Photo spread published in the April 9 issue of The Metro. Click on the black text for the photos to accompany this text.
The Mansion is the centerpiece of both the former Twombly estate and today’s College at Florham. It was originally built around the turn of the twentieth century. It was modeled after the Christopher Wren wing of Hampton Court Palace, near London.
Documents in the College at Florham Library Archives suggest that the entire estate cost $2 million to build, which according to an inflation calculator on Westegg.com/inflation would be close to $50 million in today’s dollars.
Left, what the Clowney Gardens looked like when the Twomblys lived at Florham and Right, the gardens today. The Clowney Gardens were named after the late William D. Clowney, a trustee of FDU.
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The photo to the left shows what the Orangerie looked like when the Twomblys lived at Florham. It was a sort of greenhouse where citrus trees were grown (Orangerie is French for “orange grove”). When the trees grew too tall, tiles in the floor were removed to lower the trees. Originally, the Orangerie had a glass roof, but an incident involving students climbing on top of the Orangerie prompted FDU to install the copper roof that is on the Orangerie today.
Also visible in the photo to the left, are the 5 greenhouses that were located behind the Orangerie. Today, the campus library and the library parking lot occupy that space.
FDU began construction on the library in 1959, finishing in 1961. It had space for 60,000 volumes. In 1966, a major addition was put on the library, allowing for up to 200,000 books, according to FDU Magazine. Today, the library contains over 150,5000 general circulating and reference titles as well as 500 currently received journals.
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Above is a photo of the Playhouse, a building with an indoor pool, clay tennis courts and a putting green that was built for Ruth Twombly, the daughter of Florence and Hamilton Twombly. Ruth Twombly hosted Great-Gatsby-style parties there regularly. In order to better use the space, FDU demolished the Playhouse and build today’s recreation building and the NAB on the site.
Today, the Roberta Chiavello Ferguson and Thomas George Fergusen Recreation Center, is the home of the FDU Devils sports program. The plaza was built this past summer. The statue of Ulysses which graces the new plaza is a remnant of FDU’s now-defunct Rutherford Campus.
The Stadler, Zenner, Hoffman-La Roche Academic Building (a.k.a. the NAB), had its first classes in 1998. Dreyfuss Building, houses Dreyfuss Theater, where student plays are performed. Dreyfuss was one of the earliest campus buildings that FDU built.
The Twombly Residence Halls, were the first dorms that FDU built on the College at Florham. They were completed in 1964 and, according to FDU Magazine, they “became the first co-education dormitories in the state.” Today, the Twombly Residence Halls are for incoming Freshmen.
The Barn, as a part of the Florham estate, originally housed workhorses and sheep. FDU converted it into a fine arts facility in 1961, complete with an art studio, a small theater, and classrooms. Today, the Barn houses Public Safety, Facilities, Continuing Education, and the recently renovated Black Box Theater.
For more information about the Twombly estate and the College at Florham’s early history, go here
DAN LANDAU
Photo Editor
