Citizens United To Protect The Maurice River - CU Social: Interpreting Down Jersey’s 18th Century Pattern Brickwork Architecture/ 2-5-26

CU Social: Pattern Brickwork — Interpreting Southern New Jersey’s Eighteenth-Century Architecture kicks off this year’s CU Social series, themed around 250 Years of History in the Watershed in conjunction with the United States Semiquincentennial. This program explores one of the region’s most distinctive architectural traditions: eighteenth-century houses adorned with decorative pattern brickwork. Using blue-gray vitrified bricks, early bricklayers created bold geometric designs, dates, and family initials on gable ends, and striking checkerboard effects on façades.

The presentation highlights examples from across Southern New Jersey’s Inner Coastal Plain, including Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland Counties, and examines the social and cultural influences behind their construction.

The program is presented by Dr. Michael Chiarappa, a public historian and scholar specializing in historic architecture, landscapes, material culture, and maritime history. Dr. Chiarappa brings extensive experience working with universities, museums, government agencies, and environmental organizations, including the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service. His talk will place these remarkable buildings within the broader historical and cultural story of the watershed, offering insight into how architecture reflects the people, values, and landscapes of eighteenth-century Southern New Jersey.