Much of Usen Castle, known colloquially to Brandeis students as “the Castle,” is in a state of disrepair. According to an email sent by Vice President for Campus Operations Jim Gray on Aug. 31, 2015, the building is “showing its age,” making its future very much uncertain. With this uncertainty, it becomes necessary to remember what the Castle once represented to the university and its predecessor, before it is lost to time.
At first glance, opinions on the Castle will differ. Some will gaze at it in awe while others scoff at its current visually unappealing state. It offers truly unparalleled views of Boston, but at the same time it lacks the basic wiring that could grant us the ease of card access. The inside is windy and narrow, and it pales in comparison with newer residence halls. Residents complain about anything from bad lighting to exposed insulation, making for a clearly run-down edifice in need of repair.
While Usen Castle sticks out like a sore thumb on Brandeis’ campus, it is more than a simple architectural oddity.
The Castle represents perseverance and determination in the face of adversity. The fact that it still stands today despite its age is a testament to that. According to the National Register of Historic Places, which inducted the Castle into its archives in 1979, the building dates back to the late 1920s, when John Hall Smith was trying to get Middlesex College running in Waltham. Brandeis’ campus is the only vestige from the Middlesex era, save the Castle, which is nearing 100 years of age.
With time gaining the upper hand in the fight to maintain the building’s status quo, the last living artifact from our past is quickly fading.
Middlesex College had many names and existed in several places, but it always remained steadfast in its values of acceptance. In an era punctuated by intolerance and quotas, Middlesex remained an outlier with its profound sense of tolerance. According to the Brandeis archives, the university’s predecessor faced fatal problems securing AMA accreditation, which some believed was due to the school’s diverse composition. These issues proved to be too much for the fledgling school, but its property, buildings and most importantly, its values, made the transition to Brandeis.
Today, Brandeis reflects the traditions of tolerance and openness that Middlesex practiced. It also reflects how times have changed; the campus has grown significantly, technology has advanced and older edifices have become obsolete. The Castle once housed an entire school. Now, it serves as an increasingly decrepit residence hall.
However, despite its current problems, the Castle continues to bring us back to an age long before Brandeis was a thought in its founders’ heads. The traditions of Middlesex not only live on in the values of today’s Brandeis University, but they live on through their former physical heart: the Castle. It was once the center of Middlesex’s operation, and today it remains the only physical vestige of the school’s existence.
Usen Castle may be reaching the end of its lifespan as a residence hall as it transitions into a period of uncertainty, which could be followed by significant renovation or even demolition. It is not, however, reaching the end of its lifespan in memory. The values and traditions of Middlesex College that spurred the birth of Brandeis University out of the former’s ashes will continue to live on in our students, faculty and staff. They bind us together as a community. And as we prepare to say goodbye to the oldest building on campus as we know it, we must remember that it helped us get to where we are today.
