Nomination for Brandeis University President's House

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

RECEIVED 2280 NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90) 1 01830 Jnited Staies Department of the interior National Park Service NAE REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 99 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions.

Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. 1. Name of Property historic name LELAND POWERS HOUSE other names/site number_BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT'S HOUSE (preferred) 2. Location street & number 66 BEAUMONT AVE. city or town NEWTON not for publication vicinity state MASSACHUSETTS _code_MA county_MIDDLESEX _ code_017 _zip code 02160 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this/ nomination - request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.

In my opinion, the property 2meets -does not meet the National Reaister Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant - nationally D statewide @ locally. (O See continuation sheet for additional comments.) mdith 6 . Mdenpush Signature of certifying official/Title Judith BLMcDonough, Executive Director 6 30/98 Date Massachusetts Historical Commission, State Historic Preservation Officer State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion, the property l meets does not meet the National Register criteria. (C] See continuation sheet for additional Comments.) Signature of certifying official/Title Date State or Federal agency and bureau 4. National Park Service Certification 1, hereby certify that this property is: Mentered in the National Register - See continuation sheet determined eligible for the National Register - See continuation sheet.

- determined not eligible for the Nationa! Register - removed from the National Register - other (explain): Signature of the Keeper ratrich Anduus Date of Action 8/19/98 BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT'S HOUSE Name of Property 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply) x private _ public-local _ public-State _ public-Federal (Check only one box) X building(s) district site structure _object _MIDDLESEX,MA County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Noncontributing 1 _buildings sites _structures _objects total 1 Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) N/A 6.

Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) DOMESTIC: single dwelling EDUCATION: college, university Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) DOMESTIC: single dwelling EDUCATION: college, university 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) LATE 19T/EARLY CENTURY MOVEMENT: Expanded Bungalow/Craftsman style Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundationSTONE/Stucco facing walls STUCCO roof _ASPHALT: shingles other WOOD trim (Bracketing, pergola, bonnet) Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page - 1 OMB Approval No.

1024-0018 Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. 7. DESCRIPTION The Brandeis University President's House is located in the Grove Hill Park section of Newtonville, a village within the city of Newton. The neighborhood is characterized by well- maintained single-family houses in a hilly section with the Newton North High School at the bottom of the hill on the north edge of the neighborhood, and City Hall a few blocks away at the base of the hill on the south side. On the east, Grove Hill slopes steeply down to Bulloughs Pond and Walnut Street and on the west side of Lowell Avenue. The President's House is near the top and middle of this neighborhood. Grove Hill Park is a result of late 19th century subdivision and 20th century construction and expansion beyond the village centers.

At the top of the hill is an oval park with moderate sized lots laid out around the park and spilling down all four sides of the hill. Almost no development occurred until the 20th century and the architectural styles found in Grove Hill Park are reflective of early period construction with approximately forty per cent of the dwellings exhibiting Arts and crafts features and another forty per cent in the Colonial Revival Style. The lot on which the President's House sits is at the corner of Beaumont Avenue and Prospect Street on a parcel that slopes from the southeast to northwest corners with the house built on a flat plateau nearer the Prospect Street lot line. The hill is cut out on the Beaumont corner so that the driveway enters a garage built into the side of the hill. The house is surrounded by mature hemlocks and oaks as well as by some younger blue spruce and flowering trees.

Well- established plantings such as rhododendrons, andromeda, and azaleas are used as foundation plantings and low gardens lining the paths. There are a couple of rock outcroppings that remain as part of the landscape design. A tall solid fence with squared lattice top defines the southeast corner of the lot and runs the length of the east and south facades of the house, screening it from the adjacent house and from Prospect Street. Plantings are used to screen the rest of the eastern boundary and to form a landscape border at the corner of Prospect Street and Beaumont Avenue. The fencing, in which there is a gate leading to the rear entrance of the house, is new, added when the original building lot was divided in 1990, forming an adjacent lot on which a modern house now sits. There are no outbuildings on the President's House lot.

66 Beaumont Avenue (photo A) is one of the larger examples of a two-story dwelling in the Craftsman style of architecture. The house was the fourth constructed on the street, and like the rest of the houses, it is set well away from Beaumont Avenue. Unlike other dwellings, however, (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. 7 Section number Page - 2 this house is situated at a right angle to Beaumont Avenue.Its main facade and centered entrance face north towards the open lawn and the neighbor's side yard. The house displays an L-plan with the east side extending several bays beyond the west side, forming a rear ell extending from the five-bay main block.

