A historic Newark mansion that was most used as an Elks lodge was destroyed by a roaring fire Thursday evening.
Eighty firefighters began battling the three-alarm blaze at 172 Clinton Ave., known as the Kastner Mansion, shortly before 8 p.m. and most were still at the scene around 10:45 p.m., officials said.
Firefighters reported a partial collapse of the building and members of the Newark Police Division’s Emergency Services Unit responded to assist in securing the perimeter, Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a statement.
No injuries were reported and the building which was vacant at the time of the fire, police said.
Newark Lodge 93 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks sold the building for $1 to Denise Colon, a Newark business owner, and community leader in 2007.
The Elks owned the building for at least three decades, but long before they took ownership the land was owned by either Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen, the two-time U.S. senator and secretary of state under President Chester A. Arthur, or his son, also Frederick Frelinghuysen, president of now-defunct Howard Savings.
German brewer Franz J. Kastner bought the land and built the mansion, which rivaled other brewers’ mansions on the former High Street, now Martin Luther King Boulevard.
Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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