Love Cooking - Julia Child’s Home Is For Sale in Cambridge, MA
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I love this story for a few reasons. One, I grew up with my mother watching Julia Child on television as a young bride learning to cook. Some of my love for fine cuisine can be directly associated with Julia teaching my mom to be an excellent cook.
Two, the thought that one of the lead parts of the story is that a kitchen renovation is a bad thing. In almost any home a kitchen renovation would be considered a benefit, but when the previous kitchen was moved to the Smithsonian, it is not so good. I would have re-created the kitchen for the new homeowners. Even if it was not the original, it would have been way too cool to cook where Julia did her magic.
The reason has nothing to do with Julia Child. The home had previously been owned by Josiah Royce, a very famous philosopher with whom I share a last name. Whenever I am with clergy or academics with a philosophical bent they all ask if I am related to Josiah. I am not but I have learned about him over the years.
So there you go, a comfortable home in Cambridge, Massachusetts that has a great deal of history. All for only 4.35 million dollars.
One big asterisk: The kitchen has been renovated completely. That’s usually a good thing, but in this case it means nothing remains of the space most identified with Julia Child.
The original kitchen — its counters raised for the comfort of the 6′2″ chef — is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. It was shipped there after Child moved out of the home in 2001.
Other features, such as a wine cellar, apparently survive.
The listing agent, Jeffrey Goldman of Premier Properties of Boston, points out that the home also was occupied until 1916 by the once-famous Harvard philosopher Josiah Royce. via Boston.com

