Is Westfield’s 657 Boulevard a real house? Who is living there?
In the Netflix original series The Watcher, Dean and Nora Brannock (Bobby Cannavale and Naomi Watts) spend all their life savings to buy their dream home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey. But once settled, they receive disturbing news from someone posing as “the Guardian.” The guard claims that in the letters, which contain extremely detailed descriptions of the address, her family has guarded 657 Boulevard for generations. They called Dean and Nora’s two young children “young blood.”
A true crime series called The Watcher is based on the experiences of a real family. Here’s what you need to know if you’re wondering if the house from the show is real.
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Is the house on Boulevard 657 real?
The Watcher is based on a 2018 play by Reeves Wiedeman that appeared in The Cut of New York magazine. The article provides a thorough explanation of what actually happened from the perspective of the family that was actually stalked. Instead of the two children the Brannucks have on the show, Derek and Maria Broaddus have three. The Rye house at 1 Warriston Lane served as a replacement for 657 Boulevard during filming of the Netflix miniseries, which was filmed in Westchester County, New York.
657 Boulevard is a charming 4000 square foot six bedroom, four bath mansion built in 1905. Weideman claimed that 657 Boulevard “was maybe the nicest mansion on the block.” The Woods, the previous owners, sold the property to the Broaddus in 2014 for more than $1.35 million. They never really lived in the house. The first letter came while they were staying with Maria’s parents during the restoration.
The family received a total of three letters. They contacted law enforcement, but the investigation was unsuccessful, and the guard still evades arrest. Derek and Maria made the decision to list the home again about six months after purchasing it. At first, they demanded more money than they paid to get their home improvement back. Unfortunately, they were responsible for making the story of the letters widely known. In 2019, 657 Boulevard eventually sold for $959,000, resulting in a loss for the Broaddus family of more than $400,000.
Background of the boulevard
Maria and Derek Broaddus prepared to move their three children to 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey in June 2014. US’ 657 Boulevard was considered the ideal home for the Broadduses.
Three days after the sale closed, a letter in “big, clumsy letters” to “The New Owner” appeared in her mailbox. The written letter reads: “Allow me to extend a warm welcome to you as our newest neighbor at 657 Boulevard. What brought you here? what brought you here Did 657 Boulevard make a strong internal call to you? My family has had an interest in 657 Boulevard for many years and as it approaches its 110th birthday I have been given the responsibility of watching out for its return. In the 1920’s my grandfather kept watch over the house and in the 1960’s it was my father. Now is my moment.
Countless vehicles pass through 657 Boulevard every day. Maybe I belong to one. From 657 Boulevard, look at all the visible windows. Maybe I belong to one. Watch the daily pedestrian parade from one of the many windows at 657 Boulevard. I could be one of them. you are a parent I witnessed them. So far I think I counted three. Do you have to bring all that fresh blood I asked for? improved for me. Was your previous home not big enough for the growing family? Or did you bring me your children out of greed? I’ll call them and lure them to me as soon as I know their names.” The author then added a italic signature that read “The Watcher.”
The Broaddus family contacted the home’s previous owners, John and Andrea Woods, after receiving the letter. In their 23 years at 657 Boulevard, the Woods family admitted to the Broaddus family that they had only received one letter from “The Watcher,” but since it had arrived just days before they left the home, the news was passed without much thought ignored.
After speaking to the Woods family, the two families went to the police and reported what had happened. Authorities told her not to say anything about The Watcher as all her neighbors are now under investigation.
Boulevard details
The Broaddus had still not moved in when a second letter surfaced two weeks later. The letter included details such as their last name (although it was misspelled), the children’s dates of birth, and their nicknames. It also mentioned her daughter drawing on a porch and asked the question, “Is she the family artist?”
