From Dave Brigham:
Welcome to the second post of my two-part series about Brookline Village, a vibrant neighborhood that has loads of beatiful old buildings and historic character amid the many new buildings rising in the area. Included in this installment: several cool old houses; a former telephone equipment manufacturing facility; a former bank that's now a pot distributor; a musical instrument workshop; and much more.
To read the first installment, see October 24, 2021, "Bopping Around Brookline Village, Part I".
The first post about this area that abuts Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood concluded with a look at the Reuben Chace Building. That building is located on Washington Street, just around the corner from White Place, a quiet street featuring dozens of homes and former barns and stables that date to the 19th century. White Place, which is located in a National Historic Register District, is where I'm going to start this post. I have to be honest: I thought this post would be about the same length as the first one, but -- lucky you! -- it's quite a bit longer.
"The White Place neighborhood consists of 36 houses, barns, and sheds built between c. 1835 and 1905," per this Town of Brookline document about the area. "It is one of the larger concentrations of mid 19th century vernacular architecture to be found in Brookline, with one half of its structures predating 1866. To a substantial degree, it is dominated by 'cottages" whose original or altered design are derivatives of the Italianate style."
The house on the left in the above photo is #9 White Place, one of the cottages referred to above. Known as the Daniel Adams House, it was built in 1866, per MACRIS. "Adams was a mason who worked in the Mechanics Block," per MACRIS. "[H]e had a tenant, Mehitable Smith, a seamstress. By 1874, Adams moved to Washington Street and John Dustin, a gardener, bought the property. Ten years later, it was owned by Michael Canty, a stone mason whose widow continued to own the house and land through 1898 at which time she built #35 White Place."
Above is #16 White Place, another cottage-style home. Known as the Isaac Thayer House, it dates to 1833, per MACRIS. Thayer was the owner of the well-known Punch Bowl Tavern. In 1833, per MACRIS, Thayer tore down the tavern and used the wood to build nine houses, including this one. This house was originally located at the former tavern site and moved here at a later date. The Punch Bowl name lives on in a new eating and drinking establishment in the lobby of the new Hilton Garden Inn, which is located about a quarter-mile from White Place.
Below is #33 White Place, which dates to 1857.
Known as the Jonathan Long House, this quaint home with the cool little window has undergone changes over the decades, including the addition of a front porch and a second story in the rear, per MACRIS.
With #44 White Place, we come to our first home located in a former barn and shed.
"These were the only structures erected on this street between 1880 and 1890," per MACRIS. "It is difficult to date them exactly because their original owner, James M. Seamans...owned a number of stables and sheds on White Place, and lot sizes have changed since the 1880's. However, they were built between 1884 and 1888, and probably served as store-houses, wagon sheds, or stables for Seamans' grocery business." See the first Brookline Village post for a shot of the former Seamans grocery store.
I believe this property, which includes the dark gray building in the background (and in the photo below) of the above photo, is owned by Anna Wallack, who founded Misha & Puff, which sells knitwear for kids and adults that is made in Peru.
Below is 48-52 White Place, which consists of six condominium units, I believe.
I'm unsure the history behind these places. I found a listing for #48 (all the way to the left), which indicates it was built in 1926. The other units are listed on the Brookline assesor's property database as having been built in 1990. So I'm guessing that's when these buildings were either renovated extensively, or replaced older structures.
Directly across from the condo buildings is #53 White Place, below.
Dating to 1877, this is another former stable built by grocer John Seamans, who developed much of White Place. "This is the second oldest remaining barn built on White Place by James M. Seamans..." per MACRIS. "When stalls were constructed on the second floor in 1892 after the barn was raised, the horses were led in from the rear, where the hillside sloping up to Davis Avenue allowed such access."
The final White Place property I want to highlight is #55, which is the oldest former stable barn on the street.
Another former Seamans property, it dates to 1871. "The buildings were used as stables, to store hay & grain for the delivery wagon horses, as wagon sheds, and as store or warehouses for goods to be sold at the grocery store, which, until the new building was erected in 1889, had no real storage space," per MACRIS. "At the time, staples such as flour, grain, meal, salt, coffee, tea, and spices, came in large barrels and sacks, and grocery stores stocked crockery, glass, kitchen wares and farm tools as well." In the 20th century, the barns were used by contractors or as carpentry or sheet metal shops.
I'd love to know who the brave soul was who decided, "Hey, maybe an old barn that smells like horse dung would make a great home!"