The house is constructed on a low stone foundation with brick facing and has light-colored stucco walls all unified under the wide-raking hipped roof. The main block has flanking one-story porches built on brick foundations. Attached to the rear ell on the Prospect Street end is a one-story rear ell with a modern enclosed porch on top. The house has two chimneys; one that is wide and massive, painted white, piercing the wide eave overhang on the west end of the main block between the main house and sun porch, and the other piercing the roof at the ridge just behind the south elevation dormer. Craftsman detailing accounts for the moderate elaboration of the house.

These details include the wide raking eave; the bracketed, extended rafter ends; the nicely detailed copper downspouts with molded caps; the heavy Tuscan-like columns on the flanking sun porches; the entrance elaborations of a rounded door hood at the front entrance; and the bracketed trellis and pergola arrangement at the rear entrance. Windows, double-hung and set in wood frames vary from 6/1 to 8/1 sash and are found individually, paired, and in strings of three. Wooden shutters that dress all the windows feature an unusual diamond-and-triangle decorative cutout design of unknown origin, a feature repeated on the interior. The main facade (photo A) is approached by an aggregate path lined with brick that begins on the northwest corner of the lot and reaches a brick terrace at the front of the house by a gentle curve and grade.

Radiating from the brick terrace are two flat stone paths that lead to porches on each side of the house. The main five-bay, two-story facade is symmetrical in plan and detail and is softened by the pleasing decorative elements. The stucco walls provide a smooth surface into which the windows are cut and over which the wide eave rake casts shadows. The centered entrance is marked by a large, half-domed heavily carved door bonnet with labels carried by paired scroll brackets. Each bracket consists of two S-curve or scroll brackets; one small with a platform carrying the large scroll bracket on which rests the labels of the door hood. A long, narrow, two-by-four-light window is inserted between each pair of brackets, providing entrance hall light. Embedded in the stucco surface under the half round door hood are brick headers lining the edge of the bonnet or hood.

The entrance is a fifteen-light door leading to a glazed interior foyer. Flanking this centered entrance are three-part windows; three overly wide 8/1 sash set in one frame cut into the stucco wall. Second-story windows included two single 8/1 sash over each of the three-part windows and two single small 6/1 sash above the front door. The flanking sun porches, now enclosed, have flat roofs carried by heavy wide Tuscan-like columns and pilasters. Additional Craftsman details are the rafter ends extending along the full length of the east and west sides of the porches and at the position of the columns and pilasters (continued) OMB Approval No.1024-0018 NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. 7 3 Section number. Page.

on the north and south sides. Multi-light glazing is found on the west porch and solid modern glazing with transom lights on the east. The east side of the dwelling (photo C) displays the long side with the main block and long rear ell, the full length of which is about six bays with a one-bay single story rear ell attached. Second story windowsareset inpairs but as separate windows punched intothesmoothstucco wall surface. Between two of the pairs are two small six-light casement windows. First-story windows are small denoting the kitchen arrangement. The rear entrance is in the last (or end) bay of the long rear ell.

Although the door has been replaced with a modern solid light door with one solid sidelight, the original surround, composed of three wide square pilasters with paired brackets extending from the top of each pilaster to carry a narrow pergola arrangement with attenuated bracketed ends, remains. Lattice work fills one bay formed by the three pilasters, and the glass door, the other. In the single bay of the one-story rear ell is a single window frame with paired 6/1 sash. The south elevation (photo D) is the rear of the house and is dominated by the one-story rear ell with a small terrace garden that is screened by a solid board fence. On the south wall are two 6/1 sash with a wide wall space in between. Atop this flat roof rear ell is an enclosed sleeping porch that extends up to the eave overhang of the main house.

On this roof slope is a small hipped dormer with a single small 6/1 window and shutters. The west facade (photo B) faces Beaumont Avenue and is high above the street level. A brick and stone path with iron railing leads to the terrace extending from the main block is the glazed sun porch with heavy round columns and pilasters and the Craftsman-style bracketed exposed rafter ends. The wide exterior chimney pierces the roof of the porch and the wide eave overhang of the main block and serves two interior fireplaces. A two-car garage, built into the slope of the land, provides access to the basement of the house. The L-plan is best viewed from the west side; within the L is a brick terrace that extends the length of the rear ell and above the in-ground garage. A decorative fence of large open squares is over the garage screening in the terrace.

A curvilinear path of brick-lined steps leads from the driveway to this terrace. Low rock garden plantings line this stepped path. The long wall of the rear ell that is only partially visible due to mature coniferous and deciduous plantings, has a three-part window and sliding doors with flanking windows down. In the end bay of the main block are paired windows with a trellis/pergola arrangement similar to that at the rear door on the opposite elevation. A single window is punched into the stucco wall of the one-story rear ell. OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. 7 4 Section number Page - Several key features are found on the interior, including repetition of exterior detail.

