. Anton J. Massopust
A bright light has gone out from the City of Perth Amboy with the passing of Mr. Anton J. Massopust. He was very active in our community, serving as the Fire Department Chief, Board of Education member, and participated in the bicentennial celebration of Perth Amboy’s Signing the Bill of Rights First, which are just some of his many pursuits.
But what I remember him for most, was his time as a biology teacher in Perth Amboy High School. He made learning interesting as well as fun, with trips to the Pine Barrens, and a sense of humor which brightened our days. As chair of the Science Department, we visited a room in his office that had animals which he rescued.
He also had a great love for the history of our city. “Mr. Mass,” as we called him, led the archeological excavations at the Proprietary House and other locations. It was a real learning experience to actually touch history, to make it become real while finding artifacts.
Mr. Mass was a role model to students, many of whom looked up to him as a father-figure for his wise counsel. He was a moral man who shared his faith in God with others.
His wife, Marcella, was also an educator, an art teacher, who inspired her students to excel. City Hall has a mural depicting the branches of our military which she supervised her students to paint. Together, the Massopusts shared their concern, time, and talent for the youth of our city.
I would like to extend my condolences to the entire family, Mrs. Mass, Katherine and her husband, Paul, and Anton III.
Although he is no longer among us, Mr. Mass will continue to live on in the happy memories that we have of him, and in the difference that he made to help so many other people.
Marianne Zanko Komek
How Much Does Perth Amboy Value Its History?
This building at the Copper Works site was one of 11 buildings in Perth Amboy on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. *Photo by Renee Skelton
But that distinction did not save it from recent destruction. *File Photo by John K. Dyke
This massive brick building stood for about 120 years at the southern end of Elm Street—the main office for what was Anaconda Copper. The building was listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places—one of just 11 buildings in Perth Amboy with that distinction. Unfortunately, that didn’t save it from destruction. It’s now gone, demolished just a few weeks ago to extend a planned parking lot.
Our Hall of Shame
The list of major pieces of this city’s history that have been demolished for the most trivial of reasons is an amazing one. The Hall of Shame includes the Inness House, listed in both the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places. It was pulled down in 1993 for a hamburger place. Now it’s an empty lot next to a car wash. In 2019 the owners of the Parkhurst House, a mid-19th century home on outer Smith Street that was part of the Eagleswood community and most likely a stop on the Underground Railroad, had it demolished. The debris-strewn lot remains empty. The latest on this list is the destruction of this 120-year-old Anaconda Copper administration building. Why? Because Home Depot, the new occupant of the gargantuan warehouses going up on the Copper Works site, demanded that the property owner/developer clear the spot where the historic building stood for additional parking.
There is a second smaller building, the “Lab Building,” across from where the administration building stood. The property owner, Duke Realty, has made a commitment to rehab that building for city offices and public bathrooms. But that doesn’t make up for the loss of the much larger and more impressive administration building, which should have been saved as well—and could have been repurposed for use by the community.
The city was offered the building at some point in the process, but didn’t have the money in its budget to restore and maintain it. Unfortunately, the historic preservation commission or others that might have been able to locate sources of alternate funding to save a building on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places were not brought into the decision-making process. Yes, the building was in private hands, and it would have been expensive to rehab it. But threatened buildings that are listed in the National or State Register often attract attention and funding that other buildings do not. Unfortunately, at this point we’ll never know what could have been done—and this historic building is gone.
Perth Amboy’s Industrial Heritage
The building that was just demolished was one of the last links to the city’s industrial past. Built in about 1898, it was the main office for Anaconda Copper, the first of the city’s major industrial giants. At its height, Anaconda Copper employed 2500 workers and produced almost 500 million pounds of refined copper each year.
Anaconda Copper, National Lead, American Smelting and Refining, General Cable, Chevron—all were part of an industrial engine that drove the economy of this city during the early to mid-20th century. These industries left a legacy of contamination that we are still dealing with today. Yet they also played a huge part in building the blue-collar working-class community that thrived in Perth Amboy for much of the 20th century. Just about all vestiges of that industrial heritage are gone—with the tiny Lab Building just about the only piece that remains.
