1930s: Bentley Business
Despite the impact of the Great Depression, the 1930s were relatively prosperous years for the Bentley School. Enrollment dipped around the middle of the decade, but stayed relatively stable as the school developed a reputation for producing skilled, employable graduates.
It was also during this decade that Mr. Bentley undertook his major bibliographic project. The result of the project was the two volume "Bibliography of Works on Accounting by American Authors," still one of the best known among his many publications. To assist in this major undertaking Mr. Bentley hired Ruth S. Leonard, his eventual co-author. Leonard was a trained librarian and conducted years of research to identify the works that would eventually comprise the bibliography. After the culmination of the project in 1935, Leonard remained at Bentley in an administrative capacity for two years, before leaving for an eventual professorship at the Simmons College library school.
As more students joined the Bentley School towards the end of the decade, additional space was rented out in downtown Boston. The School leased and renovated space at 325 Newbury Street from 1937-1941. Boston locals and tourists alike will now know this building as the home of Sonsie, one of the city's most popular restaurants.