The correspondence goes on to say: “Many years have passed since the young blood no longer dominated the hallways of the house. Have you uncovered all of its hidden secrets so far? Will the teenage blood down there have fun? Or maybe they are afraid to go there alone. If I were her, I would be really scared. The rest of the house is far from it. You would never scream if you were on top. Will they spend the night up there? Or are you all planning to sleep upstairs? Whose bedrooms are on the street side? As soon as you move in, I will be informed. Knowing who is in which bedroom is helpful. Then I can plan better.” When Maria and Derek stopped bringing their children to the house after receiving this letter, they ended their plans to move there, which led to a third letter: “Where have you been? You are missing at 657 Boulevard.”
A year after the investigation began, there was still no evidence. The Broaddus family was under stress as a result, Derek became depressed and Maria had post-traumatic stress disorder. Both suffered from paranoia. The Broaddus decided to sell the house six months after the letters arrived, but were unable to do so because of the stories surrounding 657 Boulevard.
The Broadduses also tried to file a lawsuit against the Woods family for failing to disclose the threatening letter they received. However, the judge dismissed the case because there was no evidence that they had deliberately withheld the letter or that they actually thought it constituted a threat. The mansion quickly became the focus of a “media frenzy” as a result of this attention from the Media.
The Broaddus also considered offering the property to a developer who could tear it down and divide it into two lots. This was not possible because the lots would all be three feet too small for the required size of the neighborhood. The courts unanimously rejected the verdict after the Broadduses appealed to the local planning board, resulting in 657 Boulevard’s single-family status. It was found that the same board had actually approved the division of another nearby property in 2018, even though the property’s requirements were greater than those of the Broaddus.
Around Christmas 2015, threatening letters were sent to Friends of the Broaddus Family by families who had expressed dissatisfaction with the Broaddus’ attempts to split them up.
About two years after the first letter, in the spring of 2016, the Broadduses found a family willing to rent the home from them, with the proviso that they could quit if a subsequent letter surfaced. A letter addressed to “the disgusting and spiteful Derek and his wench from Mrs. Maria” arrived at the house within two weeks.
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The message continued: “Despite your attempted attack, 657 Boulevard held out, its army of defenders manning the gates. My tabloid warriors followed my orders to the letter. In accordance with my instructions, they achieved their goal and saved the soul of 657 Boulevard. Greetings to the Warden! possibly a car accident possibly a fire Perhaps something as simple as a minor illness that, despite your best efforts to recover, persists and makes you feel ill all the time. Maybe a weird pet death. Suddenly loved ones die. Cars, bikes and planes crash. broken bones The house despises you and the guard has his way.” Although startled by the letter, the tenants agreed to stay while more cameras were set up, which they did.
While investigating a crime without fingerprints, a digital trail, or a way to locate a suspect at the scene has been a challenge for police, they were able to find three suspects: a man known as “The Gamer” because his propensity to play violent video games as a character called “The Watcher,” Michael Langford for his propensity to literally “watch” his neighbors, and the Broaddus family themselves for suspicion of buyer remorse.
After a bidding war, Netflix acquired the rights to the narration in 2018. Lifetime aired the horror film The Watcher in October 2016 in violation of a Broaddus cease and desist order. 657 Boulevard eventually sold for about $959,000 in July 2019, or about $400,000 less than what the Broadduses paid for it. So far, no reports of letters from The Watcher to the new owners have surfaced.
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Who lives at 657 Boulevard now?
They showed a thorough familiarity with the estate in the three letters the real Warden wrote to the Broaddus. “My family has been watching and anticipating the second coming of 657 Boulevard for years, and as it approaches its 110th birthday, I have been put in charge of it. In the 1920’s my grandfather kept watch over the house and in the 1960’s it was my father. Now is my moment. Do you know the history of the house? Do you know what’s inside the walls of 657 Boulevard? What brought you here? what brought you here The guard stated in the first letter: “I will investigate.
The Broaddus family reportedly sold 657 Boulevard to Andrew and Allison Carr in July 2019. The Broadduses left a message for the new owners for their real estate attorney after the sale. The note read: “We wish you nothing but the peace and quiet we once dreamed of in this house.” They also gave a photocopy of the guard’s handwriting so the new owners would know how to identify them if the stalker ever wrote any more letters. Weideman notes that the Carr family has never received a letter of this type.