Photos to accompany this article here:
Today -as the Science Building
Then -as the Carriage House (aerial view)
Looking up the driveway… Today -as the Science Building, Then -as the Carriage House
The horse stalls that originally filled the Carriage House
Construction -the transformation from the Carriage House to the Science Building

In a previous life, FDU’s College at Florham was the country estate of Florence Vanderbilt and her husband Hamilton Twombly.

The Twomblys spared no expense when it came to building their home, which they named “Florham.” The carriage house alone was “furnished at a cost of $85,000,” according to The Jerseyman in 1897. Adjusted for inflation, this sum would exceed $2 million in today’s money, as per an inflation calculator on Westegg.com/inflation. A document in the College at Florham Library Archives suggests that the whole estate may have cost $2 million to construct, (which would be close to $50 million in today’s dollars).

According to FDU’s Web site, the carriage house was large enough to house 40 horses and several carriages as well. After the automobile replaced horses and carriages there was a fleet of 15 cars stored in the carriage house, including six maroon Rolls Royces – maroon was the color of the House of Vanderbilt.

At least one reason why the Twomblys had so many Rolls Royces was one of social graces. The Twomblys entertained guests quite frequently. With a private railroad siding on the property, the Twomblys’ guests could easily get to Florham. A convoy of Rolls Royces would then taxi the guests to the Mansion. Florence did not want her guests to feel slighted if some were picked up in a Rolls Royce and some in a lesser car, according to a 2008 lecture by Professor Emeritus Walter Savage.
Documents in the College at Florham Library Archive reveal that there were five liveried coachmen and chauffeurs on duty around the clock.

After purchasing the Florham estate in 1958, FDU converted the carriage house into the Science Building at a cost of over $1.25 million, according to a document in the College at Florham Library Archive. Professor Emeritus Malcolm Sturchio oversaw the renovation. According to FDU Magazine, there were 12 teaching labs and eight research labs in place by 1962, as well as FDU’s Health Research Institute.

Today, the Science Building is home to the Biology, and Allied Health Sciences Department and the Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Science, according to FDU.edu.

DAN LANDAU
PHOTO EDITOR