657 Boulevard residence in Westfield, New Jersey, USA

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The 657 Boulevard residence in Westfield, New Jersey, is a Dutch colonial-style home famous for being the setting of the true story behind the Netflix series "The Watcher".

The previous owners, the Broaddus family, bought the house in 2014 but never moved in after receiving threatening letters from a stalker who called themself "The Watcher". They sold the property in 2019 for $959,000.


Location: The house is located at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey.
Previous Owners: The Broaddus family purchased the home in 2014 but sold it in 2019 after a series of menacing letters were sent to them.

The Watcher A family bought their dream house. But according to the creepy letters they started to get, they weren’t the only ones interested in it.

In November 2018, New York Magazine published “The Watcher,” which chronicled a New Jersey family being stalked by a mysterious, threatening letter writer. The article, by Reeves Wiedeman, is the basis of a new Netflix limited series created by Ryan Murphy. Read an update on the case here.

If you’re interested in reading similar stories, sign up for Reread: Real Estate Mania, a newsletter miniseries that resurfaces classic stories of ever-rising rents, the next hot neighborhood, and some truly nightmarish living situations from the New York archives.

One night in June 2014, Derek Broaddus had just finished an evening of painting at his new home in Westfield, New Jersey, when he went outside to check the mail. Derek and his wife, Maria, had closed on the six-bedroom house at 657 Boulevard three days earlier and were doing some renovations before they moved in, so there wasn’t much in the mail except a few bills and a white, card-shaped envelope. It was addressed in thick, clunky handwriting to “The New Owner,” and the typed note inside began warmly:

Dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard,

Allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood.

For the Broadduses, buying 657 Boulevard had fulfilled a dream. Maria was raised in Westfield, and the house was a few blocks from her childhood home. Derek grew up working-class in Maine, then moved his way up the ladder at an insurance company in Manhattan to become a senior vice-president with a salary large enough to afford the $1.3 million house. The Broadduses had bought 657 Boulevard just after Derek celebrated his 40th birthday, and their three kids were already debating which of the house’s fireplaces Santa Claus would use.

More here:

https://www.thecut.com/article/the-h...ew-jersey.html