From Dave "Posh Spice" Brigham:
Ever since I laid eyes on this place in Brookline, Mass., I've dreamt of retiring here.
Longwood Towers opened in 1925 as Alden Park Manor, according to the Brookline history section of the CommunityWalk web site. "It was the largest and one of the most fashionable of several apartment complexes that replaced some of the original houses of David Sears' development," per the history page. Sears was a well-off merchant and landowner who built the nearby Christ's Church (see November 25, 2018, "American Church, British Style, Napoleon-Inspired Name").
As I've documented on this blog, I have WASP-envy (see November 29, 2018, "Leavitt & Peirce: For All Your Hoity-Toity Tobacco Needs," March 22, 2018, "WASP Wanderings and Wonderings" and September 9, 2010, "The Privilege Is All Mine"). I like to imagine that if I lived in Longwood Towers I'd hobnob with blue bloods, trading genealogy tidbits about our privileged ancestors while tossing back gin and tonics galore.
In 1925, the then-Alden Park Manor was the second property of that name to be built in the United States. The first was in Detroit four years earlier. A third rose in Philadelphia in 1927, according to this article. Longwood Towers also includes what seems to be a stunning event space.
The complex has been undergoing renovations for a while. Prices range from a half-mil for a 1-bedroom to a cool $3.5 million for a penthouse.
If you look closely, you can see wrapped-up gargoyles in the left side of the photo, and above the garage door. I can't wait for these wonderful architectural details to be back on public view.
Here's your headline explainer:
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