Athough it stands empty today, the Monastery of the Perpetual Rosary (commonly called the Blue Chapel) still resonates with the tranquility of prayer throughout the surrounding community.
But outside of its formidable stone walls on 14th Street, a controversy over the future of the nearly hundred year old Gothic-style building rages on, and its future remains unknown.
Built in 1919, the monastery once housed the Dominican Nuns of the Blue Chapel. In March of 2008, The Reporter wrote a story about the five cloistered Dominican nuns still living there who had taken on St. Dominic’s strict practice of prayer.
But the following year, the nuns and priest from the chapel approached the city with new plans for the building they could no longer maintain.
There was immediate public opposition to their proposed five-story affordable housing building for various reasons – from fear of overcrowding the area to a desire to preserve history.
Caretakers have previously indicated that the building will likely be abandoned or sold, but questions over what should be done with the building have continued for over a year without any concrete solutions.
“You have to make people aware that there are things of interest to preserve.” – Gerard Karabin
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Why is it special?
Father Saintourens of the Order of Preachers, along with 12 nuns, originally came from France to Union City in 1891 to establish the Dominican Order in a small house on 14th Street.
Formal construction of the chapel began in 1912 and soon the first American Monastery of the Perpetual Rosary was born, from which 21 others throughout the nation would eventually stem.
The chapel, bedecked with stained glass images imported from Germany, the original pews, and a Virgin Mary statue brought by the original 12 nuns on their trip from France, has also housed a very rare “first-class relic” of St. Dominic (a fragment of the saint’s bone).
Because of its historical relevance for both Union City and others far beyond city limits, earlier this year the site was included on the 2010 “10 Most Endangered Historic Sites” released by Preservation New Jersey.
The annual list is meant to draw attention to “remarkable sites” and the preservation challenges they face with the hope that inclusion on the list will be a catalyst for positive change and creative solutions for the locations’ preservation.
The Blue Chapel was included on the list after being nominated by Kathie Pontus, a Union City resident and historian.
What’s being done?
Gerard Karabin, who volunteers his time as the Union City historian and is a member of the city’s historic preservation advisory committee, said that the site is “very significant” and that he personally would like to see it turned into some sort of community center with the open area utilized as some much needed “green space” in the city.
According to Karabin, last month an engineer was sent to the site to review the structural integrity of the walls and make recommendations on preservation possibilities to the mayor.
Additionally, he said the committee is going through an “immense” paperwork process trying to secure funding for preservation, which has not been as straightforward as some may think.
“We are making efforts,” said Karabin. “But you have to keep in mind it is private property owned by the church.”
Regardless of the difficulty, Karabin said the Blue Chapel is the priority for the committee right now – but he admitted that communication of that priority may not have been optimal thus far.
“If we advertised [our efforts] a little more, maybe these editorials wouldn’t have started,” he said.
Karabin said that in order to secure landmark status, the state wants to see a record of interest in preservation in the city and to that end, he pointed to the various historic markers that have been erected throughout the city recently.
“That’s an important part [of] historic preservation,” he said. “You have to make people aware that there are things of interest to preserve.”
Divided for preservation in UC
The Historic Preservation Advisory Committee currently has seven members, according to Karabin.
It is headed by Chairperson Justin Mercado, who was under fire earlier this year regarding his residential status in Union City as a Zoning Board member after it was discovered by a private investigation that he allegedly often spends nights at a home he owns in Hasbrouck Heights.
Though its membership is small, Karabin said the committee meetings are open to the public and are posted in City Hall, throughout the city, announced via email, and also circulated by word of mouth between those with a known interest in history.
Though city officials have claimed they are being inclusive, there seems to be a disconnect among those interested in history in Union City.
Another group of residents recently began the Save the Blue Chapel Task Force to urge the mayor and commissioners to assemble the necessary people to begin the evaluation process and ensure the chapel gains historic landmark status on a state, and possibly national, level.
Tony Squire, the Union City resident who created the group and also once served as the chairperson of the historical preservation advisory committee, has said there is a discrepancy between the mayor’s words and actions, which the mayor has denied.
In an effort to get Union City residents involved, especially those in the immediate vicinity of the chapel, the task force is planning a petition drive and other actions to distribute information and gather interest.
Lana Rose Diaz can be reached at ldiaz@hudsonreporter.com.