The Boston University Castle (or BU Castle or simply "The Castle") is a Tudor Revival-style mansion owned by Boston University on Bay State Road. [1] The school typically uses it for receptions or concerts, but also rents out The Castle to cater events and special occasions.
Boston University is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has been historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
The building was cited by architectural historian Bainbridge Bunting in his Houses of Boston's Back Bay as displaying “the most convincing medieval effect of the area.”
Bainbridge Bunting was an American architectural historian, teacher and author.
According to Boston University, the building's founder, William Lindsey, would have been pleased by this description. Lindsey had derived his inspiration for the Castle from the great manor houses of Tudor England. "The imposing style of these medieval mansions held a special allure for Lindsey, who, besides being a successful businessman, was also a poet and playwright. His writings, such as The Severed Mantle: A romance of medieval Provence and The Red Wine of Roussillon, a blank-verse drama set in France during the Middle Ages, reveal the same fascination with the antique and the romantic that pervades the design of the Castle." [2]
The Castle was originally built as a residence for William Lindsey (1858–1922), a prominent Boston businessman who made his fortune with a patented cartridge belt the British Army used during the Boer War. Plans were drawn up in 1904 and construction was completed in 1915 at a cost of more than $500,000. [2]
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of British Armed Forces. As of 2018, the British Army comprises just over 81,500 trained regular (full-time) personnel and just over 27,000 trained reserve (part-time) personnel.
Shortly after the building's completion, Lindsey's eldest daughter was married in the mansion, though she and her groom would later be killed while on their honeymoon, aboard the ill-fated Lusitania after the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine just off the coast of County Cork. The grief-stricken Lindsey later constructed the magnificent Leslie Lindsey Memorial Chapel in Emmanuel Church on Newbury Street in his daughter's memory.
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner that was sunk on 7 May 1915 by a German U-boat 11 mi (18 km) off the southern coast of Ireland. The sinking presaged the United States declaration of war on Germany two years later.
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is the largest and southernmost county of Ireland, situated in the province of Munster and named after the city of Cork, Ireland's second-largest city. The Cork County Council is the local authority for the county. Its largest market towns are Mallow, Macroom, Midleton, and Skibbereen. In 2016, the county's population was 542,868, making it the third-most populous county in Ireland. Notable Corkonians include Michael Collins, Jack Lynch, and Sonia O'Sullivan.
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, a historic church at 15 Newbury Street in Boston, Massachusetts, was founded in 1860 as part of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.
In 1926, Oakes Ames purchased the Castle from Lindsey's widow. He, University Trustee Dr. William E. Chenery and Chenery's wife donated the mansion to Boston University in 1939. From then until 1967, the Castle was used as the home of Boston University's presidents.
Oakes Ames was an American biologist specializing in orchids. His estate is now the Borderland State Park in Massachusetts.
In 2007, the Castle was a filming location for the Kevin Spacey movie 21 , [3] and in 2016, for Ghostbusters. [4]
In the basement of the BU Castle is the BU Pub, an English-style pub serving drinks and sandwiches. The Castle is the only Boston University-operated drinking establishment on campus. It is open only to faculty, staff, alumni, students, and invited guests, and is closed on weekends. [5] The Pub sometimes has live music on Thursdays, with performances mostly from BU students. Popular house activities are the Knight's and Lord's Quests. In the Knight's Quest, students must drink 50 different types of beer that the pub offers. The accomplishment culminates in a Knighting Ceremony where the new Knights are given different nicknames by friends for a mug that they can use while at the pub. The Lord's Quest is similar except it involves 60 mixed drinks, and after the ceremony the new Lord's name is engraved on a plaque. For reasons that are not entirely clear, the plaque has not been updated for over two years. In September 2008, the BU Pub canceled the Lord's Quest, so now only the Knight's Quest remains. [6] [7]
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great chamber for eating and relaxing. At that time the word "great" simply meant big, and had not acquired its modern connotations of excellence. In the medieval period the room would simply have been referred to as the "hall", unless the building also had a secondary hall, but the term "great hall" has been predominant for surviving rooms of this type for several centuries, to distinguish them from the different type of hall found in post-medieval houses. Great halls were found especially in France, England and Scotland, but similar rooms were also found in some other European countries.
Boston University Academy (BUA) is a private high school operated by Boston University. Founded in 1993 and located on the Boston University campus, the Academy is geared toward college preparatory work. As part of its integration with the university, students are able to take college courses for credit their junior and senior years, and are guaranteed acceptance to Boston University upon maintaining a 3.0 grade point average in Boston University courses.
Walter Brown Arena is a 3,806-seat multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey team and hosted the men's team before they moved to Agganis Arena. It is named in honor of Walter A. Brown, the original owner of the Boston Celtics, former president of the Boston Bruins and second manager of the Boston Garden. The arena is part of the Harold Case Physical Education Center, which includes Case Gym directly above the arena, as well as the former home of student recreation before the opening of the John Hancock Student Village. The building lies in the general area of the left field pavilion seats at the former Braves Field, whose right field pavilion and a portion of the field have been converted to neighboring Nickerson Field.
