Witmer House Dedicated

HOME SITE: In recognition of their family’s nearly 80-year role in helping guide the University, the president’s residence on Mt. Hope Avenue has been renamed in honor of G. Robert Witmer Sr. ’26, and his wife, Marian C. Witmer. Their son, G. Robert Witmer Jr. ’59, chairman of the Board of Trustees, and his wife, Nancy, were the chief benefactors in a drive to renovate the historic, 100-year-old house and add 2,400 square feet of space. The new space will be used by President Seligman and his wife, Friederike, to host University events and entertain University groups of faculty, students, and guests.

Witmer says the project represents an effort to enhance connections between the University and the community, two areas with which he and his family have been actively involved. “To have the house named after my parents is so appropriate because it’s from them that I learned my love of the University and of the community,” Witmer says.

Built in 1906 on the grounds of the Ellwanger and Barry Nursery Estate, the house was designed by J. Foster Warner, the architect of the George Eastman House. Peter Barry, a former mayor of Rochester, lived in the house until 1973, when the University purchased it.

Since 1922, when the senior Witmer enrolled at Rochester, a total of 13 members of the Witmer family have attended the University.