A vestibule and formal entry hall, with a sweeping staircase with carved designs (photo E-1) that match the shutters, provides a gracious welcome to the visitor. The balustrade is made of alternating rectangular slats with the same punched design as that found on the shutters and paired balusters and appears to be unique to this property. The living and dining rooms and hallway are all paneled with high wainscoting in gum wood (poplar) (photo E-2) that was common in the Arts and Crafts era. Of particular value and note are a number of Grueby Faience tiles that grace the four fireplaces throughout the home. Many, if not all, of the tiles are the design of well-known French architect and artist, Addison B.

LeBoutellier, and include a series of five pine tree tiles that adorn the breakfast room fireplace (photo G) very similar to those chosen for the cover photograph of a Princeton University catalog Arts and Crafts exhibition in 1974. Other fireplace tiles over the sunroom fireplace depict sailboats and gulls, and in the master bedroom the motifs are similar to other LeBoutellier designs executed c. 1912 for Grueby Tiles. Other interior features include the large heavy over-mantel (photo G) in the breakfast room and the cased cross beams carried by paneled pilasters, with decorative tabs at the capitols, and crown molding (photo E-2) in the commodious living room. Substantial interior renovations were done to the house in 1994 to make the home handicapped-accessible, and to improve the catering capacity of the kitchen.

A new heating system was installed; the basement sealed, and an entirely new catering kitchen added including cherrywood cabinets, formica and granite countertops, a large commercial stove and dual ovens and dishwashers to allow serving for large groups. Upstairs bathrooms were also modernized. The east-facing porch was enclosed and raised to the same height as the dining room to serve the dual purposes of larger capacity and handicapped access. The original dark gumwood paneling was painted white at this time to brighten the interior and at the same time to serve as a showcase for art from the University's Rose Museum. OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Archaeological Description While no prehistoric sites are currently recorded onthe nominated property,it is possible that sites are present. Three prehistoric sites are recorded in the general area (within one mile).

In general, however, the potential for recovering significant prehistoric survivals on the property is low. Environmental characteristics of the property indicate locational criteria (slope, soil (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 7 5 Section number Page OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. drainage, distance to water) which are not particularly favorable for most types of prehistoric sites. Given these factors, especially the property's distance of over 1000ft. from wetlands, 20th century historic period construction and the size of the lot (0.80 acres), a low potential exists for the recovery of prehistoric sites.

A low potential also exists for the recovery of significant historic archaeological resources on the property. No evidence for pre-20th century land use of the property has been identified although some type of agricultural use seems probable. Some potential does exist for 20th century archaeological resources including sheet type refuse associated with the house occupation and activities and features from construction of the house. In general, however, these resource types would be of limited research potential and significance. (end) BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT'S HOUSE Name of Property 8. Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "X" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) XA Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. X B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. XC Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. _D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) Property is: _A owned by religious institution or used for religious purposes. _ B removed from its original location.

_C a birthplace or grave. _D a cemetery. _E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. _F a conimemorative property. XG less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years. Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) MIDDLESEX, MA County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) COMMUNITY PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION SOCIAL HISTORY Period of Significance 1913-1920 1948-1990 Significant Dates June 5, 1919 Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) Leland Powers, Abraham Sachar Cultural Affiliation Architect/Builder W. Northrop Dudley 9.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data: - preliminary determination of individual listing (36 X State Historic Preservation Office CFR 67) has been requested Other State agency - previously listed in the National Register - Federal agency - previously determined eligible by the National X Local government Register X University _ designated a National Historic Landmark - Other _ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey Vame of repository _ recorded by Historic American Engineering Vewton Planning Commission; Brandeis U.

Archive Record # NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page - 1 OMB ApprovalNo. 1024-0018 Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. 8. SIGNIFICANCE The Brandeis President's House, formerly the Leland Powers House at 66 Beaumont Avenue, retains the original commodious plan and Arts and Crafts features. As a gracious home of the early 20th century it exemplified COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, as part of the suburbanization of Greater Boston with business, commerce, and professional homes extended westward from the city.

The property is also significant for its SOCIAL HISTORY, first as the home of Leland Powers, and later as the home for over forty years of Abram Leon Sachar, the founding presidents of the only nonsectarian Jewish-sponsored University in the country. Here in this home, many of the greatest minds of the century gathered to engage in intellectual discussions and to securer the future of Brandeis University. Founded in 1948 Brandeis received its accreditation in 1952 and membership in Phi Beta Kappa in 1961. Finally, 66 Beaumont Avenue is significant for its ARCHITECTURE. It is a graceful example of Craftsman Architecture in an expanded bungalow style. Therefor the property meets Criteria A, B and C of the National Register and is significant at the local level. It retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association.

