An oceanside Massachusetts property where former President Calvin Coolidge had his summer retreat in 1925 and that later became a small Catholic college is now in its latest life stage as an upscale, 55-plus condo development.
One of the 19 condos at White Court in the town of Swampscott recently went on the market for about $4.2 million. The building it’s in dates only to 2020, but a visitor approaching from the street might assume the structure was unchanged since Coolidge’s time. That’s because the condo developer faithfully re-created the Colonial Revival-style façade of the original estate, which stood from 1895 until it was torn down a few years ago. The rest of the building has a much more contemporary appearance.
Though it’s unusual, the history of the 6-acre property at 35 Littles Point Road isn’t what attracts buyers, said Lauren O’Brien, who is marketing the condo for Leading Edge Real Estate. The big draw for her listing is that residents can look out at the sea from their living room, and they can also step outside and quickly reach the rocky shore.
“When I walk through that front door, I almost feel like I’m on a yacht or cruise ship,” O'Brien said. “The scenery is ever-changing living there on the ocean — it’s breathtaking.”
The seven-condo building that includes O’Brien’s three-bedroom listing is one of three on the property built in 2020, but the other two are set back much farther from the water.
Besides the picturesque location, White Court is roughly a mile from Swampscott’s main shopping district. O’Brien likes to point out to potential buyers that they can get there easily, or to historical and scenic destinations in the nearby towns of Marblehead and Salem, 4 miles up the coast.
The current owners, who were the original buyers of the condo, especially liked the proximity to Boston’s airport, a 40-minute drive away, O’Brien said. White Court is also attractive to people who want to use it as a vacation home, like Coolidge did but on an ongoing basis. It’s a nice alternative to fighting Boston-area traffic on the way to more distant vacation areas like Cape Cod, O’Brien said.
A perk of this condo is the exclusive use the owners have of an outdoor patio and a small adjacent yard space. Because the condo is on the ground floor, there’s no need to use an elevator or stairs to go outside. From the patio and yard, one can easily walk down to the shared pool area or the ocean.
The original White Court property was built by architect Arthur Little, who specialized in Colonial Revival homes. Coolidge stayed in the 2.5-story residence, owned at the time by a close friend, for only that one summer of his presidency, according to the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation. The property was sold in the 1950s to the Sisters of Mercy, who established Marian Court College, initially as a secretarial school and later a liberal arts institution. The college closed in 2015 because of declining enrollment, according to the town of Swampscott’s website.
Coolidge, who was U.S. president from 1923 to 1927, was known for favoring limited, frugal government, according to the White House Historical Association. Interestingly, the Coolidge presidential foundation notes on its website that he did not own a home until after he retired.
