This N.J. home designed by a renowned clubhouse architect is the ‘envy of the town’

This Norman Tudor style home, located on an elbow-shaped street in Montclair with lots of trees and much larger houses, stands out.

The four bedroom, four full and one half bathroom home was designed by Clifford C. Wendehack, an architect known for several golf course clubhouses he designed. It’s listed for sale for $1,695,000.

“It’s a special house. It’s the envy of the town,” said Ann McCarthy of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, who along with Frede Mirenda, has co-listed the home for sale.

Wendehack designed clubhouses at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, North Jersey Country Club in Wayne and Hackensack Golf Club in Oradell, among others. He also designed a few homes in Montclair, including this one, for Frank and Lillian Earl. It was built in 1929 for a cost of $35,000, according to an article by Mike Farrelly, Montclair Town Historian, that was published in a January 2021 edition of Montclair Neighbors magazine.

Earl was a financial secretary for the Civil Service Reform League and an investment banker. After the Earls, Francis Willard and Madeline Adams lived in the home. Adams was a descendent of presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, according to the article.

The home is listed on state and national historic registries.

The current owners have owned it since 2011, according to property records.

It was listed for sale April 25 and after a brokers’ open house there were 43 showings scheduled.

“That’s a lot for a house at this price point,” McCarthy said. “Right now, a typical amount would be 20 showings.”

An open house is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on both days.

“People who have been coming to see it are staying for a really long time,” she said. “They just are lured by its charm.”

The driveway is cobblestones taken from Valley Road when they put the trolley in. It has arched windows and doorways that draw you in and soaring ceilings but it feels intimate.

“There are so many brilliant spaces and juxtapositions with curves to angles,” McCarthy said. “And the space is so usable and inviting.”

The backyard is visible from the entryway through a series of arched doorways. The first floor has a sunken living room with a wood beamed ceiling and a fireplace, a solarium, a dining room which also has a fireplace, a half bathroom, a kitchen with a butler’s pantry and a benched seating nook, a family room and a full bathroom.

All four bedrooms are upstairs, where there is also a bonus room, a two-room suite with a Juliet balcony, a gas fireplace and a full bathroom. The primary bedroom shares a full bathroom with a fourth bedroom that is used as an office.

The basement level has a recreation room, a wine room, the fourth full bathroom, the laundry room and storage.

It sits on a .30 acre lot, shrouded by trees, with a patio and has seasonal views of the Manhattan skyline.

The home is located in the Estate Section of Montclair, near Eagle Rock Reservation, on a street that’s popular with walkers.

The buyer, she said, will likely be someone who already lives in Montclair.

“I think it’s going to be somebody who has walked the neighborhood and admired it for years and has just been waiting for it to go on the market,” McCarthy said.

Are you an agent, buyer or seller who is active in this changing market? Do you have tips about New Jersey’s real estate market? Unusual listings? Let us know.

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Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.