History repeated at Thompson Park Many features of fire-torn mansion will be duplicated BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer A$9 million insurance settlement will allow the county to rebuild the historic Thompson Park Visitors Center, a 110-year-old mansion lost in a fire last year. ERIC SUCAR staff The current status of the Visitors Center at Thompson Park, Lincroft, is still in shambles after the February 2006 fire. The county was recently awarded $9 million to refurbish the building. On Thursday, the Monmouth County Park System released the bid specs to refurbish the Lincroft building, plans that call for the façade to be very similar to its original Colonial Revival style. "That was a sad story, losing that place," Middletown Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger said Monday while explaining how the house was destroyed Feb. 6, 2006. "I guess fires happened a lot more often 200 years ago than they do now. But that's what happens when you have a blowtorch inside the building." Parks system spokeswoman Susan Walsh said the specs call for reuse of salvaged architectural elements. "They have saved parts of the chimneys, which will be incorporated, and some porch elements that will be incorporated," Walsh said Monday. "And some portions of the building were saved, so the architects can look at it and see what they want to incorporate. But a lot of it is damaged beyond repair." According to Walsh, the insurance company has only handed over a percentage of the money so far; the rest will be released as the project moves forward. A construction deadline is slated for February 2009, Walsh said. "It will have the same Doric columns, the same porch on the front," Walsh continued. "So from the exterior it will look very similar to prior to the fire." She continued, "We're able to enhance the rear wing to accommodate modern functions such as an elevator and a few more rooms and better use of the upstairs space." Owner Geraldine Thompson donated the building along with the land that now comprises Thompson Park itself in 1968. All together, Thompson donated 215 acres to the park system. "She was quite a philanthropic individual," Walsh said, noting Thompson is credited with being a "pioneer" in the field of social welfare and the motivating force behind establishing the visiting nurse program. "She was involved in Boy Scouting and she loved children," Walsh added. Purchased in 1893, Thompson's property was called the Brookdale Farm and used for breeding racehorses. In 1915, Thompson's chestnut filly Regret was the first filly to ever win the Kentucky Derby.