Hugh J. McCauley

Hugh J. McCauley

Of Bryn Mawr, PA and Cape May, died August 20, 2025. Born 1943 in Philadelphia, son of John P. and Rita Gallagher McCauley, he attended West Catholic High School for Boys in Philadelphia and earned his M.Arch. from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts (now Weitzman). After serving two tours in Vietnam as a US Navy Seabee, Hugh practiced architecture for some 40 years with a particular focus on historic architectural preservation. While he worked on projects in New York and the Philadelphia area, he had many projects in South and West Jersey, including Cape May, Millville, Woodbins, and Bridgeton.

Originally inspired by a love for Frank Furness' Physick House, Hugh became a devoted promoter of Cape May and its historic architecture. As chief architect for the Cape May Historic American Buildings Survey teams over five years, his work along with that of team leader, Carolyn Pitts and others, helped establish Cape May's national reputation for Victorian architecture.

Subsequently, and throughout Hugh's career, he worked on many buildings in Cape May, helping owners solve thorny problems of restoration and adaptive reuse. The Cape May Handbook, which he co-authored with Pitts, Fish, and Vaux, was recognized nationally as an important early model in the preservation movement.

Notable buildings in Cape May that Hugh designed include: the Poverty Beach houses, the Philadelphia Beach condominiums, the Fire Museum, and the Transportation Center (adaptive rehabilitation).

Hugh McCauley is survived by his wife, Trina Vaux, daughter, Hannah, and son, George, also sisters-in-law, Molly Vaux and Marilyn McCauley and brother-in-law, Walter Nagel. A brother, John, and sister, Joyce Nagel, died earlier.

Contributions in his name may be made to the Mario Romanach Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania

https://giving.aws.cloud.upenn.edu/fund?program=GFA&fund=042159

Or the Navy Seabee Foundation, PO Box 657, Gulfport, MS 39502, info@seabee.org.