Johnson House

Johnson House (Dec 2004)

Johnson House (a.k.a. J-House) is the Hebrew Program House, located at 216 South Professor Street, across from Old Barrows.

It is easily the single most beautiful dorm on campus, inside and out. There are enormous singles that just aren't quite big enough to be doubles, the ceilings are a couple feet higher than anywhere else, there are balconies and window nooks.

[edit] History

Johnson House (not to be confused with Frank Lloyd Wright's Welztheimer-Johnson House, also in Oberlin) used to be a residential mansion long ago. According to the Oberlin Archives website,[1] the Johnson House and about 25 acres of land surrounding it were donated to the college in 1911 by Charles Martin Hall. From 1912 to 1916 it housed the Oberlin Academy, predecessor to the current Oberlin High School.[2] Later, it was a dormitory for women in the Conservatory.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the second floor of Johnson House was the home of the Oberlin Farm Co-op, which had a large organic garden and a passive solar greenhouse on the grounds. The Farm Co-op had an old pick-up truck which was used mainly to collect organic garbage from the dining co-ops. The garbage was then composted behind Johnson House and used througout the year. A favorite activity was the early morning "manure run," a trip to a local horse farm for collection of horse poop. Said excreta was then folded into the simmering compost piles. Yum.

The Co-op would plant a garden in the first week of May or so, after the last frost. A small contingent then would stay over for the summer, usually living in an off-campus house (such as Twining House on Morgan Street), to tend to the garden. A lot of weeding was supposed to take place, and it often did.

The Farm Co-op was a purely residential arrangement, and most members ate at dining co-ops. Harkness (the home of "electric" and "acoustic" stuffing on Thanksgiving) was a popular choice. Those who preferred a less-politicized diet would gravitate toward Fairchild (low-key vegetarian at the time) or Old Barrows (omnivores). Live bluegrass and old time music were not uncommon at Johnson House, yet members' tastes also covered blues, jazz, classical, the usual rock, and (of course) the Dead.

In the late 1970s, the Farm Co-op was a significant consumer of "Blatz" beer, a Cleveland brew that was very cheap and bore only a passing resemblance to a malt beverage. (At that time, one could purchase only "3.2 beer" or "near beer" in the city limits.) The local Fire Marshal once cited the Farm Co-op for keeping a large number of empty cases of Blatz in the hallway of the second floor. Though Harkness was the home of the most outrageous and legendary parties on campus at the time, the Farm Co-op had its share of joyous events. Some parties coincided with other campus events, such as the first of two appearances by Talking Heads at Finney Chapel. (Admission to the show was 50 cents, and the band was awful. They were great a couple of years later. The practice helped.)

The residents of the Farm Co-op were, like most Obies, a varied and interesting bunch. Imagine a hybrid of "My Dinner with Andre" and "Dazed and Confused," and you'll get the idea. For the most part, people were pleasant and respectful. Still, inter-personal drama was not unknown. Sometimes it was nothing more than a peaceful retreat, which was great.

At some point the Farm Co-op faded into oblivion. RIP.

Some time after a new paint job (which happened some time after 1980), Johnson House became the Hebrew Program House.

[edit] Opinions

People talk about J House being SOOOO FAR from campus, and it's true that it and Old B are the farthest buildings from it-- but it's no more than a fifteen minute walk, and that shouldn't scare you away from living there. They have a great porch. They host a number of fun parties throughout the year. The rooms there are ridiculously beautiful-- there are two triples in the building that could house half the population of rhode island. Many of the rooms have beautiful high ceilings. --anonymous, 15 June 2007