On my second visit to Brookline Village for this post, I'd hoped to take the Davis Path to cut from White Place over to Boylston Street/Route 9. A concrete walkway that leads to a footbridge over the MBTA Green line tracks, the path is one of 17 in Brookline, per MACRIS (see November 3, 2016, "A Path! A Path!" to read about the Clinton Path, which passes under the MBTA tracks). But the path was closed, presumably for maintenance or repairs.
So I took the long way. On the corner of Washington and Boylston streets stands the former Brookline Savings Bank.
Built in 1922, this Classical Revival building was designed by Franz Joseph Untersee, who also designed the bank's predecessor building, which I discussed in the first Brookline Village post. I'm not sure when the bank moved out of the uh, bank, but this stuffy old space has been occupied by marijuana dispensary NETA Brookline for more than two and a half years.
Moving west along Boylston Street, you come across the rambling headquarters for Von Huene Workshop: The Early Music Workshop of New England.
While it looks like this shop has been here since Colonial times, it actually dates to 1960. Founder Friedrich von Huene is "a pioneer in the reproduction of historical woodwinds," per the company's web site. "[H]e emigrated to the US in 1948 and served as a flutist in the US Air Force. In 1956 he graduated from Bowdoin College and began a four year apprenticeship with the legendary flute maker Verne Q. Powell. He began producing his own recorders in 1960 and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1966 for a comparative study of historical woodwinds, becoming one of the first makers to produce copies of original 18th century recorders."
As for buildings in which the company makes and repairs recorders, the main brick building dates to around 1850, per the Brookline Assessor's Department. The two other buildings were erected around 1900, per the assessor's office. Next to the instrument maker's shop is another quaint old building.
Allegedly dating to 1900 (regular readers know I'm always dubious of this date; I suspect this building and the others in the Von Huene complex are older), this building is home to a general contractor, a cabinet maker and Brookline Bikes, which specializes in bikes and small motors.
Continuing west, and on the south side of the busy Boylston Street, we come to Midas auto service shop.
Granted, this isn't the type of building I normally care about, but based on some of the architectural details, I had a feeling this place had been around a while. And I was right, although, if I'd stopped searching after the Brookline assessor's database, I would've thought it dates to 1950. But that's not right. I dug a little deeper and found a MACRIS page linked via another web site (but which I couldn't find through a straight-up MACRIS search, for some reason) and learned that this place rose in 1917.
So there.
Heading back east on the south side of the street are some lovely old buildings.
The building on the left dates to 1950, and is currently home to Luxury Belle Cosmetics. On the right is Paul Worthington Design & Restoration, which may no longer be in business. This building dates to 1880.
A few doors down is a nearly identical pair of buildings.
On the left is La Morra, a restaurant serving Northern Italian cuisine. The Brookline assessor says this building dates to 1900 (ok, sure). On the right is Brookline Nails & Spa; the building allegedly also dates to 1900.
Around the corner, at the intersection of High and Walnut streets, are two cool old brick buildings.
On the left is 17 High Street, which dates to 1890. There are apartments on the upper floors. Most recently, the retail space located just to the right of the window (hello Buddha!) and old coal chute (I think) in the photo below was filled by The Modern Male barber shop.
The other retail space is also vacant, most recently occupied by Village Cleaners.
The building on the right in the above photo is 72 Walnut Street, known historically as the Hotel Kempsford. The building dates to 1875.
On the outskirts of the village, near the border with Boston's Mission Hill and Longwood neighborhoods, is the former Robert Winthrop School.
Built in 1886 and named for a major benefactor of the school, this brick beauty on Brookline Avenue has served as a school, a civic center, a Red Cross facility and a recreation center. It is currently home to the Brookline Early Education Program.
Heading south back towards Boylston Street, I knew as soon as I saw 5 Brookline Place, on the corner of Brookline Avenue and Pearl Street, that it must have a cool history.
Built in 1908, it served as a stable and workshop for the Brookline Water Department. The building was designed by Julius Schweinfurth, who was the chief designer for noted architecture firm Peabody & Stearns (Custom House Tower, Boston; Worcester City Hall; Matthews Hall, Harvard University). Between 1895 and 1928, Schweinfurth designed more than 70 buildings.
