From the 1920s until the 1960s, the New Ocean House in Swampscott, Massachusetts, was the site of many conventions, including those of fraternities and sororities.
Alpha Chi Omega’s 1924 convention took place at the New Ocean House. Kappa Kappa Gammas gathered there in 1932. Delta Gamma’s 1948 Diamond Jubilee Convention* was held there, too. Delta Delta Delta celebrated its Golden Anniversary at the New Ocean House in 1938. It was the site of Pi Beta Phi’s 1946 and 1958 conventions.
Fraternities also used the New Ocean House for their gatherings. Phi Gamma Delta’s 1929 and 1958 Ekklesiai took place there as did Kappa Sigma’s 1949 Grand Conclave.
The March 1946 Arrow of Pi Beta Phi issued a call to convention: “
We meet at Swampscott almost next door to Boston, on the exclusive North Shore which is frequently referred to as the ‘Eden of New England.’ Swampscott, which in the language of the Natick tribe of Indians means ‘at the Red Rock,’ is one of the most beautiful towns on the North Shore, and attractive estates, splendid boulevards and picturesque scenery add to the charm of this favorite resort. ‘White Court,’ the summer home of the late President Coolidge,** as well as the old Humphrey House, said to be the oldest house in New England, built in 1637, are located in Swampscott. Historic localities such as Lexington, Concord, Marblehead, Salem, Gloucester, Plymouth, and Cambridge are all easily accessible from the New Ocean House.
The hotel is itself situated right at the water’s edge on Puritan Road, known as the ‘Path of Peace,’ the oldest and most famous Indian Trail along the North Shore; and the coast line broken by many massive rock formations and jutting points of land furnish some of nature’s most glorious scenery. From the broad sandy beach in front of the hotel or from the spacious flagstone promenade along the seawall many points of interest can be seen. Looking toward the right, four miles distant, Nahant, a rolling green peninsula, reaches out into the ocean.
Delegates to the 1948 Pi Beta Phi convention paid $8.00 daily per person for a double room with a bath and twin beds. The daily meal rate was $8.50.
The Ocean House was built in 1835, and in 1864, it was destroyed by fire. Another hotel was moved to the site and took on the name Ocean House. It, too, was destroyed by fire in the fall of 1882. R.W. Carter who had purchased the hotel a year earlier, rebuilt it and in 1884, it debuted as the 250-room New Ocean House. R. W. Carter sold the hotel in 1895. In 1902, Allen Ainsile and Edward Grabow purchased it. Among the amenities were electric call bells in the rooms, a telephone and an elevator. An even more improved and bigger hotel opened in 1904 after another fire. In 1917, the seven-story Puritan Hall was opened, increasing the number of rooms to more than 500.
In 1914, while a student at Harvard University, Clement Kennedy applied for a summer job. In 1926, Colonel Kennedy, as he was known, was elected President and General Manager of the hotel. In 1949, a newspaper article boasted that his job included keeping happy and contented 45,000 guests a summer season. It was also noted that the New Ocean House paid its property taxes on the day the town issued tax bills. President John F. Kennedy, Helen Keller, Harpo Marx, Lucille Ball, Babe Ruth, Herbert Hoover, Walter Brennan, and Sinclair Lewis were among the hotel’s honored guests over the years.
In 1961, a million dollar renovation was completed. On May 8, 1969, at about 10 p.m., the lobby was engulfed in flames. Firefighters from all of New England helped fight the fire and pool water was even used to help combat the blaze.
Pi Beta Phis enjoying an outdoor Cookie Shine at the 1958 convention.
After the 1969 fire, condominiums were built on some of the land. The only visible remnant of the New Ocean House is the cement exedra seat on the Puritan Road side of the street where the swimming pool had been.
* Enroute to Swampscott from her home in Urbana, Illinois, Alta Gwinn Saunders, Anchora Editor, full professor and head of the Business English Department at the University of Illinois, was killed in a plane crash near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania.
**In 1925, White Court served as the summer White House when the Coolidges rented it for a year. Grace Coolidge, an avid walking enthusiast, would often walk her dog to the New Ocean House.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory,com, 2013. All Rights Reserved.
