Endicott House

The MIT Endicott House is a conference center located in Dedham, Massachusetts, about 10 miles south-west from downtown Boston. The center consists of the Endicott mansion, a Normandy French-style chateau, along with a state-of-the art lecture facility known as the Brooks Center, and 25 acres of gardens, lawn, woods and ponds. Since 1955, when it was given to Massachusetts Institute of Technology by the Endicott family, it has been owned and operated by MIT. It is one of the oldest such facilities in the United States. Endicott House serves as a meeting facility for many MIT departments and is the primary site of the Senior Executive Program of the MIT Sloan School of Management. The house also hosts conferences and meetings for other educational, medical, governmental, and nonprofit organizations.

The historic Endicott House is equipped with modern conference amenities including state-of-the-art audio and video equipment).

History

Endicott House was designed by Charles Adams Platt and built for H. Wendell Endicott and his wife Priscilla Maxwell Endicott. Much of the grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The Endicotts were involved in every step of building and decorating the home. They commissioned Italian painters to create the intricate designs on the living room's beamed ceiling and imported marble fireplaces for each room. Upon completion in 1934, Mr. & Mrs. Endicott moved in with their two children, Bradford and Priscilla Endicott, and Martha Endicott, Mr. Endicott's daughter by his first wife, Martha Barron, who had died in childbirth.

Mr. Endicott's father, Henry Bradford Endicott was the founder of the Endicott Shoe Company, which maintained a sales office in Boston and a manufacturing plant in Endicott-Johnson City, New York.

Endicott House stands on a site previously occupied by "Rockweld," the home of American Civil War hero General Stephen Minot Weld Jr.

Today the house retains much original character and artwork, antiques, oriental rugs, and Flemish tapestries donated by the Endicott family. The gardens are meticulously maintained and fresh flowers from the greenhouses grace the rooms during every season of the year.

References

[ [http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=16043 Technology Review] ]