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT Situated in an extended neighborhood of Newtonville, the Brandeis President's House is one of the prominent dwellings in Grove Hill Park, a neighborhood that was subdivided in 1882 and again in 1895, but not constructed until the early 1900s. The 1882 subdivision was park of a 174-acre park surrounding Bullough's Pond, which was rejected due to its cost. A new subdivision was drawn in 1895 with one oval park at the top of the hill and other moderate sized lots spilling down the hill on newly laid-out streets. The oval park had been a success in the mid-1800s with Walnut and Washington Parks between Newtonville and Newton Corner.

With a suburbanization of Newton's village, and easy access due to the railroad, trolley, and automobile, all areas of Newton were subject to growth and there was a distinct need for moderate-sized and priced living as semi-professional and trades people moved out of the city. SOCIAL HISTORY 1913-1921 The home at 66 Beaumont Avenue was originally built for Leland Powers, an attorney and public servant. Powers' great-grandfather was a colonel in the Revolutionary War and his (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. 2 Section number. Page - father, Samuel Leland Powers, represented the Newton district in Congress (1901-05) and founded the Boston law firm of Powers & Hall.

Both Leland and Samuel Powers were leaders and members of many voluntary organizations and clubs in the area. The house was built in 1913-14 and is one of the larger residences in the Grove Hill Park section of Newtonville. Leland Powers and his wife, the former Barsheba Threewit of Denver, had two children, a son and a daughter. A feature newspaper story in the Newton Graphic on Powers notes that "The eyes of a large part of the nation are turned towards Massachusetts, in part because of its great natural beauty and wealth of resources, in part because of the stalwart and thrifty character of its citizens in general." The article continues, "Mr. Powers is interested and active in everything associated with the progress of Newton and the district of which it is an important political division of Massachusetts.

He is a staunch Republican and has a legion of friends, retaining them through an attractive personality and unblemished character, a chip off the old block." Leland Powers was elected to the Massachusetts legislature in 1918, and filed a piece of legislation opposing the kinds of anarchy that were beginning to manifest themselves in cities across the country, particularly in Boston and New York. On June 5,1919, 66 Beaumont Avenue was rocked by an explosion caused by dynamite placed in the cellar window wall. The blast knocked out all of the windows and severely damaged the entire rear side of the house. Fortunately, none of the occupants were injured. The June 6 Newton Graphic published a photograph of the residence showing the damage. Powers reported being awakened by a heavy explosion and the sound of crashing glass shortly after midnight.

The telephone had been cut off so he ran to neighbors who notified the police and fire departments. He was quoted on the scene as saying, "I have no suspicion of any individual or local enemy. I feel that I was probably included in an 'enemy group' because of my outspoken opposition to disorder by lawless persons, and my advocacy of the Anti Anarchy laws now in the legislature." The district attorney offered a reward of $1000 for the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators of the deed. "Taken in connection with similar outrages in other parts of the country at about the same hour, it is also thought that it is part of an organized movement," the article concludes.

In Sacco and Vanzetti: The Case Resolved, Francis Russell describes the connection between the anarchists plot and the Powers bombing: In the Roxbury section of Boston, a bomb made of iron pipe stuffed with dynamite and metal scraps demolished the house of a Roxbury municipal court judge, A.H. Hayden. As with other bombings of that night copies of Plain Words, (an anarchist leaflet) were strewn about the area. A few weeks before, Judge Hayden had sentenced (continued) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 NPS Form 10-900-a (8-85) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. Page. 3 fourteen members of the Lettish Workmen's Association to six to eighteen months in jail following a May Day riot in which they had clashed with police.

Farther out in suburban Newtonville a bomb tore off the side of a house belonging to State Representative Leland Powers, who had sponsored an anti-anarchist bill in the Massachusetts legislature. Other similar bombings of the residences of corporate presidents and U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer took place that night across the country. National fear from this planned series of bombings and the accompanying "Red Scare" would lead to deportation of many suspected anarchists, a suspension of civil liberties, and eventually the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti in 1927. Besides replacing shattered glass throughout the house, and shoring up the rear basement area with steel beams near the cellar window well where the detonation occurred, and repairing and patching the stucco at that point, no other renovation were required after this incident.

Powers and his family remained in the house until 1921 when they moved elsewhere in Newton. OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL HISTORY 1921-1990 The house at 66 Beaumont Avenue changed hands a number of times in ways that reflected the changes in American society. Successive owners included a bank president, Louis Lichtenheim from 1921-25, and another banker W. Herbert Abbott, from 1927-30. As precursor to the Depression the Abbott family took in three boarders, reflecting the economic duress that would exist, even for professional families. Times evidently continued to be difficult for the next owner, insurance man Robert Kimball, who added a small poultry house and greenhouse to the property between 1931-36 in an effort to be more-self-sufficient. These structures were later removed. From 1936-48 Maurice Pouzzner, theater owner, lived in the house.