"The large windows in the main section of the building were to provide natural light, especially on the second floor, which contained the workroom with machinery and work benches, and the adjoining meter room for the repair and testing of water meters," per MACRIS. "On the ground floor carriages and horses were maintained, and in the basement was a large storage area."
The building is currently home to an outlet of Knowledge Beginnings, a child development center.
As I mentioned at the top of this post, there are many new buildings rising in Brookline Village. You can see a few of them rising behind 5 Brookline Place in the photo above. Included in this new complex are buildings affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital.
If you were to follow Pearl Street north and west, you'd end up at the Brookline Village T station. Adjacent to that stop is, appropriately enough, Station Street.
This is 46 Station Street, which is currently being rehabbed. The Brookline assessor indicates this building rose in 1840, and classifies it as residential/commercial. The photo at the assessor's database shows it was home to Patey Plumbing & Heating in the not-too-distant past. Now, a building this old certainly has an interesting history, but I haven't been able to confirm much. Real estate web sites list it as a residence. One hit on my Google search indicates this was once the home (or a storage area?) of the Globe Corner Book Store.
The Globe Corner Book Store "was one of the largest travel book and map retailers in North America," per Wikipedia. Located in Cambridge, the store was "a continuation of the Old Corner Bookstore rebranded to focus on travel products," Wikipedia indicates, referring to the downtown Boston retailer. Long story, short: the Globe Corner Book Store went out of business in 2011, and Brookline Booksmith (one of my favorite book stores) acquired the name. So perhaps that store, which is located about a mile away in Coolidge Corner, used this property at one point.
Two doors down from 46 Station Street is the home of Puppet Showplace Theater, which has been entertaining audiences of all ages for 47 years and counting.
As for the building at 30-34 Station Street, it dates to 1893. Known as the Albert Cobb Building, it was designed for the well-to-do namesake merchant by the firm of Winslow and Wetherell, known for buildings including Steinert Hall in Boston and the S.S. Pierce building in nearby Coolidge Corner. In the late 19th century, tenants of the Cobb building included a real estate office, a furniture and upholstering business and the Hotel Belknap.
Next up is the only former factory in the village, as far as I know.
Known historically as the Holtzer-Cabot Electric Company building, this complex was built in 1911, but the site's history goes back further, and once included an older building with a much different original purpose hiding within. "Designed over a number of years...this building evolved from a wooden Gothic-style church built in 1853 and bought by Charles W. Holtzer for conversion to a factory in 1885, to its present appearance," per MACRIS. There were many additions over the years, but a fire in 1911 destroyed the place. "There is still a wooden portion of this building," MACRIS indicates, "not visible from the outside, which was built to replae the original church after the fire."
I find absolutely fascinating the fact that somebody repurposed a church to build a factory around. This was well before the "tear down" days that we live in now. Anyway, the Holtzer-Cabot company was during its time Brookline's largest industry, manufacturing bells, alarms, annunciators, telephone equipment and small motors. In 1915, just four years after rebuilding its complex, the company moved to Roxbury, due to a need for more space, per MACRIS.
At some point, the building was taken over by C.H. Wallbank & Company, which manufactured badges. These days, the old Holtzer-Cabot place is filled with small businesses, including Inner Space, a yoga studio; Florian Martial Arts; and Feet of Clay pottery studio.
Next in line heading west on Station Street is a building that may actually be part of the old Holtzer-Cabot complex. I'm not sure.
Home to the John Payne Music Center, this building dates to around 1900, according to the Brookline assessor's office. If it is part of the old phone manufacturing facility, then it may date to around 1911.
The music center building provides a nice contrast to the bright-yellow brick of 5 Station Street.
Known as the George Talbot Building, this yellow gem was built in 1895 (MACRIS) or 1885 (Brookline assessor). Take your pick. Either way, it was used as the Brookline Storage Warehouse by 1911, according to MACRIS. It has also served as the office of Clark & Reid, a medical equipment rental company. These days it is home to Longwood Storage Company, as well as to the Brothers & Sisters coffeehouse and cafe.
Behind the warehouse, on Andem Place, I found - dare I say it?! - graffiti.
Rounding the corner from Station to Washington Street, we find a really nice set of buildings. First up is #207-213, home to a U.S. Post Office.
Built in 1875, this place is part of what's called the Colonnade Block. In 1878, this building was known as the Colonnade House, featuring a hotel and restaurant. Later, the upper floors were known as the Hotel Monteith, per MACRIS. There have been countless businesses here over the last 140+ years.
