MONTVALE—If you’ve ever driven through Montvale, you’ve seen the Octagon House.
It’s not just a local curiosity; it’s a claim to fame and should be an instantly recognized symbol: The unique eight-sided structure is featured prominently on the borough seal and has long stood as one of Montvale’s most recognizable buildings.
Now, the borough is taking the next step in protecting that legacy.
At its July 22 meeting, the Borough Council unanimously approved a $54,000 professional services contract with Connolly & Hickey Historical Architects to prepare state and national historic nominations and a historic preservation plan for the building, also known as the J.J. Blauvelt House, at 13 West Grand Avenue.
Half the funding comes from the borough’s Open Space Trust Fund, and half from a county Open Space grant, according to Resolution 161-2025.
The borough originally acquired the house in November 2021.
Council President Timothy Lane and members Chris Roche, Dieter Koelling, and Theresa Cudequest voted in favor of the contract. Councilmembers Annmarie Russo-Vogelsang and Douglas Arendacs were absent.
Community use envisioned
Borough administrator Joseph Voytus credited Montvale’s Historic Preservation Committee with playing a lead role in advocating for the building’s designation, restoration, and future re-use.
Voytus said listing the house on state and national historic registers could help secure grant funding—both for immediate preservation work and long-term reactivation.
He noted that while the building’s exterior architectural features will be preserved, its interior use is still to be determined. Ideas floated have included meeting space, borough satellite offices, or reading rooms, among others.
According to the contract, the preservation plan will cost $34,200, while preparation of New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places nominations will cost $19,800.
Resolution 161-2025 notes that the Octagon House “has great historic significance to the Borough and is one of only a small number of surviving ‘Octagon’ style houses popularized by Orson S. Fowler.” The structure was designated historic at the local level in 1997 by the Historic Preservation Commission, and—as the resolution also points out—“can be seen on the Borough’s logo.”
A rare 1850s relic
According to a history prepared by Connolly & Hickey, the J.J. Blauvelt Octagon House dates to the mid-19th century.
“In the late 1850s, John J. Blauvelt Jr. had an Octagon style house built to replace his Colonial-era farmhouse in Montvale. The dwelling was made of gravel wall construction, a method popularized by Orson S. Fowler in his 1853 book ‘A Home for All, or the Gravel Wall and Octagon Mode of Building.’ The building is two stories with an exposed basement and a belvedere. While it served as a house for much of its history, the building has also been utilized as a hotel, a restaurant, and offices for a limousine company,” the proposal states.
It continues: “This has resulted in the interior layout of the first floor to have changed over time, while the second floor has mostly retained its original layout. Other changes that have been made include a partial removal of the wrap-around porch, replacement of the windows, and the addition of a basement entrance. The Borough of Montvale purchased the building in 2021, and it is one of two known surviving examples of the Octagon style in Bergen County.”
The architects write that Montvale is pursuing formal listing “to bring official recognition to the building for its historical and architectural value and a greater understanding of architectural trends and styles in the mid-19th century at a height of America’s economic expansion.”
They add: “Listing would also make the Borough eligible to apply for historic preservation grants from the Bergen County Historic Preservation Trust Fund and the New Jersey Historic Trust. Connolly & Hickey shall prepare the nomination and all attachments according to the requirements of the National Park Service and submit the nomination to the NJHPO for review and consideration. The services provided shall include archival research, documentation of existing conditions, photographic documentation, preparation of the nomination forms, presentation to the Review Board, and any subsequent revisions and edits for listing.”
A house with stories
In a 2017 Back In Time column for this newspaper, Pascack Valley Historical Society President Kristin Beuscher chronicled the property’s evolution:
“Starting in the 1830s, the land came into the ownership of a man named John J. Blauvelt Jr. In the 1850s, he decided to replace a pre-Revolutionary War sandstone house which had long stood on the grounds with a new home of contemporary design.”
Beuscher wrote that Blauvelt was “reportedly a friend of one colorful character named Orson S. Fowler, who in 1848 had written a book, ‘A Home for All,’ espousing the benefits of octagonal buildings.”
“Fowler wasn’t actually trained in architecture. In fact, he was a noted lecturer on phrenology (a pseudoscience popular in the 19th century that claimed the shape of one’s skull can be indicative of character traits). Nevertheless, Fowler convinced his friend to build in the octagonal style,” she explained.
She concluded: “While Fowler’s status as an architect was self-styled, there must have been something to his idea: More than 160 years later, the Octagon House is still standing and is the most famous structure in Montvale.”
And not just famous—it was also home to three Montvale mayors, she noted: Garret Hering (mayor 1898–1900 and Blauvelt’s son-in-law), Jules Schwenker (mayor 1942–1945), and George Huff (mayor 1946–1959). The Huffs operated a restaurant there in the 1950s.
Also at the meeting…
In other action, the council awarded a professional services contract to Colliers Engineering & Design to update Montvale’s tax maps, in advance of a municipal revaluation likely to occur in 2026, according to Voytus.
Borough Attorney Dave Lafferty told the council he is working on bid specifications to hire an operator for the borough’s soon-to-be-acquired 8.4 acres of former DePiero farmland.
Montvale is expected to take possession of the property in late August, and Voytus said a town-wide celebration of the acquisition may be planned for this fall.