His business evidently became overextended, and the house was put on the market to settle outstanding bills, making it available at an attractive price at the time Brandeis University was seeking a home for its first president. The social history of the university is closely linked to the founding of the predecessor institution on the same site, the Middlesex College of Medicine and Surgery. Dr. John H. Smith, founding president of Middlesex, purchased the 100-acrre Baker Estate on Waltham's South Street from the County in 1928.

He established the medical school against the backdrop of a well- entrenched national quota system under which a Jewish male's chance of getting into a (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. Section number - Page - university was one in twenty, roughly equivalent to national ration of Jews to the total population. Smith's vision was to develop an institution that admitted applicants without concern for creed, color or sex. To accommodate medical offices, laboratories and classrooms, Smith built, over a period of 1928-40, a large stone castle that became a distinctive feature of Waltham's skyline (National Register, 1979). The Massachusetts legislature granted Smith power to confer academic degrees in 1935.

Two years later the school acquired a new charter under the name of Middlesex University, with additional degree-granting powers, including that of Doctor of Veterinary medicine. Unfortunately, during World War II student enrollment plummeted as able-bodied men joined the War effort and Middlesex was unable to remain in business. Circumstance forced Ruggles Smith, son of John H. Smith, to seek new sponsorship for the University in 1946. In the aftermath of World War Il a group of individuals from the Jewish community in New York and Boston had a deep desire to create a nonsectarian university of excellence, open to all who were qualified, as a gift to American higher education.

When Middlesex offered to sell its campus early in 1946 to Rabbi Israel Goldstein and a group of others who were seeking property to form a Jewish-sponsored University, it appeared that their dream might be realized. The congruity of the two schools' commitment to equal educational opportunity provided a natural moral linkage between Middlesex and the new university. A board of trustees was assembled under the leadership of Boston lawyer George Alpert, with the initial assistance and advice of Albert Einstein. In 1947 the Trustees voted to change the corporation's name to Brandeis University, inaugurated a development program, and a year later opened the new educational enterprise. Following World War II, Brandeis was (in a very literal sense), a product of the reawakened pride in Jewish dignity and creativity.

According to its mission statement, Brandeis University "was founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian university under the sponsorship of the American Jewish community to embody the highest ethical and cultural values and to express its gratitude to the United States through the traditional Jewish commitment to education." Dr. Abram Leon Sachar was chosen to be the first president "of a small but excellent university dedicated to a liberal tradition of higher education that would foster diversity and social conscience and that would not discriminate against anyone.

By being a nonsectarian university that welcomes students and teachers of every nationality, religion and political orientation, Brandeis renews the American heritage of cultural diversity, equal access to opportunity, and freedom of expression." The mission statement concludes that "The University that carries the name of the justice who stood for the rights of individuals must be distinguished (continued) OMB Approvai No. 1024-0018 NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. Section number - Page - by academic excellence, by truth pursued wherever it may lead, and by awareness of the power and responsibilities that come with that knowledge." Dr. Sachar held a Ph.D.

in history from the University of Michigan, and in his role as national director of the Hillel Foundation movement, he enjoyed a national reputation as a scholar and administrator. He wrote five books, including A History of the Jews, which enjoyed 36 printings and was translated into French, Spanish and Braille, and A Host at Last, his story of the early Brandeis years. Dr. Sachar was awarded 36 honorary degrees. Thelma Sachar, his wife, was in every way a helpmate, hostess and supporter who played a major role in establishing the Brandeis University National Women's Committee, which supported the University's libraries. She would receive an honorary degree from Brandeis in 1994. During 1947 the Sachars lived for a year in a rented apartment while a search for a permanent president's house was conducted by the Trustees. Dr.

Sachar described the initial purchase of the house and subsequent preparations to move in, in A Host at Last: At last an old New England home in Newton was located, but it took many months to renovate and redecorate it. The furnishing became a cooperative effort, a special committee undertaking the responsibility to solicit contributions from selected firms. The living room was equipped by one, the dining room by another, the study by a third. Individual articles came in for an enlarged institutional kitchen, the bedrooms, the sun room, the garden. At the end, the president's house had become a lovely center not only for personal living but for major university entertainment, and all virtually without cost. According to University record, painting and wallpapering throughout were done, a new roof was put on the house, and the kitchen and baths modernized in preparation for the Sachars.

There is no evidence that major structural changes were accomplished at that time. Questions have naturally been raised regarding the location of the home in Newton for the President of a University located in Waltham. An inquiry on this subject was made to the eldest son of President Sachar, Professor Howard M. Sachar, who responded in writing September 3, 1996, as follows: (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 6 Section number Page. OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. "I can tell you only this about the choice of the home on Beaumont Avenue. First, it was selected for its size and convenience for a family of five people. [These included Dr. and Mrs.

