Final bricks falling at Greystone

PARSIPPANY –

Look to each side of the center portion of the Kirkbride Building at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital and you'll see new open spaces, soon to be turned over to Morris County for stewardship.

With the extended north and south wings gone, the historic Kirkbride entrance will soon be open space as well. Workers from Northstar Contracting this week are carefully removing the stone facade, marble columns and other elements for preservation as they prepare for the final stage of demolition — crumbling what is left of the 675,000-square-foot building to the ground.

"It's sad to see it go, but I understand. It would be expensive saving it," said Tom Stark of Morris Township, who stopped during a bike ride late Tuesday morning in adjacent Central Park of Morris County and took pictures of the iconic five-story, Second Victorian Empire-style domed structure still standing tall at the end of Central Avenue.

"It rips you apart," said Rich Modzeleski of Morristown, a photographer who has been documenting the demolition with a drone camera. "It seems to be the nature of this state that they don't have respect for this kind of architecture, which we will never see again."

Following a state review and both public and court challenges from preservationists hoping to save Greystone from the wrecking ball, the $35.4 million demolition and remediation project was launched on Aug. 14, 2014. Actual demolition of the Kirkbride began on April 6.

The nonprofit Preserve Greystone group continued to stage rallies and again took the state Department of Treasury — which is overseeing the project — to court in May as the contractors began razing the long wings of the massive 19th century building.

"There was hope the facade would be left standing, but it appears that hope is gone," Modzeleski said.

At this point, there's little left to save but the memories, although the Treasury Department and the Morris County Park Commission have announced plans to work with the contractors to preserve portions of the building.

'Magiky Tree' preserved

Treasury spokesperson Joseph Perone also said on Tuesday that Northstar is performing the demolition in such a way as to preserve as many trees as possible. Among those trees, according to Perone, are two old beech trees near the front entrance, one of which legendary songwriter Woody Guthrie referred to as the "Magiky Tree," and under which his children (including Arlo Guthrie and his sister, Nora Guthrie, who spoke out against the demolition) played when they came to visit during his time there as a patient in the early 1960s.

"The state, the contractor and the Morris County Park Commission are working together to carefully preserve parts of the Kirkbride Building to honor the role that Greystone Psychiatric Hospital played in the history of psychiatric care," Perone said. "The contractor is preserving four components of the center core that include two cast-iron posts, 1,000 linear feet of granite building façade, two marble columns and two decorative pieces on top of those columns."

The self-sustaining campus, opened in 1876, flourished for nearly a century as part of a national effort to revolutionize treatment of the mentally ill, but which fell in to disrepair over the last several decades.

The Treasury Department is still razing the Kirkbride and other 26 structures on the property that have fallen into dangerous disrepair. The structures — along with a series of connecting tunnels — also require removal of toxic substances. such as lead paint, asbestos and mold before the property is planted over.

Northstar's schedule lists a completion date of Dec. 10 for demolition of the Kirkbride. The scheduled completion date for the entire project is Feb. 15. Once the 165 acres of land is cleared, it will be turned over to Morris County to be preserved as open space.

Preserve Greystone President John Huebner and other members have previously criticized Gov. Chris Christie's administration for failing to give adequate consideration to redevelopment proposals and preserve the largest and one of the most significant historic buildings in Morris County.

Tuesday, John Huebner, president of Preserve Greystone, likened the planned mementos and tributes to "a headstone."

"That's not what we were fighting for," he said. "There will be no reuse of the building whatsoever. It's useful life has been completely ended."

"I just traveled into Europe and visited some places where World War II destroyed some important places," Modzeleski said. "Those people are literally rebuilding these buildings, brick-by-brick, because of the respect they have for them. That seems to be lacking here. For what reason, I don't know. Probably has something to do with money, and people who have never seen these buildings."

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-428-6627; wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com.