Montclair, NJ – If you saw a line of people outside a home on Upper Mountain Avenue Sunday, or cars parked down the road and along Watchung and Bellevue Avenues, it was because Montclair was the place to be for fans of mid-century moderns and specifically architect Edward Durell Stone.
Yes, the Edward Durrell Stone, who served as the principal designer of Radio City Music Hall, was associate architect for the Museum of Modern Art’s building on 54th Street in Manhattan, and designed two structures in Washington, D.C – the National Geographic Society headquarters and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The 4-bedroom, 2.5 bath Upper Mountain Avenue home, designed by Stone and listed by Amy Owens for $949,000, was built in 1959 and is one of a kind.
The Creatives Agency featured it on its Instagram, and gushed about J. Allen Yager House, stating this “modern interpretation of a Japanese A-frame house is composed of cypress wood and glass, and features sliding shoji screen doors, with a double height ceiling in the salon, and a rear wall of glass that frames the views of the manicured backyard. The floor to ceiling glass windows also allow year-round views of New York City’s iconic skyline.”
Then, Zillow Gone Wild featured the home, stating to its 1.7 million followers:
We’ve never said this before but here’s a near perfect mid century home in Montclair, NJ. Per the listing this “This notable 1959 home, designed by architect Edward Durell Stone (who also designed @themuseumofmodernart and @radiocitymusichall ) seamlessly blends w/nature thru its floor to ceiling windows with year round 360 degree views inc NYC’s iconic skyline” 4 bd, 3 ba. .66 acres. 2200+ sq ft. $949,000.
By the time she realized the home had gone viral, Owens says it was too late to cancel the public open house. So, she and her five team members, as well as an off duty police officer, were on hand to help direct the hundreds of visitors who came from near and far to get a glimpse of the historic home. At some points, there was an hour wait or more to get in the house; Owens and her team got there early and stayed until 5:30 to accommodate the big turnout.
“They were excited, too,” says Owens of the owners, who have lived in the house for 50 years. “It felt like we were all docents at a museum opening for just one day.”
One of the interested visitors was a man who lives in an Edward Durell Stone home in Teaneck. Another was the creator of Zillow Gone Wild himself, Samir Mezrahi, who drove out from New York to see the 2200-square foot home home and its a Zen-like grounds with a cascading water feature.
Owens says the owners hope to sell the home to a buyer who appreciates it and wants to preserve it, in all its shoji screen beauty and minimalist design. And whole so many just wanted a chance to see the house (reminding us of this other Baristaville architectural gem), there were a lot of interested buyers, too. Owens says she expects about eight offers today.
