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Chestnut Hill Historic District (Brookline, Massachusetts)

Brookline, MassachusettsChestnut Hill, MassachusettsHistoric districts in Middlesex County, MassachusettsHistoric districts in Norfolk County, MassachusettsHistoric districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
NRHP infobox with nocatNational Register of Historic Places in Brookline, MassachusettsNational Register of Historic Places in Newton, Massachusetts
BrooklineMA NorfolkStreet ChestnutHillHD
BrooklineMA NorfolkStreet ChestnutHillHD

The Chestnut Hill Historic District encompasses the historic portion of the village of Chestnut Hill that lies in Brookline, Massachusetts, with only slight overlap into adjacent Newton. The 70-acre (28 ha) district is bounded on the north by Middlesex Road, on the east by Reservoir Lane, on the south by Crafts Road and Massachusetts Route 9, and on the west by Dunster Road. A small portion of the district extends south of Route 9, including a few houses and the Baldwin School on Heath Street. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 17, 1985.The oldest portion of Chestnut Hill, including its colonial roots, lies just over the line in Newton, and was also the part of the village that was the first to be developed as a suburban residential area. When the Brookline section was being planned for development, Frederick Law Olmsted was consulted in 1888, but his plans were not executed. The area was developed between then and about 1920, with large, high-quality houses on well-proportioned lots. Most of the houses in the district are either Colonial Revival or Shingle in their styling; there are also a few earlier Queen Anne houses and a number of later Craftsman-style houses, especially in the Reservoir Lane area which was the last to be developed.Several prominent area architectural firms were engaged in the development of properties in the district. Chapman & Frazer (later Chapman, Frazer & Blinn) were responsible for 29 of the more than 120 houses in the district; Horace Frazer lived in the district, at 471 Heath Street. Putnam & Cox designed seven homes, generally in the Arts and Crafts style, and William Putnam also lived in the district. Arthur Bowditch designed one house, as did the firm of Hartwell & Richardson.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Chestnut Hill Historic District (Brookline, Massachusetts) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Chestnut Hill Historic District (Brookline, Massachusetts)
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N 42.326666666667 ° E -71.158888888889 °
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Circuit Road 37
02467
Massachusetts, United States
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BrooklineMA NorfolkStreet ChestnutHillHD
BrooklineMA NorfolkStreet ChestnutHillHD
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Old Chestnut Hill Historic District
Old Chestnut Hill Historic District

The Old Chestnut Hill Historic District encompasses the historic residential heart of the Newton portion of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. When first listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, the district extended along Hammond Street, between Beacon Street and the MBTA Green Line right-of-way, and along Chestnut Hill Road between Hammond and Essex, including properties along a few adjacent streets. The district was expanded in 1990 to include more of Chestnut Hill Road and Essex Road, Suffolk Road and the roads between it and Hammond, and a small section south of the Green Line including properties on Hammond Street, Longwood Road, and Middlesex Road. A further expansion in 1999 added a single property on Suffolk Road.The district consists of a residential enclave of high-quality architect-designed residences on ample, landscaped lots, that exemplified the development of Newton as a fashionable upper-class suburb. The area's colonial history begins with settlement in the 17th century by Thomas Hammond and others. Hammond was probably the builder of the c. 1700 Hammond House at 9 Old Orchard Road, considered to be Newton's oldest surviving structure. The 1723 house at 521 Hammond Street, a substantial Georgian style house, also belonged to the Hammond family.Development of the area did not begin in a significant way until after 1886, when the Circuit Railroad brought rail service to the area. A station designed by H. H. Richardson was built at Chestnut Hill in 1883 and landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted; it was demolished in 1960. The houses in the district are predominantly Colonial Revival in their styling, although other forms popular into the 1920s are also represented, including Tudor Revival. There has been only limited new construction in the area since 1942. The 98-acre (40 ha) district includes 132 buildings, of which 109 contribute to its significance.

Chestnut Hill Reservoir Historic District
Chestnut Hill Reservoir Historic District

The Chestnut Hill Reservoir Historic District is a historic district encompassing the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and the surrounding water works facilities which were historically used to provide fresh water to Boston, Massachusetts, and surrounding towns. The district is nearly coextensive with the Chestnut Hill Reservation, a state park managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR); those elements of the water works that are still required as an emergency backup are managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). The reservoir is located between Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue in Boston's Chestnut Hill district, just east of the Boston College Main Campus Historic District. The Chestnut Hill Reservoir was built between 1865 and 1870 to supplement the capacity of the Brookline Reservoir, which was then the terminus of the Cochituate Aqueduct. The Sudbury Aqueduct was completed in 1878, providing water to the reservoir from the Sudbury River in Boston's western suburbs. Its terminal chamber, a single-story granite Romanesque structure with a hip roof, stands across Beacon Street from the reservoir, and houses gates for controlling flow into the reservoir from both the Cochituate Aqueduct (now defunct) and the Sudbury Aqueduct (in backup service), and from the reservoir to the Brookline Reservoir. The other major structure in the district is the high service pumping station, a massive Romanesque structure designed by Arthur Vinal in 1887, which is now a museum.The Chestnut Hill Reservoir and pumping stations were designated a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1989.