FLEMINGTON STREETVIEW
Flemington, NJ has a long history. Like all of Hunterdon and surrounding region it was originally the land of the Lenni Lenape before colonists settled on the land and claimed as their own. It became a town during the 1700s and in 1785 was selected as the county seat for Hunterdon County and thrived for decades.
Like many American town it grew substantially during the post-Civil War industrial revolution and photos dating back to that era show a town similar to what we see today. With the growth of highway businesses, malls and shopping centers downtown Flemington experienced significant economic decline especially it's landmark building the Union Hotel which has become an abandoned building collapsing on itself.
A local developer recognized the potential commercial value of Flemington and proposed a major development of its downtown centered on the Union Hotel area. The project was approved and includes renovation of the front of the hotel, stores and luxury apartments. When completed it will change the character of downtown Flemington.
During one autumn weekend, October 20-21, 2018, fourteen members of The Photography Group participated in a project to create a collection photos of Main Street. Collectively, they produced hundreds and hundreds of images that were culled down to a small selection. Each photographer selected five images they felt showed Main Street as it is today. These images are compiled in a book called Flemington Streetview 2018 and can be viewed at this link:
EXHIBITION AT DIY
While photographing Flemington, we became familiar with Flemington DIY, the community art space located at 90 Main Street (www.flemingtondiy.org). We asked if we could exhibit our photos and they said they would be happy to have us.
Each photographer picked three of their favorite images for exhibition and had prints made and mounted by Black Lab Studio & Imaging (also on Main Street), who is sponsored the show.
The show was opened in January 2019 an ran through February. As part of the community effort the photos were judge by Betsy Driver, Mayor of Flemington, Ann Meredith, Director of Flemington Community Partnership and Chris Phelan, President of the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce.
We compiled all the photos into a book which we presented to the Hunterdon County Historical Society where it has become part of the archives.
