Our History

The Architects League of Northern New Jersey has been proudly serving our members since 1928, when 18 members including Harry Allan Lucht, Clarence Tabor, H.G. Anderson and others organized the League.  

By April 1929, membership had grown to 39 members located as far north as Hillsdale, as far west as Paterson, as far south as Newark, and as far east as Brooklyn, New York.  To see a 1930 photo of the ALNNJ, click here. Today, our membership is approximately 560, located principally throughout Sussex, Passaic, Bergen, and Hudson counties. 

With tremendous growth anticipated in the region due to the completion of the George Washington Bridge, one of the League’s primary initiatives was to promote the architects’ role in the proper planning and development of communities.  With the onset of development, the League began to take an active role in advocating the development of parks in the region.  ALNNJ also worked to fight the proliferation of billboards throughout Northern New Jersey.

After World War II, League membership continued to grow, and the League developed community outreach programs, such as scholarships and adult school classes.  In 1969, when faced with dwindling membership and a lack of volunteers for its committees, the Hudson County Chapter of the New Jersey Society of Architects began investigating consolidation options with neighboring sections. At the time, the Architects League was the largest of the eight AIA sections in New Jersey (there are six sections today), with 116 members.  The Hudson County Chapter had 28 members.   Negotiations with the Architects League began in 1969, and by the end of that year, the merger of the two sections was approved.  Although names such as “Architects Confederation” and “North Jersey Chapter” were proposed for the consolidated group, the name “Architects League of Northern New Jersey” remained.

At present, the League offers strong educational programs to its members through its regular monthly meetings, Arthur Davis Lecture, and, in conjunction with AIA Newark & Suburban, the annual Trade Show which provides several educational seminars and puts members face-to-face with vendors offering the latest information on building materials and technology. ALNNJ remains forever mindful of supporting our future professionals through our scholarship programs, funded largely through the Annual Golf Outing. The League offers three scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students in architecture. 2015 marked the establishment of a new scholarship for high school seniors that have been accepted to an NAAB accredited architecture program.

Through these collective efforts, the League remains an advocate of the profession, and with the support of its members, will continue to do so in the years to come.

                 
A 1937 plaster carving used               Charter members of the Architects League.
as a model for an Awards Medal
featuring the League Seal.