Moving on the down the line, we get to the rest of the Colonnade Block.
Built in 1872, this block was originally the Colonnade Hotel, per MACRIS. Over the years, the buildings have been home to apartments, as well as numerous businesses, including a drug store, a hardware store and a tailor. Currently, the Colonnade Block tenants include Jewelry Express Works, Pon Thai Bistro, Village Hair Design and Mike's Barber Shop.
(Even the alleys in Brookline Village look great! This is behind the Colonnade buildings.)
Next up, at 7-9 Harvard Square (yes, that's what this intersection of Washington and Harvard streets is called) is the lovely Rooney Building.
Erected in 1876, this building was (and still is, I presume) mixed-use, with apartments above retail space. Early tenants included dry goods merchants and a watchmaker/jeweler. In more recent years, this place has been home to restaurants, including, for many years, the Village Smokehouse, followed by Magnolia Smokehouse. Currently, an eatery named the Garrison House is slated to open by the end of this year, after postponing a planned spring debut.
Across Kent Street from the Garrison House is 1-5 Harvard Square.
Built in 1892, this wonderful structure was originally known as the Lowe Building, after the owner of a house that was moved in order to erect this place, per MACRIS. Eventually, Brookline National Bank moved into the building, and it became known as the National Bank Block. Over the years, there have been apartments and offices here, as well as Masons hall. Currently the building is home to a Santander Bank branch and an outlet of Caffe Nero.
(That's quite a cornice on the corner of 1-5 Harvard Square.)
Directly across from 1-5 Harvard Square is 2 Harvard Street/279 Washington Street, which dates to 1910 (or perhaps 1905). I didn't take a picture of the building, but I did shoot a ghost sign of sorts on the sidewalk at the front entrance.
Now home to a Brookline Bank branch and a Beacon Hill Athletic Club franchise, this building was home at some point to Rhodes Bros. grocery store. I'm not sure if the grocer was the original tenant. Sometime after World War II that store closed, and New England Food Fair took over, according to the Muddy River Musings blog. In the ensuing decade, founder Benjamin Rodman opened two other New England Food Fair stores, another in Brookline, and one in Danvers, Mass. The company also established Food Center Wholesale Grocers, according to Rodman's obituary.
New England Food Fair endured a lawsuit in 1965 filed by a larger company operating stores in 15 states under the "Food Fair" brand. Honestly, the opinion is too long and involved for me, but I can tell you that all of New England Food Fairs businesses merged with grocery chain Purity Supreme in 1968, per the obituary.
Moving on....
...to another ghost sign of sorts.
From the top, this sign reads:
A word before AUTO SERVICE and a word after have been painted over. I haven't found out anything about any of these businesses. This sign is on the northern end of 14-24 Harvard Street; there is a long, narrow building with several garage bays directly behind this place. If anyone knows anything about these businesses -- especially Kraftwerke Technik -- please let me know.
The last handful of buildings on my route are on the east side of Harvard Street, between Webster Place and Linden Street.
I love this little building at 27 Harvard Street. Known historically as the Lacy Funeral Home, it dates to 1935. Over the years, an eight-foot addition was tacked onto the front, and the storefront was remodeled, per MACRIS. "A wood building housing William Partridge's photo shop occupied this site for many years," MACRIS indicates. "John H. Lacy razed that building and constructed this block for his funeral home in 1935. He added a two car garage in 1947."
The building is now home to Sorriso Market, which sells wine, craft beer and handmade pasta.
Next is 31 and 33 Harvard Street.
No. 31, on the right, dates to 1892, and is another Untersee building. It has been modified over the years.
On the left is #33, which dates to 1905, per MACRIS. Now home to Brookline Lock Company and the School of Baobom, a martial arts studio, this building over the years has been home to a provisions store and a bowling alley located in a basement that extended under the sidewalk (!), per MACRIS.
Last, but certainly not least, are the two buildings at 37 and 39 Harvard Street.
No. 37, as you can see above on the right, is under renovation; a computer service was here most recently. The building dates to 1888. It was originally a private home, but the first floor was converted to commercial space at some point.
As for #39, on the left, it dates to 1909, per MACRIS. At its origin, there were apartments on the upper floors, and a confectionary store on the ground level. Currently, the building is home to an office for Highrock Covenant Church. There is a sign in the window for a future business, but I can't read it.
OK, there ya go! That's Brookline Village, or most of it anyway.
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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