A more than 100-year-old Museum District home once owned by the late Dr. John Mendelsohn, former president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, just went on the market for $4.75 million.
The brick Colonial home, at 1412 South Blvd. near Montrose Boulevard and Bissonnet Street, is being sold for the first time since 1996. Built in 1920, the house sits on a nearly 1-acre corner lot near the Broadacres historic district.
The main house comprises three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, while an apartment on the second floor of the pool house contains one bedroom and one bathroom. The first floor of the pool house itself offers two bathrooms.
Highlights of the 4,038-square-foot property include:
- Wrap-around, second-floor porch.
- Formal living room with marble fireplace.
- Library with fireplace and built-in bookshelves.
- Sunroom.
- Swimming pool.
Marnie Greenwood of Compass has the listing.
Jeff Mendelsohn, one of Mendelsohn’s three sons, says he and his family “absolutely loved” living in the home, accentuated by six rows of majestic live oak trees lining South and West boulevards.
“The house has such a nice flow. It has a grand presence and the capacity to host large gatherings, which my parents often did while my father was president of MD Anderson. And somehow it also felt intimate and cozy when just a few of us were at home,” Jeff Mendelsohn tells CultureMap. “We are extremely sad to see it leave the family, as neither Eric, Andy, nor I can uproot our lives to move to Houston.”
John Mendelsohn was president of MD Anderson from 1996 to 2011. Following a six-month sabbatical, he returned in 2012 as co-leader of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayad Al Nahyan Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy. Mendelsohn retired from MD Anderson in 2018, assuming the role of president emeritus.
Mendelsohn, 82, died in January 2019 at his home after being diagnosed 15 months earlier with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
“MD Anderson had the great fortune of being led by John Mendelsohn for 15 years, and the strides made under his direction were nothing short of remarkable,” Dr. Peter WT Pisters, the current president of MD Anderson, said at the time of Mendelsohn’s death. “In addition to impressive achievements, both as a scientist and as a leader, John was a role model and inspiration to so many. He has left an indelible mark on this world, and he will be fondly remembered and greatly missed.”
During Mendelsohn’s tenure, MD Anderson’s revenue rose from $726 million to $3.1 billion, and its facilities grew from 3.4 million square feet to 15.2 million square feet. Among his accomplishments was spearheading the University of Texas Research Park and launching the Red and Charline McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer.
The home sits one of Houston's most beloved streets.