Sachar, and their three sons, Howard, Edward and David.] Secondly its premises has also to be spacious enough for the significant amount of entertaining and fund-raising associated with university presidencies. The real question, however, is why the president's house was selected off the Brandeis campus. It was a family decision: my parents knew they would be endlessly involved in Brandeis affairs. It was their hope that, by living off- campus, they would enjoy at least a minimal amount of privacy, spared the endless visits of visiting firemen. But it was not to be. The house resonated with visitors, official and unofficial, day in and day out. Dad's doors were never answered the phone." During these years the Sachars entertained generations of Brandeis students and their parents, faculty, alumni and valued friends of the University.

Countless dinners, luncheons, teas and meetings provided hospitality for prospective or new Trustees and for beginning a retiring faculty members of the University, for Fellows and President's Councilors and members of the Brandeis University National Women's Committee. Guest lecturers and honorary degree recipients from every field and from around the globe came to their door to experience the warm welcome extended by the Sachars. By so doing, the concept of "the Brandeis family" was expanded as the Sachars rejoiced in their roles as "hosts at last." Throughout this extended period the Sachars entertained a remarkable number of notable national and international guests. A list of these guests reads like a Who's Who in diplomacy and arts and letters, particularly in the 1950s and 60s.

Some visitors, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, who served on the faculty for three years, as well as on the Board of Trustees, returned often, and felt so much at home in the Sachar's house that she would often nap in an upstairs bedroom. Mrs. Sachar particularly liked to recall to recall a diner party given for Marc Chagall during which no fewer than six languages were used during the course of the meal; Chagall speaking with Mrs. Sachar about his personal problems in Yiddish so that others would not understand their conversation. (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 Section number Page - OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. Dr.

Sachar's son David recalls that his father regarded every dinner with a visiting dignitary as an occasion for learning. Dr. Sachar would not tolerate small talk, or divergent conversations among his guests. Ever the educator, he would first seek out the opinions of the most important visitor, and as the meal progressed he would invite responses and questions from the other guests in much the manner of a scholarly colloquium. Although Dr. Sachar stepped down as President of Brandeis University in 1968, he continued to exert his influence on behalf of the University in his role as Chancellor, and subsequently as Chancellor Emeritus. The Trustees of the University allowed him to continue to live in the President's House until 1990 when the University purchased a condominium for the Sachars elsewhere in Newton.

He continued to speak to incoming students each year, and to come to his office on campus daily, where he carried on an extensive correspondence with supporters of Brandeis until just a few weeks before his death in 1993. He and Mrs. Sachar are buried on the Brandeis campus in a wooded grove adjacent to the Sachar International Center which housed his office for many years. Brandeis presidents who succeeded Dr. Sachar lived in other homes purchased for them by the University. The University sold off a parcel of the land on Beaumont Avenue in June, 1990, upon which a new home was subsequently built. The President's House was sold to a private owner in 1990, and was repurchased in 1994 by Brandeis when it returned to the market at the same time that Brandeis' seventh president, Jehuda Reinharz, was looking for a larger home for his family.

ARCHITECTURE 66 Beaumont Avenue is one of the larger two-story examples of the expanded bungalow Craftsman style of architecture that accounts of approximately forty per cent of the houses in the Grove Hill Park area of Newtonville. It exemplifies the growing prosperity and westward migration of Boston's population to the suburbs in the early part of the 20th century. This house is a notably well-preserved example of a large, comfortable Craftsman-style home in which hospitality and entertainment can easily be provided in the spacious interconnecting rooms. The Craftsman-Style architectural details, which are well preserved in this property, are displayed in one of the better-integrated designs in the area.

Craftsman Style houses make up three per cent (continued) NPS Form 10-900-d (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. 8 Section number Page- of Newton's housing stock, of which many have been substantially altered. Also only a few have stucco siding while most have shingles. The execution of the Arts and Crafts influence in this design appears to be more sophisticated than many. The presumed architect was William Northrop Dudley according to a notice in the January 10, 1913 Bankers and Tradesmen that old of the planned construction of a 2 ½ story stucco house on Beaumont Avenue designed by Dudley. No other house on the street fits this description in the correct time period.

Assessor's records and street directories confirm a 1913-14 construction date for this property. The only other Dudley design in Newton is a brick commercial block at 430 Lexington Street built in 1915. OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 (end) MPS FOM 10-00- United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 9 Page. 1 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. 9. BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Montgomery, Susan, curator. Grueby Pottery: A New England Arts & Crafts Venture, the William Curry Collection. Dartmouth College, Hood Museum of Art. Newton Blue Books (street directories), 1912-1948 Pearce, Clark. Addison B. LeBoutellier: Andover Artist and Craftsman. Andover, Mass. Historical Society, 1987. Russell, Francis. Sacco & Vanzetti: The Case Resolved.

