George Wightman Mansion // 1902

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Tucked within the historic Longwood neighborhood of Brookline, the George Wightman Mansion stands as a striking reminder of turn-of-the-century wealth and architectural ambition. The mansion was built in 1902 for industrialist George Henry Wightman (1855-1937), a steel magnate associated with Andrew Carnegie and was known as one of the “Carnegie Boys“, a close-knit and influential group of partners and executives who managed Carnegie Steel. Wightman retired around the time of building his Brookline house, which coincided with the formation of U.S. Steel, a merger which benefitted the Carnegie Corporation and its partners handsomely. With his expansive wealth and eyes set on retirement, George Wightman hired the prominent firm Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, to design his new mansion to live out the remainder of his life in solitude. The brick and stone Renaissance Revival/Beaux Arts style mansion sits atop large, elegantly landscaped grounds and is of a scale unlike anything else in the neighborhood. George H. Wightman was also known as the “Father of American Lawn Tennis” and his only son, George W. Wightman also played tennis at a high level. It was George W. Wightman’s wife however, who became a champion. She was Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, who won 45 U.S. titles during her life and founded the Wightman Cup, an annual team competition for British and American women from 1923 to 1989. Over time, the mansion’s role evolved alongside the community. After Wightman’s death in 1937, it transitioned from private home to institutional use, notably housing the Boston Hebrew College beginning in 1952, adding onto the building to the rear, and later becoming part of Boston University, serving as event space for the University. 

McInnes-Morse House // 1901

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Located at the corner of Borland and Chatham streets in Brookline’s historic Longwood neighborhood, the McInnes-Morse House stands as one of the area’s finest and stately Colonial Revival style homes. The three-story residence contains a three-bay main block with two-story side wings and central entrance. A rusticated first floor is surmounted by clapboarded walls above with two-story fluted pilasters dividing the bays and a central Palladian window. The facade is further embellished with dentilled cornice and egg-and-dart mouldings. The residence was completed in 1901 for Edwin G. McInnes, a lawyer, and his wife, Mabel, who split their time between this home and a residence in Manchester-by-the-Sea. The second owners were Theresa J. Morse and her husband, Alan. Theresa worked full-time at the regional office of the War Labor Board in wage control, processing cases involving the metal trades and wartime industries. After the war, she became active in the League of Women Voters and was appointed to the Brookline Housing Authority, where she advocated for smaller-scale public housing integrated with social services. The residence remains well-preserved and commands this prominent corner across from the Longwood Mall. I could not locate the architect for the home, but would love to find out!

Webber-Bouve Mansion // 1885

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One of the most unique and truly great Victorian-era residences in Brookline, Massachusetts, can be found on Kent Street, an eclectic and fairly hidden mansion built of stucco, stone and terracotta. Built in 1885 by John Prescott Webber, a Maine lumber baron who moved to the Boston area and became a real estate magnate, the handsome residence was designed by architect, S. Edwin Tobey. The most important element of the structure is its surfacing material, with random and quarry-faced ashlar used on the first floor with roughcast stucco on the second level. Additional detailing includes the large brackets, irregular form and fenestration, massive bays, gables, stone porte-cochere, and carved terracotta details. The house was likely sold to George F. Bouve shortly after it was completed, and he remained the owner until his death in 1898. Mr. Bouve was a shoe and leather dealer and shoe manufacturer. The Webber-Bouve Mansion is one of those houses that the more you look at it, the more detail and unique features you notice. The historic stable was demolished in 1995 in exchange for a preservation restriction on the main house by the owners.

Sears Chapel, Longwood // 1860

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Christ’s Church in Longwood, better known as Sears Chapel, is among the finest ecclesiastical buildings in Brookline and commands its site on a rise overlooking the Muddy River, now the Riverway in the Emerald Necklace park system. The area presently known as Longwood was originally marshland with a few farms until the building of the Mill Dam road out of Boston in 1821 that improved access to Brookline, which opened up its connectivity and development potential. Wealthy Boston businessman, David Sears (1787-1871) recognized this, and began buying the low-lying pasturelands in Brookline near the Boston border. By 1830, some squares were laid out and development began in the Cottage Farm and Longwood sections. He, with associates, began building country estates for friends and family to escape the crowded conditions of Boston. He is said to have named his neighborhood “Longwood”, after Napoleon’s estate on St. Helena where he spent his days in exile. An avid amateur horticulturist, Sears planted some 14,000 trees, many of them imported from Europe, in the course of developing his land. In keeping with his faith, Sears built this house of worship, Christ’s Church, which is said to have been modeled after St. Peter’s in Colchester England, likely giving Colchester Street, where Sears Chapel is located, its name. The Romanesque style church was designed by Boston architect, Arthur Gilman, who designed the building suitable for the Sears Family crypt which is underneath the structure and the burial site of many of the family. The congregation remains active to this day who maintain the significant structure and its many historic stained glass windows.

Amory-Richards House // 1865

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Built in 1865 along with its neighbor and later renovated in the Colonial Revival style, the Amory-Buckingham House on Colchester Street stands as an altered, yet historically significant residence in Brookline’s important Longwood neighborhood. A large lot on Colchester Street was purchased by Dr. Robert Amory (1842-1910), who in 1864, married Marianne Appleton Lawrence (1843–1882), daughter of Amos Adams Lawrence, a major developer of the nearby Cottage Farm neighborhood of Brookline. This stone cottage, one of two neighboring homes built at the same time for Dr. Amory was likely his main residence when not residing at his Boston townhouse or summer residence in Bar Harbor, Maine. The property was sold by the end of the 19th century to Edwin Buckingham and in 1902 to George L. Richards, who had the home expanded with an additional floor added with gambrel roof. A detached stable was also constructed around this time.

