Originally known as Millet’s Neck, Coolidge Point was later named for the prominent family who acquired the property in 1871, when Thomas Jefferson Coolidge purchased it for $12,000. In 1873, he built the first Coolidge residence on the property – a large “summer cottage” of white clapboard.
In 1902, at the direction of Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, Jr., Charles McKim designed the next residence. Built on the Ocean Lawn and completed in 1904, this “pure example of the best Georgian architecture” was constructed primarily of brick, but was known as the “Marble Palace” for its marble foundation and extensive embellishments. The Marble Palace received many distinguished visitors, including President Woodrow Wilson in 1918 and Crown Prince Olav of Norway in 1938. In the 1950s, it was razed by Thomas Jefferson Coolidge III to make room for another house, which was later razed in 1989, leaving the Ocean Lawn as scenic open space.
In 1990 and 1991, the Coolidge family donated much of the property to The Trustees, who established Coolidge Reservation in 1992. Also that year, Bungalow Hill was added to the Reservation, a gift of the Essex County Greenbelt Association, which had acquired the land from the Coolidge family in 1983.
Property Acquisition History
Original acreage a gift, with endowment, of the Coolidge family in 1990 and 1991. Additional land given by Essex County Greenbelt Association in 1992 and by Dr. Catherine Lastavica in 1999.