NORTH HALEDON

North Haledon envisions new life for Buehler's Cultural Center

Donna M Rolando

Staff Writer, @Dmmrolando

The exterior of the building donated to North Haledon by WWI fighter pilot Emil Buehler. The township wants to give the home and property a new life as a cultural center.

The land and rustic lodge was donated to North Haledon by Emil Buehler, a WWI fighter pilot
North Haledon Mayor Randy George said lodge would make a great wedding venue

NORTH HALEDON – The dormant and underutilized cultural center off High Mountain Road is expected to get a new life with the funds from three upcoming redevelopment projects.

Known simply as Buehler's to most residents, Buehler's Cultural Center was once home to WWI fighter pilot, aviation pioneer and architect Emil Buehler. The German immigrant designed and built his rustic lodge on the grounds along the babbling Molly Ann Brook.

“He tried to make it look like it was in Germany with all the trees he planted,” said Mayor Randy George of the many evergreens towering the property.

Now that property, which housed as a swimming pond and picnic grounds for local residents, will be transformed into a cultural center, George said.

“It’s been underutilized,” George said during a recent tour of the property still used by Boy Scout troops. The gazebo built in 2001 to hold concert still stands, but remains mostly unused.

"If you do it right it’s a success story,” the mayor said about transforming the property and lodge into a venue for weddings, a community theater and more.

“I want it to be a showcase for the Borough of North Haledon,” he said. “My thought is to allow residents to rent it for parties.”

Present day exterior of Buehler's lodge.

Applying for a $270,000 Community Development Block Grant was the borough’s first step toward refurbishing Buehler’s. The borough asked architect Al Zaccone to design plans and make the front steps and entrance wheelchair accessible before a March application deadline.

A vintage photo of the main room in the home off High Mountain Road in North Haledon that once belonged to Emil Buehler.

The rest of the funds for the upgrade may come from the Belmont Avenue redevelopment zone Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program. George said the town is anticipating $24 million in PILOT funds over a period of 30 years. The certainty of this revenue, he said, will enable the borough to bond for the cultural center and other projects that have been on the back burner. He said the project will not be paid for with tax funds.

The goal is to do the work within the next few years without burdening the taxpayers and to generate amenities that will boost the value of local homes, the mayor said.

“People before me called it a cultural center because they had a vision,” he said.

Renovation plans for the site will be determined by a committee, George said, adding he’s coming up with his own plan as a springboard for ideas.

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“We’ll redo this building and bring it back to its original splendor,” George said of the lodge. But for the great room that commands attention as one enters the door, he said, “My thought is to leave it the way it is.”

North Haledon Mayor Randy George in a room he hopes can be made into a bridal room if the building can be turned into a hall for large gatherings or weddings.

That means preserving the log walls, peaked high ceilings, and stained-glass art depicting what looks to be a leprechaun under a mushroom.

Hardwood floors will be infused with new life, and windows replaced to fit the style of the house. But the open room that would fit in perfectly at Bear Mountain Inn near Harriman, N.Y., would be held to its original charm.

In time, the small kitchen would be expanded to accommodate catered affairs, George said. The location of the kitchen near the garage would provide easy access for catering vehicles.

Upstairs has the potential to provide lodging for a future caretaker, while downstairs, there is a stone fireplace and glass bar suitable for entertaining.

North Haledon Mayor Randy George in the large meeting room he hopes can be part of the renovation project of Buehler's Cultural Center.

Buehler died in 1983 but his trust continues to contribute to charitable endeavors including the $2 million donated for an aviation education center at Bergen Community College.

Buehler operated his own school of aeronautics at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport, ran a seaplane base on the Hudson River, and later designed and supervised the construction of an aviation facility at the Executive Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. His Mach 3 wind tunnel located at Rutgers University is known internationally, according to the college website.