Brookline MA

Pope-Gardner-Robbins House // c.1870

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Historians date the bones of this house in the Longwood section of Brookline, Massachusetts to the 1870s (or earlier), but its present appearance is definitely from the early 20th century. This is the Pope-Gardner-Robbins House on Colchester Street, a lovely span of stucco-sided homes in one of my favorite neighborhoods in the Boston area. An early (1874) map of the area shows this was the home of T. B. Pope, and later purchased by Harrison and Laura Gardner, husband and wife. Harrison Gardner was a founder (and served as treasurer) of the Boston Red Stockings of the new National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NABBP). The Red Stockings eventually became the Boston Braves baseball team and are now the Atlanta Braves. The multi-lot property was likely rented by Gardner for supplemental income and was eventually sold to Annette R. Robbins, who seemingly had this home renovated in the 1920s and others nearby built or renovated as well. The house is today an excellent (and fairly uncommon) example of a Colonial Revival style house with stucco siding.

Judge Philip Rubenstein House // c.1915

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In the early 20th century, the suburban development of Longwood in Brookline saw another period of rapid development. Larger estates were subdivided and developed with all kinds of housing from single-family mansions to middle-class homes to large apartment buildings. One of the more modest-sized houses built in the first decades of the 20th century was this house, one of a collection of stuccoed homes on Colchester Street. The house was purchased by Judge Philip Rubenstein, the first member of the Jewish faith to serve on the Massachusetts bench and one of the first three judges of Boston’s juvenile court, the first in the country. The unique home is clad with stucco with a terracotta shingle roof and Colonial Revival style entry, showing an effective blending of the Arts and Crafts and Colonial styles.

A. M. Donna end House // 1928

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Abraham Malcolm Sonnabend was born in Boston on December 8, 1896, the son of Esther and Joseph Sonnabend. Sonnabend graduated from Harvard College in 1917 in order to enlist at the outbreak of the Great War. At the end of World War I, Sonnabend joined his father’s real estate organization. He married Esther Lewitt in 1920, and by 1927, he had increased his real estate holdings to a net worth of $350,000. Just before the 1929 stock market crash, Sonnabend hired Boston architect Sumner Schein to design this Tudor Revival style home, on a site formerly occupied by a larger Queen Anne style residence. Built in 1928, the Tudor Revival house features clinker brick walls with cast stone trim and a two-story castellated bay all capped by a slate roof. The enterprising A. M. Sonnabend would eventually outgrow this modest Tudor home after he got into hotels as investments. In 1944, Sonnabend (with seven partners) acquired a package of Palm Beach, Florida hotels for $2.4 million including the Biltmore, Whitehall and the Palm Beach Country Club. He would sell the Biltmore to Conrad Hilton for a massive profit. In 1956, Sonnabend created the Hotel Corporation of America (HCA) and grew the business to new heights. The 1928 Sonnabend House is significant architecturally and as the first purpose-built property by the late-developer.

Lawrence-Christian House // c.1855

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Another of the early homes of the affluent Longwood subdivision of Brookline, Massachusetts is this painted brick house which dates to the 1850s. The house was developed by Amos A. Lawrence, who developed much of the neighborhood, renting out suburban houses to wealthy Boston-area residents. In 1866, Lawrence sold the property to Samuel S. Allen of Roxbury and it would change ownership a half-dozen times in the next century. The property was added onto and modernized a few times, notably during the ownership of Henry A. Christian, MD, the first Chief-of-Medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital over the Muddy River in Boston. The streamlined late-Colonial Revival look with vestibule side entry, windows, and shallow hipped roof are all likely later alterations from the 1850s house.

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, the border of Boston. 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 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. Some of the houses built by Lawrence and Sears became homes to friends and business associates, but neither lived in the area. One of the rented houses built and rented by David Sears is this Second Empire cottage likely built in 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 who was raised in Boston. 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.