Hatley Park National Historic Site is located in Colwood, British Columbia, in Greater Victoria. It is the site of Hatley Castle, a Classified Federal Heritage Building. Since 1995, the mansion and estate have been used for the public Royal Roads University. From the 1940s to 1995, it was used for the Royal Roads Military College, a naval training facility.
The Boston University housing system is the 2nd-largest of any private university in the United States, with 76% of the undergraduate population living on campus. On-campus housing at BU is an unusually diverse melange, ranging from individual 19th-century brownstone town houses and apartment buildings acquired by the school to large-scale high-rises built in the 60s and 2000s.
The Questrom School of Business is the business school at Boston University in Boston, MA, USA. Founded in 1913 as the College of Business Administration, the school offers undergraduate and graduate programs.
Myles Standish Hall is a Boston University dormitory located at 610 Beacon Street, in Kenmore Square. Originally constructed in 1925 and opened as the Myles Standish Hotel, it was deemed to be one of the finest hotels in the world. In 1949 BU acquired the building and converted it into a dormitory.
The Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) at Boston University consists of the School of Music, the School of Theatre, and the School of Visual Arts. Each school offers degrees in the performing and visual arts at the undergraduate and graduate level. Among the College of Fine Arts faculty are artists, scholars, and performers. Since the College of Fine Arts is integrated into Boston University, students at CFA may choose courses in the other undergraduate colleges at Boston University. CFA students can also apply for the Boston University Collaborative Degree Program (BUCOP), where students simultaneously earn undergraduate degrees at CFA and in one of 14 undergraduate colleges of the university. The college offers a study abroad program in London, England, and Dresden, Germany. Students can spend a semester at the Royal College of Music, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, or at the Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber".
575 Commonwealth Avenue is a dormitory at Boston University. Until 2001 the building was a Howard Johnson hotel owned by the University. It is located in Kenmore Square next to the Rafik B. Hariri Building, which houses the Questrom School of Business.
Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1976, the School offers master's- and doctoral-level programs in public health. It is located in the heart of Boston University's Medical Campus in the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The school has more than 8,900 alumni, 267 faculty, and 227 staff; its students hail from more than 43 countries, and its total research portfolio is worth more than $180 million. BUSPH is fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health and ranked 8th among Public Health Graduate Schools by U.S. News & World Report.
Boston Playwrights' Theatre (BPT) is a small professional theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. Led by Artistic Director Kate Snodgrass. Boston Playwrights' Theatre is the home of the Graduate Playwriting Program at Boston University. As a venue, BPT donates their space to host other New England theatre companies who are producing new plays.
The Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1848, the medical school was the first institution in the world to formally educate female physicians. Originally known as the New England Female Medical College, it was subsequently renamed BUSM in 1873. It is also the first medical school in the United States to award an M.D. degree to an African-American woman, in 1864.
The George Sherman Union (GSU) is the student union building at Boston University and Boston University Academy. The Brutalist-styled building opened in Spring 1963. When it opened, the Union had a 10-lane bowling alley in its basement. The building is named for the Boston industrialist, philanthropist, and Boston University benefactor. The Union was modeled after similar student centers in Midwestern universities.
Shelton Hall is one of eight large buildings at Boston University that serve as dormitories. Located at 91 Bay State Road, the building has nine floors and a capacity of 418 students. Living quarters are divided into four- and five-person suites, and a few private doubles. The ninth floor consists of a study lounge that provides an impressive view of Boston and the Charles River as well as Fenway Park. There is no longer a dining hall in Shelton. The students who live in the lower Bay State Road area now have to go to Bay State 100 for meals.
Alfred L. Morse Auditorium is a domed theater that is now owned by Boston University (BU) and used as an auditorium.
West Campus is an area in the westernmost part of Boston University's Charles River campus in Boston, Massachusetts. The area taken up by West Campus takes up most of the footprint of the former grandstand of Braves Field, whose right field pavilion grandstand is currently used as the primary grandstand for Nickerson Field. The former footprint of the stadium also includes the Case Physical Education Center, whose buildings and adjacent tennis courts take up most of the left field pavilion grandstand area.
Old Beaupre Castle is a ruined medieval fortified manor house located in the community of Llanfair, outside Cowbridge in Wales. It is known in historic documents under the names Beawpire, Bewerpere, Bewpyr and Y Bewpur. It is a Grade I listed building and is presently under the care of Cadw. It can be visited free of charge all year round by members of the public.
Forglen House is a mansion house that forms the centrepiece of the Forglen estate in the parish of Forglen, northwest of Turriff, Aberdeenshire, in the northeast of Scotland. The lands were given to the abbots of the Abbey of Arbroath by King William the Lion before 1211 and the Monymusk Reliquary was held there. The original castle, built around 1346, was replaced by a vernacular harled house that was later extended. Significant development of the estate began when it was acquired by the family of Lord Banff and they started the work of landscaping and planting trees. It became their main family seat during the 18th century. After the death of William Ogilvy, the eighth and final Lord Banff, the estate passed by marriage to the Abercromby baronets who continued to enhance the property and maintained it as their main residence. Sir Robert Abercromby, 5th Baronet commissioned the Aberdeen City Architect, John Smith to design the present house in 1839.
