Living More Fully: A day visit at Mt Laurel
The first thing I noticed when I got out of my car in downtown Mt Laurel was the peacefulness…
Thanks to my historic preservation studies, I was already familiar with the concept of New Urbanism and the popularity of the town of Mt Laurel. I was looking forward to checking out New Urbanism in action. Yes, I’d been tasked with visiting Mt Laurel in order to write a story about it for this blog and, of course, the expectations that come along with that, but I was struck by the peacefulness.
I arrived in Mt Laurel in mid-afternoon, on a pretty warm May day. Stopping in the ARC Realty office, I met realtors Sarah Eddy and Tiffany Bittner, who welcomed me and offered their golf cart so I could wander around town.
I started down Olmstead Street, which the historian in me was very excited about! Frederick Law Olmsted is the father of landscape architecture. You’re probably familiar with Olmsted’s vast legacy that includes Biltmore in Ashville, University of Chicago, University of California Berkeley, and Stanford University, as well as municipal parks in cities throughout the country. And in continuing this legacy, Frederick’s sons Frederick Law Jr. and John Charles developed park plans for Birmingham which we continue to enjoy the fruits of today.
Driving through the downtown I noticed there is a little bit of everything – office space, retail, restaurants, and at the end of Olmsted I found Mt Laurel Elementary School. Everything you’ll need is right there. And if you think you’ll need more, soon you will not have to look farther than across Dunnavant Valley Road to the upcoming Dunnavant Square development that will feature a Piggly Wiggly and a Chevron, in addition to other retail options.
As I drove into the neighborhoods, I crossed Burnham Street, another nod to American architectural history and Daniel Burnham. Many familiar and famous city and building designs came out of Burnham’s architectural offices in Chicago, including an architect named William Weston. Weston arrived in the Magic City in 1901 and is responsible for a number of residences and downtown buildings we see every day such as City Federal, Quinlan Castle, and the Brown Marx.
But let’s get back to the peacefulness…
Once I entered the residential areas I began to smile. The feeling of the streets and the residences conveyed the kind of sense of place that the founders of New Urbanism were looking for when they were defining Traditional Neighborhood Design.
The sidewalks and streets are pedestrian focused and encourage residents to walk to the downtown, to the many small parks, or over to Spoonwood Mountain Lake. Shallow front yards and porches encourage neighbors to interact. While street parking is available, alleys provide for garage access as well as convenient garbage pickup and, I’m sure, great shortcuts as the kids wander around to meet up with their friends.
There are a variety of home design styles to choose from at Mt Laurel, which take their cues from early 20th century residential architecture. From the Craftsman-esque and American Four Square-inspired to more traditional Southern styles, the homes create an atmosphere where the differences do not visually compete with one another and remove the “cookie-cutter” nature found in many modern subdivisions. The homes and the landscape work well together to create a welcoming and peaceful atmosphere.
Gardeners and plant enthusiasts will enjoy the selection of native trees and plants used throughout Mt Laurel. Indigenous trees provide shade and a feeling of creating another “room” outdoors as you walk down the street or stop for a chat on one of the benches in Bryson Arboretum. The Mt Laurel Garden Group has assembled an informative guide to the area’s native plants and, especially, the shade loving ones.
To be honest, as I drove out to Mt Laurel I thought I would have concerns about the distance from the city. Of course, there is the commute to and from downtown via Highway 280 to consider. But outside of the prime morning and evening drive times, Mt Laurel is less than half an hour away from downtown and the different amenities up and down 280 are conveniently minutes away.
Still, a month after visiting, when I think about Mt Laurel I come back to the peacefulness. The brochures and information about Mt Laurel talk about the relaxed pace of life and the natural setting. And Mt Laurel is living up to its hype.
Rebecca Dobrinski is a content writer and blogger located in Birmingham, Alabama.