Brookline Arts Center – Former Fire Station // 1886

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The Longwood area of Brookline, Massachusetts, is among my favorite neighborhoods to stroll and admire great old buildings. The area is home to many grand houses, churches and later high-style apartment buildings but this diminutive building is often overlooked at the edge of the neighborhood! The structure was erected in 1886 by the Town of Brookline as a new Chemical Engine House. The locally renowned architectural partnership of Peabody and Stearns designed the Shingle style fire station for the town, an important hire as the surrounding neighborhood was dominated by stately old homes in a suburban setting. Eventually, in 1965, the firehouse was closed and in 1968, the Brookline Arts Center renovated the building, where their programs have been continuously based in the years since. The brick and shingle building is maintained by the non-profit, preserving a significant piece of the town’s history for the public to enjoy!

Arthur Jones Double House // 1896

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As Brookline Village developed in the mid-late 19th century, house lots were scarce. Demand for housing saw the demolition of a number of older 1840s Greek and Gothic Revival style cottages for multi-unit dwellings as duplexes and three-deckers which surged in popularity in the Village from the late 1890s to the 1910s when three-deckers were effectively banned in Brookline. In 1896-1897, Arthur R. Jones had large double houses built here and nextdoor, which were rented out to families. Newton architect Henry McLean designed these double houses as pairs of attached single-family dwellings separated by a brick party wall blending both Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles under one roof. The homes show what housing was available to middle-class residents of the Boston area, a price-point that is unattainable to most in the area today. Though, it is great to see these old homes lovingly preserved so well by their owners!

Elijah Emerson Double House // 1884

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Brookline Village is full of amazing double houses (or duplexes) built in the late 19th century. Many feature Queen Anne detailing and are architecturally striking with porches, complex rooflines, and trim details. This example was built in 1884 by Elijah Emerson, who had an estate nearby. His house was originally located where the park, Emerson Garden is located, but it was moved across the street. He had this double house built and rented it out to middle-class families who flocked to the neighborhood for the ease of access to Downtown Boston, while maintaining a bucolic feel (why many still today move to Brookline). Even though it is covered in aluminum siding today, the original wood clapboards and trim likely are waiting underneath to be revealed someday. But for today, we can gawk at the original details that are visible, including the semi-circular window, recessed porch with decorative balustrade, and porch with original entry doors.

George Carpenter House // 1885

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While many lots in Brookline village in the final decades of the 19th century were being redeveloped as duplexes, three-deckers, and apartment houses, some property owners still wanted single-family living. In 1885, George Carpenter had this home in the village built from plans by well-known architect Obed F. Smith, who designed many Victorian-era homes in Boston’s Back Bay and around the region. George Carpenter worked in Downtown Boston as an agent for the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. The house features some Stick style elements seen in the porch spindles and carved brackets.

Bernard Jenney House // 1908

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This stunning home in Brookline’s Cottage Farm neighborhood was built in 1908 for Bernard Jenney, the assistant treasurer of the Jenney Oil Company. Stephen Jenney, had founded Jenney Oil Company in Boston in 1812, as a kerosene, coal and whale oil producer. By the 1860s, Bernard Sr. and his brother Francis took over the company which became known as the Jenney Manufacturing Company. The newly established company focused primarily on production and distribution of petroleum products for factories and businesses. The Jenney Manufacturing Company took off in the early 1900s due to the proliferation of personal automobiles in Boston and they expanded a new manufacturing center in City Point, South Boston, which had a capacity of 500 barrels of oil a day. Jenney auto oil and gasoline became a major supplier and after Bernard Sr.’s death in 1918, under Bernard Jr.’s leadership, the company began to develop gas stations in New England. The company continued into the 1960s when it was acquired by Cities Service, later rebranding as Citgo. Jenney resided here until his death in 1939. According to the 1935 Brookline street list, the occupants included his daughter’s family Mary & Francis Brewer, three maids and a laundress. The house was acquired by Boston University in 1963 and has long served as the home of former president John Silber.

The architectural firm of Kilham & Hopkins was hired to design the home, which is French Renaissance Revival in style. The home itself is an architectural landmark. When it was published in ‘The American Architect’ in 1910, the house was described as, “A Study in French design of the Louis XVI period”. Additionally, the home (of course) featured a vehicle garage as the family must have had some cars based on the line of work. The home is now listed for sale for a cool $4,888,000 price tag!