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A two-decade dream to rebuild the Palace of Depression in Vineland, Cumberland County, by Kevin Kirchner is nearly complete. However, Kirchner died of COVID-19 complications on Christmas Ev. His son, Kristian, has taken the reins as president of the project.
"We have a ton of repairs, maintenance, and renovations going on right now that need to be completed first," Kristian Kirchner told Daily Voice.
The son explained that "we got very behind on everything there as a result of our extended closure due to mine and my father's health issues, deaths of a few of our important Staff/ Board Members, and Covid regulations."
"We were completely shut down for almost three years as a result of these factors," Kirschner said.
In a video by NJ Advance Media, Kristian, called it "a labor of love (and) borderline labor of insanity" showing "what you can do with nothing but willpower."
The original palace was built as a monument to the Great Depression by George Daynor who used discarded junk to shape the home complete with spires. The home, originally called "The Fantastic Castle," served as a tourist attraction from 1932 to 1962.
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