Long before the word “environment” came into widespread use (around 1970), these homes in the Bear Brook area of Woodcliff Lake and Park Ridge, NJ embodied the ideal. They were sited to face the sun, nestled into the woods, angled along a creek or a road, built of indigenous materials like rock and stone. Many of them took advantage of the outdoors, with screened in porches and lawn chairs placed along the banks.

Yet, even with the enormous strides in understanding and protecting the natural world, this region has gone on building homes that ignore the outdoors. Air conditioned, with tinted windows, three car garages and vinyl siding, the newer homes look freakish next to the natural wonders of this Garden State.

One can see into the soul of a nation by what it builds.