Tufts wasn’t part of the original 1919-1920 set of college-themed streets here. It was squeezed in between Andover and University in 1947 on the Park Vista tract, owned by Anees Bousamra “Ernest” Malouf (1889-1972) and his wife Mima (1899-1987). Ernest’s brothers William and Bert were co-owners. Lebanese immigrants all, the Maloufs made their fortune with a large chain of women’s clothing stores called Mode O’Day, named in 1934. As I found no connection between the Maloufs and Tufts University, my theory – it’s a stretch, but not impossible – is that this street’s name is a pun on Taufik Gabriel “Tufi” Malouf (1911-2000), who ran the Mode O’Day plant in Logan, Utah from 1944 until 1977. Strangely, it doesn’t appear that Tufi, born in Cuba to Lebanese parents, was related to these other Maloufs. But they were obviously close (see photo).
Find it on the map:
