I Lived There

It was thrilling to see the house at the top of the Evelyn Place cul-de-sac featured in PAW. My family occupied the larger half of that house, #7, from 1946 onward. My father, Emil Artin, was a professor of mathematics at Princeton from 1946 to 1958. The family moved into the house in September 1946. My mother, Natascha Artin-Brunswick, lived in the house until her death in 2003.

We also owned the apartment at the far right of the building, #7 1/2 Evelyn Place. That apartment was occupied by Eileen Berryman (former wife of the poet John Berryman). Eileen often threw elegant garden parties at which such Princeton luminaries as R.P. Blackmur, Edmund Keeley, Russell Fraser, Edward Cone, and George Pitcher were regular guests.

The smaller half of the building, on the left in the photo, was occupied by the Rev. Robert Martin, Princeton Class of 1884. Rev. Martin was a kind and wonderful man, who had the enviable distinction of being the oldest living alumnus. Each year at Reunions, the Class of 1884 Reunion headquarters was located next door to us, and the 1884 banner was proudly displayed on his porch.