New York: Harper & Row, 1979. pp. 82-85 Sacco-Vanzetti: Developments and Reconsdierations - 1979. Conference Proceedings, Boston: Trustees of the Public Library of the City of Boston, 1982. Pp. 107-109 Sachar, Abram L. A Host at Last. Boston: Little, Brown, 1976. P. 27 Periodicals Bankers and Tradesmen, vol. 45-56, 1912-1917 Re: William Northrop Dudley The Architectural Record, vol. 34, p. 257-260 (September 1913): "Two Residences in Aberdeen and Belmont by William Northrop Dudley." Re: Leland Powers Newton Graphic, June 6, 1919, p. 3; June 13, 1930, p. 1; November 23, 1934, p. 6 Newton Circuit, June 6, 1919, p. 1 Boston Herald, June 3, 1919, p. 1, 4 (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 9 Page 2 OMB Approval No.

1024-0018 Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. Re: Abram Sachar Newton Times, December 1, 1976, p. 4; February 2, 1977, p. 8 Newton Tab, August 31, 1983, p. 12; November 10, 1987, p. 24 Newton Graphic, April 23, 1986; July 29, 1993, p. 14 Re: Thelma Sachar Newton Graphic, February 27, 1985, p. 13; May 30, 1996, 20 Louis, the Official Magazine of the Justice, Brandeis University, premier issue, Spring 1996 Re: Webster Thayer New York Times, obituary, April 19, 1933 Cyclopedia of American Biography, vol. 26, pp. 412-413 Primary Sources Brandeis University, Board of Trustees, Minutes, July 19, 1948 Middlesex County (Mass.) Registry of Deeds, Cambridge, Mass. City of Newton.

Engineering Office, Newton City Hall, map and plot information Building Inspection Office, Newton City Hall, building permits City Clerk's Office, water and assessor records, 1913-1919; birth, marriage, and death records, Book 8, page 53 Conversations with Gilbert, Frank (May 1997) Sachar, David and Joanna (June 24, 1997) Sachar, Thelma (October 1996) (end) Brandeis President's House Name of Property Middlesex,MA County, Staic 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property 35,000 sq. ft. UTM References See continuation sheet. (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) 1. 19 318880 4680850 Zone Easting Northing 2. Zone Easting Northing 3. Zone Easting Northing 4.

Zone Easting -_ See continuation sheet Northing Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) 11. Form Prepared By name/title_Catherine Fallon, Brandeis University, with Betsy Friedberg, NR Director, MHC organization Massachusetts Historical Commission street & number 220 Morrissey Boulevard city or town Boston _stateMassachusetts _ date_June 1998 telephone617-727-8470 _zip code02125-3314 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. A sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Photographs Representative black and white photographs of the property.

Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Complete this item at the request of the SHPO or FPO.) name Brandeis University street & number _ city or town 415 South Street Waltham telephone _state MA _ zip code 781-736-4103 02254-9110 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement:This information is being coliected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).

Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503. NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 10 Page _1 OMB Approvai No. 1024-0018 Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. 10.

GEOGRAPHICAL DATA Verbal Boundary Description 66 Beaumont Avenue lies on the NE corner of Beaumont Avenue and Prospect Avenue, approximately three blocks north of Commonwealth Avenue (State Route 30). The parcel is define on Assessor's Map as section 24, Block 009, parcel 0013. The boundaries are the lot lines of the 35,000 square foot parcel. Boundary Justification The present lot shown as Section 24, Block 009, Lot 0013 on Newton's Assessor's Maps is the area of land on which the subject dwelling is situated and the lot that is owned by Brandeis University. Adjacent lots are in different ownership and not related to the areas of significance discussed for the University President" House. (end) (PsS Fom 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number photos Page - OM8 ApprovalNo.

1024-0018 Brandeis University President's House Newton (Middlesex Co.), Mass. PHOTOGRAPHS a. From north elevation, 66 Beaumont Avenue b. East elevation, facing Beaumont Avenue c. West elevation - rear entrance, accessed from Prospect Avenue d. South elevation, showing patio area below master suite and rear 2 ½ story ell with attic dormer and second story sleeping porch e. 1. Carved shutter and balustrade design. 2. Paneling in living room and front hall f. Arts and Crafts style house, built by Dudley in Aberdeen (Brighton), MA g. Breakfast room fireplace with pine tree tiles and Le Boutellier attribution h.

