brookline architecture

Abercrombie Fine Arts Wing // 1974

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Completed in 1974 for the now defunct Pine Manor College in Brookline, Massachusetts, this interesting Contemporary/Shed style building is modern, yet employs materials and a general form that fits into its surrounding context. When Pine Manor College received a grant by the Abercrombie Foundation, planning began immediately to design and build the Abercrombie Fine Arts Wing of the school. The building was designed by Paul J. Carroll & Associates, and features a bold roofline with clerestory windows, used to provide ample natural light for the classroom and art studio spaces inside. The building remains a part of the newly established Messina College, a Boston College campus enrolling first-generation high-financial need students, giving all an opportunity for education, no matter their circumstances.

Roughwood Estate Carriage House // 1891

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Built on the expansive grounds of “Roughwood”, a country estate in Brookline, Massachusetts, this former carriage house has seen many iterations in its lifetime. Like the mansion house, the carriage house is a blending of Queen Anne/Shingle styles with fieldstone and shingle construction, designed by the architectural firm of Andrews, Jacques & Rantoul. When the Roughwood Estate was purchased and converted to Pine Manor College, the carriage house was adaptively reused and added onto as the Annenberg Library with a large imaginatively designed wing by Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and Abbott completed in 1986. The building remains as a library as part of the newly established Messina College, a campus of Boston College, which opened in July 2024 for over 100 first-generation college students. Gotta love adaptive reuse!

Roughwood // 1891

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Roughwood is a historic estate house on Heath Street in Brookline, Massachusetts. The main residence and the various outbuildings on the grounds were designed by the Boston architectural firm of Andrews, Jaques and Rantoul, and built in 1891 as the summer estate of William Cox, a wholesale dealer in the footwear industry. Mr. Cox died in 1902 and the property was sold to Ernest Dane, the year before he married Helen Pratt, the daughter of Charles Pratt, a wealthy New York businessman and philanthropist. Mr. Dane was a banker who served as President of the Brookline Trust Company. The Dane’s owned the property for decades until the property was eventually purchased by Pine Manor Junior College in 1961. The estate house remained a centerpiece of the campus. In the early 21st century, Pine Manor College saw financial distress, and was saved by Boston College, who acquired the campus and its existing students as Messina College, which opened in July 2024 for over 100 first-generation college students. Architecturally, Roughwood is a high-style example of the Queen Anne/Shingle style of architecture. The mansion is built with a puddingstone and brownstone first floor and a second floor of varied patterns of wood shingles, all capped by a slate roof. The facade is dominated by towers and dormers and the great rustic entrance portico with dragon’s head brackets. To its side, a 1909 Tudor Revival addition served as a music room for the Dane’s family and while stylistically unique, is designed with impeccable proportions.

Saint Lawrence Catholic Church // 1896

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The parish known today as Infant Jesus-St. Lawrence Church was established in 1898, two years after its original chapel building – shown here – was erected to serve as a mission church of St. Mary of the Assumption in Brookline Village. The St. Lawrence Church was built in 1896 on Boylston Street in the Chestnut Hill/South Brookline area of the town, built to serve a more local, well-off population in the area. The church (and the adjacent rectory) was designed by Franz Joseph Untersee, a Swiss-American architect, and Brookline resident, who designed many Roman Catholic churches throughout the eastern part of United States. The Neo-Gothic church building is built of wood and stone with stucco and applied half timbering. Besides the large stained glass window and applied ornament, the church is notable for its square, irregularly-laid granite tower with crenelation. The church remains active in the community and very-well preserved inside and out.

Chestnut Hill Benevolent Association Buildings // 1918

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

In 1915, Mary Longyear, a faithful follower of Mary Baker Eddy and the Christian Science faith, purchased the land from the Lyman Estate in Brookline, Massachusetts, and donated to the Christian Science Church. Planning began immediately to build a facility as a “temporary resort where those seeking relief through Christian Science may go to find practical assistance in overcoming their difficulties.” The need for a hospital/sanatorium was established by Mary Baker Eddy as early as 1906, and it would be over a decade before this need was filled. The complex was built in stages beginning in 1918 with this building, the main building, observation tower and a powerhouse designed by Clarence T. McFarland. The buildings were designed in the Tudor Revival style, blending in with the many country estates in this section of Brookline. The complex would train nurses and treat patients for over 100 years and remains an important institution into the 21st century.