People in Perth Amboy talk endlessly about their pride in our history, about the importance of history. But historic buildings are our history—in brick, mortar, wood, and stone. Whether residential, commercial, or industrial, they are a tangible link to the people and events of the past.
Preserving historic buildings while adapting them to new uses should always be preferred to demolition. We only have to look to other towns around the country—many right here in New Jersey—that preserved historic industrial buildings and repurposed them. In Trenton, 100-year-old industrial buildings of the Roebling Wire Works, which produced cable for the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, are being developed into “Roebling Center,” which will house a mixture of entertainment, retail, office, and residential space. In Paterson, several industrial buildings that were once textile mills are now home to art galleries, a museum, banquet facilities, and residences. Several other cities around the state, including Newark, Jersey City, and Camden, have presided over creative reuse of industrial buildings.
A Better Future for Our Past
A city like Perth Amboy, with all of its challenges, must use all of the tools in its toolbox for economic development. One of those tools is heritage tourism—using the city’s historic assets to attract people from other places to visit, with the resulting effect of boosting local restaurants and other businesses. Perth Amboy cannot attract heritage tourists or heritage businesses if it does not protect its historic buildings and historic districts, which are the anchors of any such initiative.
We can’t allow the destruction of our heritage to continue. Perth Amboy must give concrete protection to its historic resources in local law. Historic buildings worthy of preservation should be listed in the city’s Master Plan as such. Any requested alteration or destruction of these historic buildings should be a matter of pubic discussion and scrutiny—with such proposals undergoing review by the historic preservation commission, the planning board, and professionals with expertise in historic preservation.
The preservation of heritage in Perth Amboy requires more of us to be Keepers—protectors of that which has been passed down to us, with the sole mission to let it survive for future generations. Keepers don’t bargain away heritage. They don’t give permision to others to destroy it. They keep it and protect it for posterity. This city has lost too much already.
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We didn’t succeed in saving the Copper Works building—but not for lack of trying. Those who helped in that effort deserve thanks:
• From the Proprietary House Association: Lisa Nanton and Mary Ellen Pavlovsky
• From the Historic Preservation Commission: Anna Daily, Jens Efsen, Phyllis Gianfrancesco, Katherine Massopust, and Luis Rosario
• From the City Council: Councilman Joel Pabon and Council President William Petrick
Thanks are also due to Mike Davis of Duke Realty for allowing us access to the buildings and for being open to saving some parts of the building for a historical monument on the site. Thanks also to city business administrator Fred Carr, who was made aware of our concerns and put us in touch with Duke for those discussions.
Renee Skelton
Lions and Tigers And Bears, Oh My!
This whole Corona thing is out of control. Granted it hard not to panic when your alleged leaders seem to be. If you think there is no panic, try to go out and find a roll of toilet paper.
I’ve always hated crowds from the get go, so I’m not too worried about going to mass gatherings, but canceling events and gatherings of 250 people or more? I guess 249 are OK. This panic is out of control and seems to be on the way to getting worse.
There are some good things that may come out of this, like the closing of schools. Aside from the students being happy, that is till they realize that they will have to make up the missed days in the summer, it has some good points.
If you give all students a laptop so that they can learn from home, we might realize that we can get rid of three quarters of our teachers, lower property taxes, get rid of annoying school buses, not have students throwing garbage on our properties on the way to and from schools, and even eliminate school shootings.
I take what I said earlier back, lets panic, it might be good for all in the long run.
Joe Bayona
Nice to Know and a Necessity
When we have lawyers making laws and educators deciding curriculum for school systems, I’d say we have a classic case of conflict of interests! Although society may benefit from this it is the lawyers that get wealthy and the teachers who get to keep their jobs regardless of whether or not the subjects that they teach ACTUALLY PREPARE our children for life in the world of employment. There’s a big difference between something that is “nice to know” and a necessity, especially now when virtually everything can be looked up so easily on various devices. Too bad most folks are duped into thinking that the importance of some things is really not that important!
Sincerely yours,
The Honorable
Michael J. Rusznak
