Brookline Real Estate

Dr. Thomas J. Shanahan House // 1892

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Dr. Thomas Joseph Shanahan (1873-1929) was born in Lawrence and graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1896. He practiced medicine in Brookline and Boston and was engaged in local organizations. He purchased this 1892 house on Aspinwall Avenue in Brookline in 1911, which had previously been rented to families. Two generations of Shanahans would own the house until the 1970s. After Dr. Shanahan’s death in 1929, the widowed Margaret Shanahan remained in this house with their daughter, Mary Margaret Shanahan, who was employed in 1940 as a medical secretary for a hospital. Mrs. Shanahan transferred title to the property in 1947 to her daughter, who converted the house to a two-family dwelling in 1953 for supplemental income. Architecturally, the house is Queen Anne and Shingle styles with continuous shingle siding, complex form with bays and oriels, and a unique arched opening in the gable over the entrance filled with a spindle screen. Architects were William Langley Morrison and Peter J. McEwen.

Levi T. Lyon Two-Family House // 1895

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When Brookline Village filled in with multi-family housing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many speculative real estate developments sprouted up from larger residential estates. As so many were built on speculation, high-quality designs and construction were a necessity to bring in picky buyers. This two-family house was built on the corner of Brook and Toxeth streets by Levi T. Lyon, a builder and developer, who lived on Brook Street. This house was designed by F. Manton Wakefield, a relatively unknown architect who apprenticed under Shingle-style maestro William Ralph Emerson, before opening his own firm. Buildings like this are great as they provide much-needed housing, while being built of a good scale that allows residents to know their neighbors, not as easy in a high-rise.

Henry S. Chase House // c.1882

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One of the many “hidden” gems of old houses in Brookline is this charmer on Francis Street, just west of the Longwood district. The residence was built by 1882, by Henry Savage Chase (1825-1885) who lived in a larger stone mansion across St. Paul Street (no longer extant). This house was rented out by Chase, possibly to friends and remained in the family for decades. This early Queen Anne style dwelling (and likely the main house) was designed by architect Edgar Allen Poe Newcomb, a relatively unknown architect of the period. The house has an irregular plan with varied siding and materials, with applied ornament that has survived intact for nearly 150 years.

Kaffenburgh House – Bertram Inn // c.1910

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Across the street from the C. D. Hammer House on Sewall Avenue in Brookline, Massachusetts, this later take on the Queen Anne style with Tudor Revival elements is about to go through quite a transformation!

A little history before I share the proposal for the site… This house was built around 1910 for Bessie V. and Carl J. Kaffenburgh, a tobacco dealer with a store in Downtown Boston. The house was  from plans by architect Harry E. Davidson, who had previously designed stucco houses with Tudor influences for both the Vorenberg and Kaffenburgh family including 20 Amory Street in the nearby Cottage Farm neighborhood. By 1940 the house was owned by Hazen Blood and his wife. The Bloods had rented out rooms in the house totalling 13 lodgers here as a rooming house in the 1940 directory. In 1987, owner, Bryan Austin purchased the property restored it, and opened it as the Bertram Inn.

In recent years, the adjoining lots were eyed for redevelopment and demolition was proposed for this property. Neighborhood opposition and the demolition delay process allowed for review of the plans, which now includes the “restoration” of the main house with a six-story boxy addition on the rear containing condominium units. While the proposed addition is not contextual to the historic Tudor Revival house, it does save the original building and provides much-needed housing for others, so I guess this is a win! What do you think?

C. D. Hammer House // 1893

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This lovely Queen Anne style residence near the Longwood section of Brookline was built in 1893 for C. D. Hammer, the General Agent for the Provident Life and Trust Company of Philadelphia. The stately suburban dwelling was designed by architect Julius A. Schweinfurth, a noted architect who designed many buildings in the region. While some of the stickwork and applied ornament has been covered by vinyl siding, much of the original detailing and some windows remain. The dropped pendants in the gables with flared bargeboard and highly ornamental corbels are a great touch and remain to this day. I bet all of the original details are still under that vinyl, just waiting to be shown again!

William Potter Rental House // 1889

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William W. Potter, a shoe manufacturer and businessman, and his wife, Isabella Abbe Strickland Potter, lived in the Longwood section of Brookline and became active in the surround areas development in the last decades of the 19th century. William bought land off Kent Street and began to lay out house lots, becoming a developer overseeing construction of stately Queen Anne Victorian rental properties marketed to upper-middle-class residents. For this house on Francis Street, he commissioned architects George Rand and Bertram Taylor, who were known for producing stylish residential designs for the middle class in the Boston area. The massive property was a duplex, providing units to two lucky families! The building has just about every hallmark feature of the Queen Anne style including: the conical roof on a rounded corner bay, a complex roofline, asymmetrical plan, varied siding/materials, and applied ornamentation. In the 1920s, the house was owned by Simmons College, and used as a boarding house. Luckily, the property was restored and now is one of the finest residences in the neighborhood.

