Edelbrock House (Durenberger)

Edelbrock House, 2006 (click thumbnail for larger image)

Edelbrock house was built on the north bank of Lake Watab in 1940. Initially, it served as the home for Isabelle and George Durenberger. George ’28 was a football coach and the athletic director of St. John’s University. Isabelle was executive assistant to university faculty members. Their son, David Durenberger ‘55, who was born and raised in Edelbrock house, became a United States Senator.

The house was named after Alexius Edelbrock, OSB. He was the second abbot of St. John’s from 1875 to 1889. In 1980, the house was moved to Fruit Farm road to make space for the earth shelters. Edelbrock house then became housing for upper-classmen. Over the years, it housed ROTC students, the rugby team, and, starting in 2010, it became an eco-house (a house for students dedicated to sustainability).

Edelbrock house was razed in the summer of 2014 due to the cost of repairs.

Bibliography

• “How It Is In Building,”  Scriptorium (v. 6 n.1), Spring 1946,  p. 76
• “Edelbrock welcomes gobbling guest,”The Record, February 26, 1987, p. 3.
• “Durenberger returns to boyhood home,”Saint John’s Alumni Magazine, Summer 1987, p. 7.
• “Edelbrock House steeped in tradition,”The Independent, May 9, 1996, p. 8.
• “Saint John’s on the move,”The Abbey Banner, Fall 2008, p. 6.
• “Admins say Edelbrock to close this year: Residents complain about not being consulted, admins cite economic factors,”The Record, March 21, 2014, p.1, 8. 
• “Sustainability Mindset: The Edelbrock Decision,”The Record, March 21, 2014, p. 9.
• “Our View: ILCs left out from decisions: Communication efforts in housing decisions are concerning to students in jeopardized communities,” The Record, March 21, 2014, p. 10.
• Leipholtz, Beth. “ Thole [i.e. Tholl] House to replace Edelbrock,” The Record, March 28, 2014. p.1.
• “Memories from the Hood,”Saint John’s Alumni Magazine, Spring 2015, p. 4.

Text drafted by Maria Schrupp ’20