On September 5, 2024, 20 members of the Architects League of Northern New Jersey enjoyed a walking tour of Historic Radburn. Led by Radburn residents Rick Hampson and Stephen Taylor, this tour offered a unique opportunity to explore one of America’s most significant planned communities. 

Tour guides Rick and Steve in front of the Radburn Plaza Building

The tour included Radburn‘s north side, encompassing approximately three-quarters of the historic district in a mile-long walk and explained the community’s significance in the history of American urban and suburban planning and architectural design. As the group moved through Radburn‘s signature “superblocks,” we will discuss the importance of its interior parks, footpaths that separate pedestrians from vehicular traffic, cul-de-sacs designed to separate vehicles from pedestrians, and houses oriented towards parks or gardens rather than streets. They also explored Radburn‘s notable public buildings, including the Plaza Building (Frederick Ackerman, 1929), the Abbott Court apartments (Andrew J. Thomas, 1929), the Radburn train station (Clarence Stein, 1930), and the Radburn School (James Oscar Betelle, 1930). Equally important, guests learned of the impetus behind Radburn‘s design—an idealism born of the Progressive Era that found its last expression before the Great Depression.

 

Our tour coincided with the first day of school, so along our walk, we found inspirational chalk messages written by residents for the children of Radburn to encounter on their way to class. We learned that the beautiful pool facility was a big attraction for the original prospective buyers. 

 

The tour concluded at the home of AIA Architects League of Northern NJ Members and Radburn residents, Suzanne, FAIA, and Louis DiGeronimo, AIA. Dinner was served al fresco while Lou shared tales of his years studying and enjoying Radburn. This event was suggested by Lou and co-chaired by Ralph Rosenberg, AIA, and Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA. Assistance was also provided by Anna Chang, Associate AIA. A good time was had by all! 

 

Louis DiGeronimo, AIA, sharing his stories of Radburn in his beautiful backyard!

VIEW A SHORT FILM ON RADBURN TALES FROM THE 1940s

From our tour guides, Rick and Steve: 

This Radburn footage from the early 1940s was extracted from a 16 mm silent film by Ronald Campbell (1907-?), who worked as a San Mateo County Planning engineer before becoming an executive for the David Bohannan Organization. In addition to Radburn, the film contains scenes from the Country Club District in Kansas City, Missouri; Regional Recreation Facilities in New York; and Lakefront Recreation Development in Chicago. These scenes were probably used to showcase innovative examples of urban planning to the Planning Commission. 

The woman featured in one scene may be Mrs. Robert (Lillis Chapman) Campbell (1905-1970). The beginning of the footage has been slightly modified, and the 1944 recording “I’ll Be Seeing You” by Billie Holiday was added.  The original film is in the San Mateo County Historical Association archives.

VIEW A SHORT FILM ON RADBURN, 1985: SUBURBAN ‘ARCADIA’

From our tour guides, Rick and Steve: 

There have been many advertisements for Radburn since its creation in 1929. None is more alluring than a six-minute section of the 1986 PBS television documentary, Pride of Place: Building the American Dream.

Radburn was featured in the fourth episode of the eight-part series, “Suburbs: Arcadia for Everyone.’’ 

The film footage, shot in summer 1985, makes Radburn look like heaven: lush, green, tranquil. Children walk safely toward school via the tunnel under Howard Avenue; bike along shaded park paths; and dig happily in a Tot Lot sandbox. On the great lawn of B Park, a man plays ball with his kids as a sunbather lounges nearby. 

The dreamy effect is enhanced by a floridly romantic musical score by Carl Davis, known for his compositions for TV, such as the British series World at War, and film, including The French Lieutenant’s Woman.

The series was written and hosted by Robert A.M. Stern, then beginning his successful career as an architect (with buildings such as the super-luxe 15 Central Park West apartment house) and educator (deanship of the Yale School of Architecture).  

The Radburn segment starred some actual Radburn residents. 

While filming in B Park, members of the Pride of Place crew approached Amy Korn of 5 Ruskin Place as she dropped off her 4-year-old son Justin at the “Tot Lot”  program. They asked Amy if she could help them film. She enthusiastically agreed. 

In the film, she’s shown driving her burgundy AMC Pacer along the edge of Radburn’s B superblock (on Plaza Road and Owen Avenue) before turning onto Bristol Place. She parks at the end of the cul-de-sac, gets her 6-year-old son Adam out of the back seat and walks with him toward their “home’’ – (actually 14 Bristol, then the residence of Bob and Pat Dombal). 

Adam’s brother Justin appears in a scene at the end of the segment, sliding down a pole on a piece of playground equipment.  

Stern, the narrator, is present only in voice-over. While his script is largely laudatory, it notes that Radburn did not turn out as designers Clarence Stein and Henry Wright intended: “The cul-de-sacs were planned as little more than service alleys. But, contrary to plan, they serve as both front yards and backyards.’’ That said, there is no sign of pedestrians on the cul-de-sac – just a noisy garbage truck. 

At the end of the segment, Stern addresses “why Radurn’s car-free version of the suburban good life didn’t catch on.’’ He cites two factors. First, Americans “were reluctant to sacrifice large private yards for common (park) ground.’’ Second, they loved their cars too much to hide them away on a cul-de-sac. Instead, he concludes, “they wanted to flaunt them.’’

After the filming, back on Ruskin Place, Amy Korn got a surprise at the front door – a beautiful floral arrangement from the film crew. 

She didn’t need any thanks; she, her husband Richard, and their sons loved living in Radburn. But by the time the episode aired in 1986, they were gone. Richard’s employer, JCPenny, had relocated its headquarters – to Texas. 

Learn more at The Radburn Tales Blog

Tour guide Rick Hampson began leading free walking tours of Historic Radburn, N.J., after retiring following a career as a national reporter for The Associated Press and USA TODAY. Rick moved to Radburn in 1989 with his wife, Lindy Washburn, who learned about the community on a field trip for a graduate course in urban planning. They raised two sons in Radburn and continue to enjoy life there. Rick and his neighbor and fellow tour guide Stephen Taylor have delved into Radburn history via primary sources, including a series of “lost’’ interviews tape-recorded decades ago with the community’s founders and settlers.