The antenna, which sits atop Crawford Hill along Holmdel Road, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. Crawford Hill is the highest elevation in Monmouth County. The 43-acre property could be an excellent public park and historic site with walking/hiking trails, beautiful views of Raritan Bay and Manhattan, as well as the intact antenna on display.
At a recent meeting, the Holmdel Township Committee passed a resolution prior to an application being submitted, asking the Planning Board whether the Crawford Hill Horn Antenna site should be designated an area in need of redevelopment. This raises the question of whether the town is considering development of the site which could lead to removal or destruction of the irreplaceable historical horn.
CILU is partnering with Preserve Holmdel to protect the Horn Antenna, but we need your help. If you care about the preservation of this Holmdel jewel, whose legacy goes far beyond our town’s borders, contact the Mayor and Township Committee, asking them to protect both the historic antenna and the grounds on which it sits. Their contact information is: (email addresses are subject to change)
Mayor Rocco Impreveduto rimpreveduto@holmdeltownship.com
Deputy Mayor Brian Foster bfoster@holmdeltownship.com
Committeewoman Kim LaMountain klamountain@holmdeltownship.com
Committeeman DJ Luccarelli dluccarelli@holmdeltownship.com
Committeeman Joseph Romano jromano@holmdeltownship.com
Stay tuned for more information and action on this issue.
Julie Roth, presidents Citizens for Informed Land Use (CILU)
Gerald Buffalino, President, Preserve Holmdel (PH)
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Here are links to articles and a video about Holmdel’s horn antenna, from sources:
Video by Dr. Sarbmeet Kamwal (4+ minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOsSN3Ixfs4
Sky and Telescope https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/holmdel-horn-which-heard-evidence-of-the-big-bang-is-at-risk/
IEEE Spectrum https://spectrum.ieee.org/cosmic-microwave-background
The Vatican Observatory https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/sacred-space-astronomy/preserving-an-historic-radio-telescope/
Asbury Park Press https://www.app.com/story/news/history/2022/12/08/horn-antenna-big-bang-theory-holmdel-nj-redevelopment/69710321007/
Two River Times https://tworivertimes.com/holmdels-historic-big-bang-antenna-at-risk-residents-say/
Patch https://patch.com/new-jersey/holmdel-hazlet/redevelopment-study-holmdels-horn-antenna-site-approved