Lyman Park Offices // 1959

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Mid-Century Modern commercial architecture is often maligned for its car-centric and unadorned designs, but the Lyman Park Offices on Boylston Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, are some of the finest office buildings constructed in Brookline in the 20th century. The two office buildings were built on the site of the Theodore Lyman estate and were built at a time Brookline saw rapid commercialization along the Boylston Street corridor. Designed by the firm of Salsberg & LeBlanc, the Lyman Park Offices are landmark examples of the International style in the commercial form in Brookline. Built of steel and glass, the buildings exhibit spandrels above each floor level, enhancing the strong horizontal emphasis of the design.

Holyhood Cemetery Chapel // 1857

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts, was laid out in 1857 under the direction of Father Joseph M. Finotti, pastor of Assumption Parish , which included Brookline and Brighton. The cemetery reflects the mid-19th century influence of the Rural Cemetery movement and the romantic landscape cemetery planning begun at Cambridge’s Mount Auburn Cemetery in the 1830’s. A plan of the cemetery was drawn up by Shedd & Edson and published in August 1857. It shows curvilinear avenues and paths named after former bishops of Boston and Biblical figures. All were welcome to be buried except those who “died in a state of Drunkenness, Duel, or by self-destruction, unbaptized, non-Catholic, or otherwise opposed to the Catholic Church.” In the 1857 Shedd & Edson plan for Holyhood Catholic Cemetery, a chapel was located at the center on the hill shown in a small drawing on the edge of the plan. Known as St. Joseph’s Chapel, the stone building was designed by Patrick Keely, the successful and influential New York architect of many mid-19th century Catholic churches. The chapel would be dedicated in 1862. Decades later, a cemetery office was planned and built across Heath Street from the cemetery gates, but was demolished sometime in the 20th century. The cemetery grew and it along with the mid-19th century chapel, has been lovingly maintained to this day.  

John G. Wright Mansion // 1907-1967

Buildings of New England1 Comment

John Gordon Wright (1843-1912), was a Boston wool merchant who purchased farmland on this site in the 1890s and hired architects Chapman & Frazer, to design this stone mansion as an estate house. He previously moved into an earlier wood-frame home on the site and a decade earlier, had the architects design his carriage house and stable, which survive today as the Soule Recreation Center. The stone Tudor Revival style mansion house was massive and featured in national periodicals when completed. The estate was beautified by landscaping designed and laid-out by the Olmsted firm. In 1942, the property was purchased by the Rivers School (now located in Weston) and converted into classrooms and administrative offices for the private school. When the school moved to Weston, the Town of Brookline in 1961 bought property for recreational purposes. Sadly, in 1967, the mansion house burned down, but the carriage house and gate lodge remain as lasting remnants of a once great Brookline estate.

Wright Carriage House – Soule Recreation Center // 1897

Buildings of New England1 Comment

The Soule Recreation Center in Brookline, Massachusetts, was originally the stable and carriage house on the John G. Wright estate. John Gordon Wright (1843-1912), was a Boston wool merchant who purchased farmland on this site in the 1890s and hired architects Chapman & Frazer , to design an estate house (since demolished), and this building to serve as a carriage house and stable for horses. The stone Tudor Revival style mansion house was complemented by the earlier wood-frame Tudor carriage house, resembling an English manor with grounds designed and laid-out by the Olmsted firm. In 1942, the property was purchased by the Rivers School (now located in Weston) and converted into classrooms and administrative offices for the private school. When the school moved to Weston, the Town of Brookline in 1961 bought property for recreational purposes. Sadly, in 1967, the mansion house burned down, but the carriage house and gate lodge remain as lasting remnants of a once great Brookline estate.

Barnard Gordon House // c.1928

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Found on Woodland Road in Southern Brookline, Massachusetts, this brick dwelling is one of a dozen-or-so whimsical Tudor cottages built there in the1920s and 1930s. The Barnard Gordon House, built around 1928, utilizes brick and stucco cladding with ornamental half-timbering, diamond pane leaded glass casement windows on the second story, and decorative half-timbering. The main attraction is the round tower with conical roof also serving as the entrance, resembling more of Rapunzel’s tower than a normal suburban home. We need more unique houses today like they built 100 years ago. Everything today feels so sterile and unwelcoming, maximizing interior layout at the loss to street presence.