Sunroom fireplace with gull tiles and Le Boutellier attribution (end) Sbl-id Address Draft Map, Not a Legal Document S-date Sale-price Map-id Zone 24029 0013 66 BEAUMONT AVE 415 414 419 420 430 RAIGIE 438 442 446 450 454 67 458 466 0 89 LU Sq-ft 9407 850000 057SW SR2 101 35000 PROSPECT 0 33 40 37 SCARSDALE RD 24029.0013 66 BEAUMONT AVE PROSPECT 15 484 488 MON 0 27 492 07 Assessor's Base Map Map Produced on: July 10, 1997 Property boudaries from Newton Assessor's property maps Zoning or land use information from Asseesor'& CAMA database Map projection & coordinate system: Massachnsetts State Plane - NAD83 CITY OF NEWTON MASSACHUSETTS Scale: 1" = 144 ft. ASSESSING DEPARTMENT 1000 COMMONWEALTH AVE.

NEWTON CENTRE, MA 02159 W 9 65 39 35 TOWN N Parcels labeled with Lot Number UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE VATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACE, VALUATION RETURN SHEE. REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY NAME : Brandeis University President's House MULTIPLE NAME: STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Middlesex DATE RECEIVED: DATE OF 16TH DAY: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: 7/10/98 8/05/98 DATE OF PENDING LIST: 7/20/98 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 8/24/98 REFERENCE NUMBER: 98000990 NOMINATOR: STATE REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: N DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: OTHER : N PDIL: PERIOD: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: REQUEST: N SAMPLE: SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: Y N N COMMENT WAIVER: N ACCEPT RETURN REJECT _DATE ABSTRACT/ SUMMARY COMMENTS: Historically and archilectwalle significant residece of to presidents of B randeis Unwersdy RECOM.

/ CRITERTA AcCept A,B, C REVIEWERPatick Auduus TELEPHONE DISCIPLINE Nistovian DATE 8/19/98 DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N NEwTon. MA The Presiderts House, Brandu Universily MANUFACTURE KO.DAK C Tenace off breakfast voom Wiadows beocked off (protably 1948) in Master Gedroum suite View showing Kitchen seepmg porch attic Fence conceats au condetianung vnits, seduded Tenace El AGI GH 13 GFA) E1 E2 Piano Duets CLASSICS TO MODERNS E2 E3 AGFA GFA AGFA GF AGFA 1913 Residenke by W. Derthrop Dudley as pictured in , Architectural Record, Showing similarities to b6 Beaumont Avenue property. G 125 --THE PINES" TILE DECORATION FOR A FIRENLACR Grachy Faience Co., Makero. Addisn B. L.e Boutellier. Arehiteet. 125. "'The Pines' Tile Decoration for a Fireplace, " designed by Addison Le Boutillier, c. 1906, Grueby Faience Company.

(The Brickbuilder May 1906) H 104 Sunrosa-bb Becumont 104. "Ship with Gulls," tile, designed by Addison Le Boutillier, c.1905, Grueby Faience Company, Boston. (Good Housekeeping August 1905) RECEIVED 2280 OCT 2 1998 AT. REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACE ATIONALPARKSERVI The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Massachusetts Historical Commission September 29, 1998 Mr. Patrick Andrus National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior Mail Stop 2280, Suite 400 1849 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20240 Dear Patrick: Please accept the following technical amendment to the Brandeis University President's House, Newton (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts, originally listed August 19, 1998. (#98000990) Please add ARCHITECTURE to the Areas of Significance, as criterion C is checked. Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Betry Betsy Friedberg National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Significance cc: Catherine Fallon, Senior Communications Officer, Brandeis University Gretchen Schuler, Preservation Consultant John Rodman, Newton Historical Commission 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 - (617) 727-8470 Fax: (617) 727-5128 TDD: 1-800-392-6090 Website: www.magnet.state.ma.us/sec/mhc SAM The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Massachusetts Historical Commission July 6, 1998 Ms. Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior Vational Park Service Mail Stop 2280, Suite 400 1849 C Street, N.W Washington, DC 20240 Dear Ms.

Shull: Enclosed please find the following nomination for: Brandeis President's House, 66 Beaumont Ave., Newton (Middlesex Co.), MA The nomination has been voted eligible by the State Review Board and has been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. The owners of property in the Certified Local Government community of Newton were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 60-120 days before the meeting. Sincerely, Betry. Fredkeep Betsy Friedberg, National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission CC: Hon. David Cohen, Mayor, City of Newton Stephen Banash, Newton Town Planner, City of Newton Jehuda Reinharz, President, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA Catherine R.

Fallon, Senior Communications Officer, Brandeis University John Rodman, Chair, Newton Historical Commission 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 - (617) 727-8470 Fax: (617) 727-5128 TDD: 1-800-392-6090 Website: www.magnet.state.ma.us/sec/mhc