Outside of Hillside Square in Montclair, the visual provocateur Charlie Spademan has erected a sculpture of an anvil balanced, point-first, on the surface of a balloon. It is the only indication that there is something odd about the austere building at 8 Hillside Ave. — the design equivalent of a hot pink carnation pinned to a conservative business suit.
A steeple sharp as Spademan’s anvil suggests that Hillside Square was once a church. Indeed, before its comprehensive renovation by the Bravitas Group, it was the spiritual home of the town’s Christian Scientist community. Now, it is the headquarters of lawyers, psychiatrists, publicity firms and other commercial tenants drawn to the green retrofitting — and, perhaps, the lingering devotional vibes — of the former house of worship.
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