1030 Sherman Avenue
This cozy little 1920s colonial on the edge of the Plainfield/South Plainfield line is a candidate for a teardown and replacement with new construction.
The matter is slated to come before the Zoning Board of Adjustment this evening. Thanks to reader NP for the heads up.
The crime? Depends on your point of view.
Would it be a crime to tear it down just because it sits on a nice plump lot in a town where such are scarce? And the new construction might tower over its neighbors?
Is it a crime to leave this little dwelling standing when there is such a demand for NEW and FAUX-GRANDIOSE construction? After all, it is money that makes the world go 'round. Right?
This neat little house was once the home of David N. Kendall, Ph. D., Johns Hopkins class of 1943, and his wife and three children.
Dr. Kendall was a pioneer in INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY. What?!
Just another of those sciences that seem impenetrable yet have made their contribution to our daily well-being.
The infrared spectrum is a very narrow, precisely defined band of the light spectrum. Dr. Kendall was a pioneer in developing means of analyzing samples whose molecules 'dance' in particular, identifiable, patterns when excited and observed in this band of light.
Kendall founded Kendall Infrared Laboraties in 1953, which in 1987 became Metuchen Analytical/Kendall Infrared.
He was honored in 1973 with a gold medal for distinguished achievement by the New York section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy.
He edited the 1966 text Applied Infrared Spectroscopy, which is still consulted.
His research has been important to the advancement of scientific ventures ranging from NASA to medicine, from the structure and development of polymers to such consumer products as sunscreens.
Change is inevitable. Perhaps the real crime would be to let his little house go without remembering the man and his contributions. And the family that lived there and took part in the common life of our community.
Ave atque vale, David Kendall, scientist and Plainfielder.
FURTHER READING
- Educational Resources: "Science of Spectroscopy" -- Videos, activities and articles on its contribution to everything from decoding Da Vinci to sports medicine.
- Libraries with Kendall's text, "Applied infrared spectroscopy"
- Obituary, Johns Hopkins Alumni Magazine
- Wikipedia: "Infrared spectroscopy"
-- Dan Damon
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2 comments:
Oh...How sad. Thanks for the background info...always nice to have interesting tidbits to mention about Plainfield when touting it's nice points ( yes, this bitter Betty has nice things to say about Plainfield !! LOL ). I do wish Plainfield had an Architectural Review Board working with it's Zoning Department. The city of Saratoga Springs in Upstate NY has one and there city is booming with new construction, but it all blends in with the previous buildings. Everything from pitch of the roof, the design, presence of dormers all are considered in Saratoga when approving new construction. I could go on for days...Thanks for the info !
The Plainfield Fire Division's Bureau of Fire Prevention used the services of Dr. Kendall on a number of occasions during the period his lab was in service to analyze samples from suspected arson fires. The infrared spectrography would help identify if and what type of accelerant (gasoline, for example) was used. It was great to have such a renowned scientist in our community.
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