The Brandeis University President's House, also known as the Leland Powers House, is an historic house on 66 Beaumont Avenue in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

. Built in 1913–14 for Leland Powers, it is a prominent large-scale example of American Craftsman architecture. It has served as the official residence of two presidents of

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

as well as Roger Berkowitz, the CEO of

Legal Sea Foods Legal Sea Foods is an American restaurant chain of casual-dining seafood restaurants mostly located in the Northeastern region of the United States. The current company headquarters is located in the South Boston Seaport District and as of 202 ...

. The house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1998.

Description

The house stands in a subdivision known as Grove Hill Park, on the south side of the village of Newtonville. It is set at the northeast corner of Beaumont and Prospect streets, amid other houses of similar scale. It is a two-story L-shaped structure, oriented with its main facade to the north, presenting a side to Beaumont Street and the house rear to Prospect. It is covered by a hip roof with broad raking eaves, under which rafters are exposed. The main facade has bands of windows on either side of the center entrance, which has sidelight windows articulated by brackets supporting a projecting cornice, which transitions to a half-round shape that houses a transom window. The exterior is finished in stucco applied over

rubble stone Rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Analogously, some medieval cathedral walls are outer shells of ashlar with an i ...

walls. The interior is decorated with Arts and Crafts features.

History

The house was built in 1913–14 as the residence of Leland Powers. Powers, at the time a

state legislator A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United S ...

, was active in legislating against the rise of anarchist activity. The house was severely damaged by an anarchist bomb attack in 1919. Powers' family moved out of the house in 1921.

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

bought the house in 1948, the same year as its founding, in order to serve as the home of its first president,

Abram L. Sachar Abram Leon Sachar (February 15, 1899 – July 24, 1993) was an American historian and founding president of Brandeis University. Early life and education He was born in New York City to Samuel Sachar, a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania, and Sa ...

. During Sachar's residence, the house was a center of entertainment related to the university, hosting high-profile guests. Brandeis University sold the house in 1992 to Roger Berkowitz, the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. The university repurchased the house in 1994 in order to serve as the official residence of

Jehuda Reinharz Jehuda Reinharz (born August 1, 1944) served as President of Brandeis University from 1994–2010. He is currently the Richard Koret Professor of Modern Jewish History and Director of the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry at Brandei ...

, its seventh president. The university sold the house again in 2012.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Newton, Massachusetts President's House Houses completed in 1919

Description

History

See also

References