Lambert Castle

	Belle Vista
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	New Jersey Register of Historic Places
	Lambert Castle in 2014
Location	Valley Road in Garret Mountain Reservation, Paterson, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°54′0″N 74°10′22″W / 40.90000°N 74.17278°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1892
NRHP reference No.	76001180
NJRHP No.	2385
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 3, 1976
Designated NJRHP	November 25, 1975

Lambert Castle, originally called Belle Vista, is located within the Garret Mountain Reservation in Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey. The building was built in 1892 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 3, 1976, for its significance in art, architecture, and industry.^[3]

History

Lambert Castle was built in 1892 as the home of Catholina Lambert, the owner of a prominent silk mill in the City of Paterson. Constructed in the Medieval Revival architectural style, Mr. Lambert's dream was to build a home reminiscent of the castles in Great Britain that he remembered from his boyhood years. President William McKinley and Vice President Garret Hobart visited the castle in 1898. In June 1910, filmmaker D. W. Griffith shot The Call To Arms on the grounds. The film was released in July 1910. The cast included Mary Pickford (in her only male role) and Henry B. Walthall. Film Preservation Society, Inc. is currently restoring the film as part of The Biograph Project.^[4]

After Lambert's death in 1923, his family sold the building to the City of Paterson, which in turn sold it to Passaic County a few years later. Passaic County used the building for administrative offices, and in 1936, provided one room to the fledgling Passaic County Historical Society to serve as its historical museum. As time went by the museum grew, room by room, until the entire first floor became the historical museum.

In the late 1990s, the Castle underwent a multimillion-dollar restoration and all four floors of the building were developed into a museum and library.^[5]

Construction

Construction began on the castle in 1891. The castle was built on the side of the First Watchung Mountain out of sandstone and granite. The sandstone was quarried from the surrounding hills. The initial construction cost was estimated at a half a million dollars.^[5] In 1896, an art gallery was added to the castle and a 70-foot observation tower was constructed on the crest of the cliff.

The gallery wing fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1936. The observation tower was open to the public until the late 1960s when it was closed due to disrepair.^[5]

In 2014 the Garret Rock Observation tower renovations were completed and the observation tower was reopened to the public. Admission to the tower is free with panoramic views available from the top.

Gallery

Marble lion statues by the entrance
Lambert Tower on the mountain crest

References

^ "National Register Information System – (#76001180)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Passaic County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. December 28, 2020. p. 7.
^ Hammond, D. Stanton (1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Belle Vista (Lambert Castle)". National Park Service. With accompanying 3 photos
^ When The Movies Were Young, Linda Arvidson, January 1, 1925
^ ^a ^b ^c https://iwiki.net/Lambert_Castle Archived January 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Accessed April 29, 2010.

6.In the Beauty of the Lilies, page 1. John Updike, 1996.

External links

Lambert Castle Museum - official site

[nris-1] "National Register Information System – (#76001180)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[NJRHP-2] "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Passaic County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. December 28, 2020. p. 7.

[nrhpdoc-3] Hammond, D. Stanton (1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Belle Vista (Lambert Castle)". National Park Service. With accompanying 3 photos

[4] When The Movies Were Young, Linda Arvidson, January 1, 1925

[lambert-5] ttps://iwiki.net/Lambert_Castle Archived January 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Accessed April 29, 2010.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Paterson, New Jersey
Neighborhoods	Downtown Paterson Dublin Little Italy Little Lima Eastside Eastside Park Great Falls/Society for the Establishment of Useful Manufactures Historic District Hillcrest Lakeview Northside Old Great Falls Historic District People's Park Sandy Hill South Paterson Stoney Road Totowa section Wrigley Park
Government	Paterson Fire Department Mayor Paterson Police Department
Schools	Paterson Public Schools Eastside High School Garrett Morgan Academy International High School John F. Kennedy High School Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts Paterson Catholic High School (closed)
Other education	Danforth Memorial Library Passaic County Community College Main Campus
Landmarks	Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Center City Mall Garret Mountain Reservation Lambert Castle Great Falls (Passaic River) Hinchliffe Stadium Passaic County Court House Paterson Armory Paterson City Hall Paterson Museum Public School Number Two St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church Barnert Hospital (closed)
History	1835 Paterson textile strike 1902 Paterson silk strike 1913 Paterson silk strike Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works Society for the Establishment of Useful Manufactures
Culture and Media	The Arab Voice Paterson (poem) Lean on Me (film) Paterson (film) The Record
Transportation	Broadway Bus Terminal Bridges Paterson NJT station Spanish Transportation
This list is incomplete.

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Atlantic Bergen Burlington Camden Cape May Cumberland Essex Gloucester Hudson Hunterdon Mercer Middlesex Monmouth Morris Ocean Passaic Salem Somerset Sussex Union Warren
Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks National Natural Landmarks
Category NRHP Portal New Jersey Portal

v t e National Register of Historic Places in Passaic County, New Jersey
Landmarks	Pietro and Maria Botto House Great Falls of the Passaic River Historic District Hinchliffe Stadium Ringwood Manor
Districts	Botany Worsted Mills Historic District Dundee Canal Industrial Historic District Eastside Park Historic District Long Pond Ironworks Passaic County Court House and United States Custom House and Post Office Historic District Paterson Downtown Commercial Historic District
Places of worship	Cathedral of St. John the Baptist St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church
Houses	Ailsa Farms Aycrigg Mansion Belle Vista Frederick William Cooke Residence Dey Mansion John W. Ferguson House Garritse–Doremus–Westervelt House John W. Rea House Schuyler–Colfax House Reynier Speer House Daniel Thompson and John Ryle Houses Van Riper–Hopper House Van Houten House John and Anna Vreeland House
Buildings	Danforth Memorial Library Kossuth Street School Morris Canal Passaic Elks Club Paterson City Hall People's Bank and Trust Company Building Public School Number Two Reinhardt Mills Skylands U.S. Animal Quarantine Station
Sites	Goffle Brook Park
Structures	Arch Street Bridge over the Passaic River Clinton Furnace Straight Street Bridge over the Passaic River
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Passaic County, New Jersey and List of National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey

History

Construction

Gallery

See also

References

External links