Betts House (Yale University)
Betts House | |
---|---|
French Second Empire | |
Address | 393 Prospect Street |
Town or city | New Haven, Connecticut |
Country | United States |
Completed | 1868 |
Renovated | 2002 |
Renovation cost | US$14,000,000 |
Client | John M. Davies |
Owner | Yale University |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 3 |
Floor area | 21,899 sq ft (2,034.5 m2) [1] |
Grounds | 7 acres (2.8 ha) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Henry Austin (with David R. Brown) |
Renovating team | |
Renovating firm | Helpern Architects |
Other information | |
Number of rooms | 23 |
Betts House, also known as the John M. Davies House or Davies Mansion, is a mansion owned by Yale University in the Prospect Hill Historic District of New Haven, Connecticut. Completed in 1868 and designed by Henry Austin, it was sold to Yale in 1972 and is now home to the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization.[2]
When built, the 21,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) square foot mansion was the largest single-family home in New Haven.
History
The earliest residences in the
The Davies House became an academic building when
After its purchase by Yale, the house remained vacant for nearly thirty years.[12][13] Because of its high maintenance costs, university administrators proposed to demolish the mansion in 1980, but were rebuffed by students and preservationists who fought for its restoration, and the university instead accepted a developer's proposal to convert the mansion to an inn.[9][14] These plans were never brought to fruition; Davies House was not restored, and some of its interior decor was looted.[9] Already in disrepair, a 1990 fire destroyed much of the interior and upper stories.[3][12] Although the property had been considered as a location for The Addams Family movie, the fire and university administrators' reluctance to allow access caused its producers to select a Los Angeles location instead.[3]
In order to house international initiatives announced in its tercentennial year, Yale began a US$13.5 million renovation of the building in 2000.
Building
Henry Austin, the primary architect for the building, is known for his revivalist mansions and public buildings in central New Haven and other New England towns.[18] Betts House, one of his later works, is considered the best example of Second Empire architecture in New Haven.[13]
The mansion is a three-story brick structure with a
References
- ^ "Facilities Building Information". Yale Office of Facilities. Archived from the original on 7 May 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ a b "Davies Mansion To Be Renovated, Renamed". Yale Bulletin & Calendar. 30 (7). Yale Office of Public Affairs & Communications. 19 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2015-01-15. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gosselin, Kenneth R. (21 April 2002). "Restoring A Classic For Role In World". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 26 April 2002.
- ^ a b "New Haven Historic Resources Inventory" (PDF). City of New Haven. p. 51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
- ^ ISBN 9780819569691.
- ^ a b c d e Conant, Jonathan B; Wilkins, Woodrow W. "Historical Information". John M. Davies House (PDF) (Report). Historical American Buildings Survey. Washington, DC: National Park Service. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-26. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- ^ "The Inventory of Historic and Architectural Resources" (PDF). Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
- ^ A Handbook of New England. Sargeant's Handbook Series. Boton: Porter. E Sargeant. 1921. p. 100. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
- ^ a b c Cole, Judy (11 April 2010). "The Davies Mansion–the genealogy of a house". Genealogy Gals. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ a b Schiff, Judith (Jan–Feb 2008). "Angell of the CIA". Yale Alumni Magazine. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ Geesman, John; Perensovich, Nicholas (13 November 1970). "Yale Negotiates to Buy Culinary Institute Land". Yale Daily News. New Haven, CT.
- ^ a b c Dunlap, David W. (22 July 2001). "$13.5 Million Renovation and Restoration for 133-Year-Old Building; Yale Mansion to House Globalization Center". New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- ^ a b "Prospect Hill Historic District". NHPT.org. New Haven Preservation Trust. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
- ^ Goldberger, Paul (20 March 1980). "Design Notebook: For Yale students, a 1980 cause: Saving a doomed mansion". New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
- ^ Jordan, Elise (17 October 2001). "Davies Mansion gets $5 million gift". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ "The Maurice R. Greenberg Conference Center". Robert A. M. Stern Architects. 2009. Archived from the original on 2014-10-05. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ "Maurice R. Greenberg Conference Center-New Haven, Conn". Engineering News-Record. McGraw Hill. December 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ "Henry Austin". International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture. St. James Press. 1993.