From Guess Who?:
One of the most affluent towns in the Bay State, Brookline was settled by Europeans in 1638 as a part of Boston known as Muddy River. In 1705, Brookline broke away and incorporated as a separate town. The town went from farming community to Boston suburb with no significant industrial period in between.
No expanses of old factories or mills to explore? No problem!
I recently cruised through Brookline Village, one of the town's major commercial areas, and home to many civic buildings, such as town hall and the main library. There, I found loads of beautiful old commercial structures; an amazing apartment building; a Civil War monument; a former bank that's now a house of worship; and much more. And -- wait, what's this? -- there's even a former telephone manufacturing facility! You'll have to wait for Part II for that one....
Welcome to the first of a two-part series about Brookline Village!
I'm gonna start on the western edge of the village, at a bakery and candy maker that has been in business for more than 100 years.
New Paris Bakery opened on Boylston Street in Boston in 1919, according to this Boston Globe article. The founder, Kosmas Constantin, moved the shop to its current location on Cypress Street 10 years later.
(I love the CONSTANTIN'S HOME MADE FRENCH CANDY sign, but I don't love my photo.)
Right around the corner, on Washington Street, is the Stephen F. Rutledge VFW Post #864
(One of the many plaques installed on the facade of the VFW hall.)
Continuing east-southeast on Washington Street, the next landmark is the former Brookline Savings Bank, which was designed in 1898 by Franz Joseph Untersee, according to the High Street Hill web site.
The bank moved to another location in 1922. I'm not sure what was there in the decades afterwards. Currently, this cool little building is home to The Christian Community, "an independent community centered around the seven sacraments in a renewed form, without attachment to any existing church or ecumenical movement," per the group's web site.
Next door to the old bank is Brookline District Court, which dates to 1941.
The building was designed by the architectural firm of Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch and Abbott. That company was in operation from 1924 to 1952, as a successor to Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, itself a successor to the practice stablished in 1874 by the legendary Henry Hobson Richardson. The firm survives today as Shepley Bulfinch.
On the opposite side of Washington Street, in front of the public library, is an impressive Civil War monument.
Completed in 1915, the Soldier's Monument shows a bugler sending out the call. The sculptor was Edward Clark Potter, who is most well known for the marble lions, nicknamed Patience and Fortitude, in front of the New York Public Library Main Branch, per Wikipedia.
Also on the north side of Washington Street, in front of the town hall, is a large bell.
I haven't found out anything about the bell, other than it dates to 1897.
Back on the south side of the street, next to the courthouse, is the combined headquarters for the Brookline fire and police departments, which features a nicely restored fire house.
Built in 1873, the station is the oldest one still standing in Brookline. I'm not sure when the renovation and addition were completed.
Next along the east-southeast path is The Wolcott, a circa-1903 apartment/office building.
The building's original owner was Alexis French, the town engineer at the turn of last century, per the Town of Brookline web site.
Moving on down, we come to a building that is currently home to DaVita Kidney Care, which provides dialysis services.
Known historically as the Morris Rudnick Building, this place was erected in 1917 as a garage and stores. Over the years, the building has been home to businesses including an auto repair shop, a plumber and a taxi company.
Right next door is the former Stone and Goodspeed Livery building.
"Once a wooden livery stable with three floors, #316-#320 Washington has been substantially altered with the addition of a story, complete change in roof design, and conversion of first floor into a parking area," according to MACRIS. The original building -- at least part of which I assume still exists -- dates to 1868. There were many owners of the stable business over the decades, the final one being Munroe Goodspeed. Goodspeed's clients included the local grocery store S.S. Pierce & Co., which kept its delivery wagons and horses at the stable, per MACRIS.
Moseying along, I was captured by 282 Washington Street, the Reuben Chace Building.
Currently home to the excellent sandwich shop Cutty's (as seen on "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives"), this building dates to 1877. Originally known as Hotel Chace, this property has been home over the decades to a bootmaker's shop, a milliner's business, apartments and restaurants. It was also the first home of the Brookline National Bank, which eventually became the Brookline Trust Company, per MACRIS.
Right next door is the Anna Kerr Building, which is actually two buildings, although that's hard to tell with that goldang tree in the way.
Now home to Framers' Workshop, the buildings were home in the early days to a furrier and a druggist, as well as apartments. The building on the left dates to 1896; the right-hand property rose in 1922. Anna Kerr and her husband were the original owners of the older building.
On the corner of Washington Street and Davis Avenue is the fantastic Seamans Building.
Built in 1889, this property was designed by the aforementioned Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. Now home to Skin Center Boston, it was built as a grocery store for James Seamans. In 1912, a stationery business replaced the grocery store.
Regular readers of this blog know that I tend to feature commercial buildings, mills, murals, ghost signs, memorials, statues and the like. I don't make it a habit to showcase beautiful old homes (or creepy old homes), and if I feature an apartment building, it's generally because it's got a name carved into its facade. But I couldn't ignore the Thomas W. Clement Apartment House on Davis Avenue.
Built in 1882-3, the apartment house is "an outstanding example" of the Panel Brick style of architecture, per MACRIS. The original owner was Thomas Clement, a dentist in the area. This building is one of three along Davis Avenue (one other, located directly across the street, is featured below) that "constitute a small extension of the Panel Brick style group of buildings seen on Washington Street and in Harvard Square in Brookline Village," MACRIS continues. They really are quite stunning.
(Another great apartment building on Davis Avenue.)
On the corner of Davis Avenue and Washington Street stands the St. Andrews Building, below.
Built in 1876, this building is another Panel Brick-style structure. As with today, the building at its origin was filled with shops on the ground floor, apartments above. One of the businesses there today is Rare Restoration, which specializes in furniture, showpieces and vintage lighting, per its web site.
I love the entrance to the 4 Davis Avenue side of the building, below.
The St. Andrews Building (the original owner was Scottish) also features a Thai restaurant, Mahaniyom Boston, the entryway of which is shown below.
Continuing south on Washington Street, next up is the Algonquin Building, which dates to 1895.
Perhaps named for the Algonquin Club in Boston or the indigenous tribes of North America, the building has long housed both apartments and business of all sorts (florist, law firm, coal business, insurance office, etc.). It is currently home to The Golden Chickpea Center, a preschool that offers numerous programs; and Zhu Vegan Kitchen, which calls itself "a casual fine dining Japanese restaurant."
Moving along to...another Reuben Chace Building.
Now home to neighborhood workspace The Village Works, this handsome little building is also known as the Village Coach House, for the restaurant that once operated here. Now, y'all know I love (and totally rely on) MACRIS, the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. But every once in a while this fantastic source offers up conflicting information, such as in the case of the built-on date for this building. At one point in the listing, the author indicates the Reuben Chace Building rose in 1869, and that it is "one of the older brick commercial structures in the area." Other places in the listing indicates the bulding dates to 1880. Either way, it started as the shop for Chace, who was a prominent house painter. Over the years, it was also used as a provisions store and home to the Johnson Fish Company.
This is where I'm going to stop this installment. Make sure to come back for the second part, in which I will cover so many more great commercial buildings, as well as some of those private homes that I claim I don't write about much.
For more about Brookline, check out the links below:
March 13, 2014, "What's In a Named Building? (Part 2)."
May 2, 2017, "Who Was Emma Cummings?"
November 25, 2018, "American Church, British Style, Napolean-Inspired Name."
December 18, 2018, "Checking Out America's First Condo Complex."
May 14, 2019, "Ice Cream Works for Me."
October 24, 2019, "Times Not So Super for Brookline Superette."
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