Amory-Boit House // 1865

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Built in 1865, the Amory-Boit House on Colchester Street in Brookline‘s exclusive Longwood neighborhood, is a stunning Second Empire style home with connections to prominent local families. The residence has a one-story stone base which meets the slate mansard roof providing two-and-a-half stories above which are crowned by iron cresting at the peak of the roof. The property was one of the early homes built in the area, developed by David Sears, one of the wealthiest property owners in Boston, who recognized the potential for development of this marshy area of Brookline due to its close proximity to the city. A large lot on Colchester Street was purchased by Dr. Robert Amory (1842-1910), who in 1864, married Marianne Appleton Lawrence (1843–1882), daughter of Amos Adams Lawrence, a major developer of the nearby Cottage Farm neighborhood of Brookline. This stone cottage, one of two neighboring homes built at the same time for Dr. Amory, was likely rented to friends and family with the other as his primary country house. This home was later sold to real estate and insurance businessman and author Robert Apthorp Boit (1846-1919). Robert Boit published the novel, Eustis in 1884 and his family history, Chronicles of the Boit Family and Their Descendants, in 1915. The home and its neighbor had been undergoing renovations for a while and are located within a local historic district.

Max Katz House // 1947

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Built in 1947, the Max Katz House on Kent Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, is one of the area’s best examples of Mid-Century Modern residential architecture. The main block of the house has an angle roof line with its facade dominated by a massive stone chimney. The residence was designed by architect Samuel Glaser, one of the earliest practitioners of Modern architecture in the Boston area, for Max Katz (1895-1996). Katz was born in Lithuania and came to Boston with his mother when he was nine years old. He founded the Merchant Tire Company in 1922 and was also one of the original organizers of Brandeis University. He and his wife, Augusta, lived in this Modern home for much of their lives. The Katz residence retains much of its architectural integrity and is an excellent and well-preserved example of 1940s Modernism.


Sears-Amster Cottage // c.1865

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Prior to 1850, the area today known as the Longwood neighborhood of Brookline remained largely farmland on the banks of the Muddy River. In the first half of the 19th century David Sears (1787-1871) and Amos Lawrence (1814-1886), both prominent Boston businessmen, bought up large tracts of what had been Judge Sewall’s estate. The arrival of the Brookline Branch Railroad (now the MBTA Green Line D branch) served as an impetus to develop the area more fully. David Sears and Amos Lawrence developed houses in present-day Longwood and Cottage Farm and rented the homes to friends and family. One of the rented houses built and rented by David Sears is this Second Empire cottage which dates to the 1860s. The house was long-rented to wealthy families until the Sears heirs sold the house to Nathan Leo Amster and his wife, Estelle Dreyfus. Nathan L. Amster was a railroad executive who eventually became president of the Manhattan Railway Company. When the purchased the cottage, the Amster’s hired Boston architect Clarence Blackall to renovate and “modernize” the home, which added the Classically inspired elements. The couple did not appear to live in the house long, as they spent most of their years in their Fifth Avenue NYC residence. The Sears-Amster Cottage remains an important early house in the Longwood development of Brookline.

Houghton House – Yawkey Family Inn // 1890

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Built on the site of an earlier house at 241 Kent Street in Brookline, this grand, Queen Anne style house has seen a life as a single-family home, fraternity house, and ultimately, the Yawkey Family Inn, a temporary residence for patient families undergoing procedures and treatments at Boston Children’s Hospital. A landmark example of the Queen Anne architectural style, the handsome near-symmetrical residence has paired conical towers at the facade, a brick first floor, paneled chimneys, and elaborate carvings in the entry portico, second-story bays, wall surfaces and gabled dormer. Planning for the new mansion began in 1889 when owners, Harriet and Andrew Jackson Houghton, owner of the Vienna Brewery in Boston, hired architect, James Templeton Kelley, to furnish plans for their new suburban mansion. Sadly, Andrew Houghton died in 1892, shortly after the house was completed, and Harriet remained here until her death in 1925. After this, the property was sold to the Beta Upsilon Association for use as a Fraternity House for the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity of MIT and later as a fraternity house for a Northeastern University frat. In 2009, the property was purchased, renovated and expanded to the rear as the Yawkey Family Inn, ensuring its preservation and remaining as a quieter neighbor to the surrounding residents than its previous use.

Silas Peavy House // 1905

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Silas Peavy (1858-1939) was born in Waterville, Maine, and with his brothers, Gustavus and Leopold, worked at his father’s clothing and merchandise store. The family moved to the Boston area and established J. Peavy and Brothers, continuing the family business in Boston with locations in New York. In 1904, Silas Peavy purchased a house lot on Kent Street and hired the architectural firm of Hartwell & Richardson to design a house there for his family. Peavy likely moved to this neighborhood as it became a Jewish enclave around the turn of the 20th century. The Silas Peavy House is an excellent example of the Neo-Classical style with symmetrical facade, porte cochere on the side, and monumental elliptical portico supported by two-story Ionic columns.