Stop 11 - The Brown House

2019

2019

Tour Highlights

• The Brown House is part of the original Buck Estate, and built between the late 1800s and 1935
• Acquired by Dominican College in 1935 and nicknamed The Brown House
• In the 1930s, the Brown House was used by students for afternoon tea
• In 1949 it was moved across the creek to its present location to make room for Bertrand Hall to be built
• In the 1950s, the college newspaper, the Carillon requested that students contribute suggestions for names for the teahouse. Despite numerous attempts to designate the perfect name, in the end the building's nickname won out: “The Brown House”.
• It once contained a textile weaving studio
• The former Student Union and headquarters for the Associated Students of Dominican University (ASDU), The Brown House now houses Art Department faculty and printmaking and photography classes

Weaving Room - 1955

Brown House

On Dominican University of California’s campus, a tan-colored house with stray furniture on the porch sits in between the Archbishop Alemany Library and the Joseph R. Fink Science Center. Originally nicknamed the Tea House in 1929, the Brown House was part of the Buck Estate that was bought by the college. The Benincasa house, first owned by the Smith family and then by the Buck family, was a house and show place for Marin County. In 1935, the sisters bought the Buck Estate from the couple, Walter E. Buck and Viola M. Wright. The estate covered the areas of the buildings of Benincasa, Albertus Magnus, San Marco, Anne Hathaway, Weaving Room, Lourdes Infirmary, the college post office, and the greenhouse. The Benincasa house, Anne Hathaway, Weaving Room, and the greenhouse were buildings that were purchased from the Buck Estate. When the college bought the Buck Estate, the Brown House was located where Bertrand Hall is currently situated and students used it as a social center. The social area was a space of community, where students were able to take a break after classes and de-stress with tea and friends. In 1949, the school moved the tea house across the creek to build Bertrand Hall. As the college built more buildings and grew in student population, the Brown House turned into one of the main buildings for the Art Department.  Today, the Brown House contains some of the Art Department’s courses and the department’s offices. A photography studio and camera equipment are stored in the Brown House. A large printer, laser printer, and a 3D printer are also kept in the Brown House for design majors. Art majors can also find this space for studio work and relaxation.