1275 Chapel Street, also known as the Westover Apartment House, is a Neoclassical brick structure with a stone veneer distinguishing the first floor of the street facing facade. Today, the building has been subdivided into 14 apartments--two 2 bedroom units and twelve 1-bedroom units, most of which are occupied by Yale students. The building's most notable tenants have been George W. Bush, who lived here while attending Yale as an undergraduate in Apartment #13 and was once pictured in front of the building in TIME magazine; and judge Florence Cooper, who lived here for over 50 years, from the age of 16 until her death in the early 1990's.
The building has not been structurally altered since it was erected in 1920 by a widow named Rosalie Bradstreet. In 1929, she sold the building to Lillian I. de Bussy for $18,000. In 1945, the building was willed to Carl Kaplan by Ms. de Bussy with a mortgage value of $33,000. In 1951, the building was sold to Salvatore de’Benedetto of Bennett Realty Company for $62,000. In 1979, the building was purchased by Herbert and Ardelle Short who own and manage the Chelsea Company. It is still owned and managed by the Shorts.
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