Orlando & Ellen Alford House // 1883

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Orlando Hiram Alford (1840-1908) was an industrious and hardworking Vermonter who settled in the Boston area to make his wealth. He was a member of Bliss, Fabyan & Co., a large drygoods dealer, and would also become a director of the First National Bank, the City Trust Company, and the Franklin Savings Bank. In manufacturing, he serves the role of director of the Bates Manufacturing Company, the Merrimac River Towing Company, the Columbian Manufacturing Company, the Cordis Mills, and the Thorndike Company (among others). From his many positions and roles, he and his wife Ellen, were able to afford a house lot on Kent Street in the neighborhood between Longwood and Brookline Village. The Alford House, a stunning example of the Queen Anne style remained in family until after Ellen’s death in 1929, when it was purchased by the Boston Hospital for Women as a nurse’s residence. It was later used as apartments and was clad with vinyl siding, obscuring much of the original wood trim detailing. In the 2000s, later owners sought to demolish this house, which served as a rallying cry for neighborhood residents who understood the importance of the house and its context with surrounding lots. After the demolition delay process lapsed, they petitioned for a local district designation, effectively preserving the house for more generations to come! The Lawrence Local Historic District has since provided protection for houses in the area, but does not require a homeowner maintains or keeps up a property in a certain condition. Hopefully the Alford House will be restored soon!

Wightman-Pope House // 1910

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In 1910, Ralph Linder Pope (1887-1966) graduated from MIT and later became Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Northwestern Leather Co., Boston. He married Elizabeth S. Wightman two years earlier and her father, George Wightman, purchased a house lot near his own 1902 mansion in the Longwood section of Brookline, Massachusetts and had this brick residence built in 1910 for the new couple. Mr. Wightman commissioned the famed architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge to design his daughter’s home in the Colonial Revival style.

Phinney-Bigelow House // c.1899

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Before the turn of the 20th century, William L. and Elizabeth G. Phinney purchased a narrow house lot at the corner of Hawes and Chatham streets in the desirable Longwood neighborhood of Brookline. They then retained the young architect Thomas Marriott James, to design this massive Federal Revival style mansion. After William died in 1911, Elizabeth remained in the house until 1920, when it sold to C. Willard Bigelow a wool dealer and his wife, Ruth. The Phinney-Bigelow House is an exemplary Federal Revival style house on a narrow lot which takes full advantage of its boxy form. The slightly asymmetrical facade with Palladian window, limestone trimmings, and bold entrance are all great additions to the design.

Sarah Bennett Matchett House // 1905

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In 1905, Sarah A. Bennett Matchett (1833-1910), a widow, purchased a desirable house lot in the Longwood section of Brookline, Massachusetts. She inherited a large fortune upon the passing of her husband, William F. Matchett (1832-1901), who was the long time treasurer of the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation. The couple had no children, but she watched over her nieces and nephews following her brother’s death. Ms. Matchett hired architects Arthur Everett and Samuel Mead to design a large Colonial Revival style home on the lot, which was then built in 1905. Upon her death in 1910, she willed each of her four nieces and nephews $25,000 (roughly $800,000 (a piece) adjusted for inflation to today. She also willed $200,000 to Harvard College and funds to Massachusetts General Hospital and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. After her death, her Brookline residence was inherited by her eldest niece, Helen Maud (Bennett) Richardson and has been lovingly maintained over 110 years later!

Benjamin Green House // 1927

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Located on Beech Road overlooking the “village common” of Longwood Mall, this 1920s Georgian Revival mansion showcases the curb appeal and perfect siting of suburban houses of the period . The home was built in 1927 for Benjamin Green, a real estate dealer and his family. The Green’s hired architect Harry Morton Ramsay, a noted area architect who specialized in suburban single-family homes of this period, to design the Georgian Revival style home. The brick residence features a symmetrical facade, half-round portico with Corinthian columns, round arched first floor and dormer windows, and decorative brickwork.

George G. Quincy House // 1909

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If you love Colonial Revival style homes, the Longwood neighborhood in Brookline is a must-visit area to stroll around! This house is tucked away in the neighborhood and was a treat to stumble upon. This large home was designed by the underappreciated architect, James Templeton Kelley for a George G. Quincy. The Colonial Revival style dwelling is actually built of wood with a brick veneer and has an open pedimented entry with fanlight and transom surround. The round-headed windows on the first floor are especially notable.

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.

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!

Dutch House // 1893

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Located on the appropriately named Netherlands Road in Brookline, MA, this house was actually designed as a temporary structure as part of the 1893 World’s Fair, also known as the World’s Columbian Exposition or the White City, depicted in the great book, Devil in the White City. The Dutch House was constructed in 1893 by the Van Houten Cocoa Company of the Netherlands, as a display pavilion and cocoa house. It was located at one end of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building (the largest building ever constructed at the time). The Dutch House as we know of it today, was greatly inspired in design by the Franeker City Hall (c. 1591) in the Netherlands. While attending the World’s Fair, Captain Charles Brooks Appleton of Brookline be.came so captivated with the structure that after the Fair, he purchased the building and had it dismantled and transported to Brookline. By the early 2000s, much of the amazing carvings on the building had fallen off, until a new homeowner had them all restored from drawings and images of the building, to the iconic landmark we see today.