Leonard Mordell shows City Commissioners the signs that will mark the St. Leonard’s Tract.
VENTNOR – Residents who live in the prestigious St. Leonard’s Tract, which is often referred to as “the jewel of Ventnor,” wanted to give back to the city they love. According to St. Leonard’s Association member Leonard Mordell, at its last meeting, the association decided to replace all the signs that previously marked the neighborhood’s boundaries, and then some.
The signs that marked the historic neighborhood have been disappearing over the last 20 years, he said.
The attractive black and white signs will designate the area bounded by Atlantic Avenue to Inside Thorofare and from Surrey to Cambridge Avenue. Most of the homes in St. Leonard’s Tract were built in the 1920s and have housed such notables as Governor Walter Edge and John Wanamaker. St Leonard’s Association was established in 1921 to enforce the deed restrictions, which include building luxury homes on larger lots.
Although the area between Atlantic Avenue and the boardwalk is not in the tract, Mordell said the project includes identifying the neighborhood to visitors strolling the boardwalk.
“We’ve adopted the board even though technically it’s not part of the St. Leonard’s Tract,” he said.
Some of the signs will be two-sided depending on the location.
“We will get the right sizes,” based on national standards, Commissioner Lance Landgraf said. “They are great looking signs. They are awesome. We’re good with it.”
Mordell said the signs will designate the area as an “historic neighborhood” instead of an “historic district,” to avoid conflict with the New Jersey and National Historic Registers.
The Board of Commissioners, absent Mayor Beth Holtzman, Thursday, Nov. 29 said they support the sign installation.
The city’s Public Works Department will be responsible for purchasing the signs and getting them installed in mutually agreeable locations, Landgraf said. The association will reimburse the city for the cost of the signs, which will be a visual reminder of Ventnor’s heritage, Mordell said.
The association and the city will meet with Public Works Supervisor Ed Stinson to finalize plans and determine how many signs and brackets will be needed.
“They used to have these signs but they got taken down over time,” Landgraf said. “It’s a great way to acknowledge that section of our community.”
Commissioner Tim Kriebel said other unique destination neighborhoods provide similar signage and that the project would do more than simply identify the neighborhood to passers-by.
“This is the result of a community group having pride in their neighborhood and wanting to show it,” Kriebel said. “It is something all of Ventnor needs is a little pride in their neighborhoods.”
