six students. No fewer than four United States presidents – Woodrow Wilson, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft and Franklin Delano Roosevelt – have also been entertained in Foundation House during visits to Lawrenceville. In addition to welcoming off-campus visitors, Mrs. Mackenzie took responsibility for the social events of the school and began the tradition of post-Commencement luncheon for graduates’ families. Beyond its social use, Foundation House was also the first location of the head master’s office. The space was initially designed in such a way to present a view of the front doors of all the Circle Houses, a vantage point that allowed the head master to easily monitor campus activities from his desk. Those boys unfortunate enough to be called to the head master’s office during the era of Mackenzie’s successor, Simon J. McPherson (1899-1919), would wait outside in trepidation for their appointments while seated on a wooden settee that became known as “the Anxious Bench.” The bench remains in Foundation House, although students now wait out disciplinary summonses elsewhere on campus. By the time of Head Master Mather Abbott (1919-1934), Foundation House had become a social and cultural hub for the students of the school. Events included recitals, musicals, teas, and even one-minute plays, written and read by French Master Thornton Wilder. Abbott also began a tradition of reading Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to the student body just before the holiday break began each year. The increased social use of the home demanded expanded space, which resulted in the addition of Alumni Study in 1922. Designed by William A. Delano, Class of 1891, from the New York firm of Delano & Aldrich, the new study was designed to hold an entire form (approximately eighty students at the time) and featured a large fireplace with the school seal mounted on the mantel. While Alumni Study made a great space for entertaining large groups, it was less conducive to the day-to-day business of the head master, and in 1925, an office was created for Head Master Abbott just off the rotunda in the new Fathers’ Building. The old office in Foundation House was transformed into the Kellogg Library, named and populated with books courtesy of the family of Leroy Gifford Kellogg ’22, whose portrait still hangs in the room. The ever-evolving uses of Foundation
Dr. James Cameron Mackenzie, pictured with his five sons in 1908, was the first head master to occupy Foundation House.
House as a campus center have prompted several renovations over the years, including the addition of the Foundation House sun room, terrace and garden during the administration of Allan Heely (1934-1959) and a 20th-century modernization of the kitchens and bathrooms
Ella Smith Mackenzie worked closely with architects to design a home suitable for the role of the head master’s family on campus.
during the tenure of Bruce McClellan (19591986). The current renovation is perhaps the most extensive to date, bringing many of the home’s utilities into the 21st century while respecting the historic nature of the House, a task mediated by consultation with the historic preservation firm HMR Architects of Princeton. One of the most intriguing of the newly renovated spaces is a spacious family room on the second floor, which Head Master Murray says was created with students firmly in mind. “My wife, Sarah, and I remember well our days away from home in boarding school and would like students to feel warmly welcomed into our home,” Murray said. “As newcomers, we are already so struck by the warmth and sense of belonging that seems to be core to the Lawrenceville experience; the House System is clearly a key part of this, and we just hope that over time, people will also see Foundation House as one of the elements that contributes to such a close-knit, welcoming environment.” Murray added that the kitchen has also been updated and enlarged to allow Foundation House to maintain its tradition as a homey hub for students. “We’ll be asking students themselves to help us create occasions that fit into their busy lives,” he explained. “We could do an entire form in Alumni Study to watch a movie, or maybe have the field hockey team for cookies and milk the night before a big game.” After more than 130 years, thanks to its recent reformation, Foundation House can still be expected to serve as a welcoming “home away from home” for the extended family that is the Lawrenceville community.
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