This residence on West Main Street will be featured on the Moorestown Improvement Association’s tour on Sunday, May 4.
The Moorestown Improvement Association’s (MIA) walking tour will be held on Sunday, May 4, starting at 1 p.m. at the Perkins Center for the Arts.
Attendees are advised to park on Camden Avenue, alongside Perkins. The tour, led by MIA board of trustees’ members Kim Bunn and Lynne Schill, is free for association members and $10 for non-members. The event is expected to last about an hour, and this year, will highlight West Main Street from Church Street to Perkins.
“It’s an added benefit for (residents) to do the walking tour because then they get to learn more about the history of the house than even they knew,” said MIA president Dave Schill.
Following the spring walking tour, the MIA’s second annual Fixers Fair will be held at the township library from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 18. The association partners residents with volunteer “fixers” to repair broken household items and save them from the landfill. Last year’s fair featured nine booths and more than three dozen items repaired by the end of the day, including bikes, jewelry, lamps and guitars.
“We would be more than happy to try and fix something (that’s broken) and not throw it away and not put it in the landfill,” Schill explained. “We have too much stuff in the landfills now that could be fixed.”
The MIA held its annual meeting at the Community House earlier this year. The program focused on historical preservation in town, with attendees on a virtual scavenger hunt through the years. A presentation led by Schill featured photographs of areas in town, offering a glimpse into what stood in those locations long ago.
The MIA’s meeting coincided with township council voting unanimously on April 7 to adopt a comprehensive historic preservation ordinance, a significant milestone in the township’s effort to safeguard its architectural and cultural heritage. The measure establishes formal protections for historic properties and introduces a framework to guide sensitive alterations and compatible new construction within a historic district, including primarily commercial properties along central Main Street and part of Chester Avenue.
The ordinance represents a key implementation measure of the township’s updated Master Plan Historic Preservation Element, prepared by Clarke Caton Hintz and recently adopted by the township planning board.
“Historic preservation is one of the legs of our mission,” Schill noted, “and the heritage of our town … These things all matter and are all part of the mission of the Moorestown Improvement Association.”
The MIA will participate in the township’s annual Arbor Day observances on Friday, the spring revitalization and cleanup day for Remembrance Park on Saturday, May 3, and Moorestown Day on Saturday, June 7. Visit the MIA website or Facebook page or contact Schill at dwschill@comcast.net for more specific details, times and locations for each event.
Students graduating from high school this year are welcome to submit applications for the MIA’s two scholarships. The organization seeks candidates who exemplify leadership, service and participation in activities that help make Moorestown and/or the greater community a better place to live.
Guidelines and applications are on the MIA website. Questions can be addressed to Kathleen O’Connell at (267) 934-1525. Completed applications are due by Wednesday, April 30.