Arthur B. Bernard House // 1928

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

A playful interpretation of a medieval English cottage, with its stucco cladding, half-timbering, weatherboards in the gable ends and ornamental well enclosure in the front yard, can be found on Woodland Road in Brookline. The whimsical cottage was built in 1928 for Arthur B. Bernard, the son of the president of the New England Leather Company in Boston’s Leather District. Arthur would follow his father’s footsteps and join the business himself. Architect and builder, Fred S. Wells of Newton designed and constructed the house (and others in the area in the same style). What’s your favorite part of this house?

Dr. Miner House // 1928

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The early decades of the 20th century were the golden years for suburban development in the Boston area. With personal automobiles better-connecting the city to lesser developed areas like Milton, Newton and Brookline, middle-upper class residents were able to relocate to the suburbs and build stately homes, typically in one of three architectural styles: Colonial Revival (most common), Tudor Revival, or Arts and Crafts (least common). This large house is located on Randolph Road in the Woodland/Heath area of Southern Brookline, and dates to 1928. The residence was constructed for Dr. Walter C. Miner, an orthopedic dentist, and his wife, Ethel and designed by the firm of Strickland, Blodgett & Law. The large house sits on a double-lot, and is notable for its symmetry, slate tile roof, and rough-faced stucco walls.

Frederick & Arabella Holden House // 1893

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Frederick & Arabella Holden House sits on Aspinwall Avenue in the Brookline Village neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts. Built in 1893, the excellently designed Shingle style dwelling was actually built on speculation by developers, and sold upon completion to the couple. Fred G. Holden (1858-1927) was a marble dealer who managed the Boston Marble Company and had connections in his home state, Vermont for the highest quality marble to sell around Boston, largely for building products and grave memorials. Arabella Proctor Holden (1859-1905) was born in Cavendish, Vermont, as the eldest daughter of Redfield Proctor, 37th Governor of Vermont and the founder of the Vermont Marble Company, the largest such company in the world. I could not find the architect of the house, so any more information, let me know. I’d love to solve the mystery!

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brookline // 1852

Buildings of New England1 Comment

The St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Brookline, Massachusetts is an architecturally and historically significant landmark to the area. The congregation was established in 1849, and within months, in May 1850, the corporation, which was made up of wealthy Boston-area residents, accepted an offer from Augustus Aspinwall of a building lot to erect a church. Esteemed ecclesiastical architect, Richard Upjohn, the architect of Trinity Church in New York, was hired to design the church in Brookline of the same, Gothic style. The wealth of the congregation was evident by the consistent expansions of the complex, to include a chapel, rectory, parish house, and other expansions to those buildings. St. Paul’s Church is the oldest religious structure in Brookline, and almost was lost when the sanctuary was devastated by fire in 1976, leaving only its exterior walls and two stained glass windows. The congregation rebuilt the interiors and the building remains well-preserved at its exterior, built of Roxbury Puddingstone.

Temple Ohabei Shalom // 1927

Buildings of New England1 Comment

The congregation of Ohabei Shalom is the oldest jewish congregation in the greater Boston area and the second oldest in New England. It was formed in 1843 and was the first formal congregation in Boston. After a smaller space, they purchased the former South Congregational Unitarian Church on Union Park Street in the South End of Boston. The congregation split over ideological differences and the decision was made for one half of the congregation to build a new temple in Brookline, where many of the members began to move to. Land on Beacon Street, just west of the Longwood section of Brookline was purchased in 1921, and it would be four years until a temple center (now the hebrew school) was built in 1925. The larger temple was built just after on the corner of Beacon and Kent streets in Brookline from plans by Clarence Blackall, a noted architect in the area. With its lively use of polychromatic masonry and Byzantine ornament, all surmounted by a great copper dome, the congregation boasts the most architecturally outstanding synagogue in the Boston region and it has been maintained well for the almost 100 years since it was built.

School Building