Everything about Brookline Massachusetts totally explained
Brookline is a town in
Norfolk County,
Massachusetts,
United States, which borders on the cities of
Boston and
Newton. As of the 2000 census, the population of the town was 57,107.
Etymology
Brookline was known as the hamlet of
Muddy River and was considered a part of Boston until the Town of Brookline was independently incorporated in 1705. Its name is derived from the brooks that created the town lines with the former towns of
Brighton and
Roxbury, which are both now parts of Boston.
Geography
Brookline is located at approximately (42.330664, -71.13364).
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.8
square miles (17.7
km²), of which, 6.8 square miles (17.6 km²) of it's land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.44%) is water.
Brookline borders
Newton (part of
Middlesex County) to the west and Boston (part of
Suffolk County) to the east, north, south, northwest, and southwest; it's therefore non-contiguous with any other part of Norfolk County. Brookline became an
exclave in 1873 when the neighboring town of
West Roxbury was annexed by
Boston (and left Norfolk County to join
Suffolk County) and Brookline refused to be annexed by Boston after the
Brookline-Boston annexation debate of 1873.
Brookline actually separates the bulk of the city of Boston (except for a narrow neck or corridor near the
Charles River) from its westernmost neighborhoods of
Allston/
Brighton, which had been the separate town of Brighton until annexed by Boston in
1873.
History
Settlement and borders
Once part of
Algonquian territory, Brookline was first settled by
European colonists in the early
1600s. The area was an outlying part of the colonial settlement of
Boston and known as the hamlet of Muddy River. In 1705, it was incorporated as the independent town of Brookline. The northern and southern borders of the town were marked by two small rivers or brooks, hence the name. The northern border with Brighton (which was itself part of
Cambridge until 1807) was Smelt Brook. (That name appears on maps starting at least as early as 1852, but sometime between 1888 and 1925 the brook was covered over.) The southern border, with Boston, was the
Muddy River.
The city of
Brighton was merged with Boston in 1874, and the Boston-Brookline border was redrawn to connect the new Back Bay neighborhood with Allston-Brighton. This created a narrow strip of land along the
Charles River belonging to Boston, cutting Brookline off from the shoreline. It also put certain lands north of the Muddy River on the Boston side, including what are now
Kenmore Square and
Packard's Corner. The current northern border follows Commonwealth Avenue, and on the northeast, St. Mary's Street. When the
Emerald Necklace of parks and parkways was designed for Boston by
Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s, the Muddy River was integrated into
the Riverway and
Olmsted Park, creating parkland accessible by both Boston and Brookline residents.
Throughout its history, Brookline resisted being absorbed by Boston, in particular as the
Brookline-Boston annexation debate of 1873 was decided in favor of independence. The neighboring towns of
West Roxbury and
Hyde Park connected Brookline to the rest of Norfolk County until they were annexed by Boston in 1874 and 1912, respectively, putting them in
Suffolk County. Brookline is now separated from the remainder of Norfolk County.
Brookline has long been regarded as a pleasant and verdant environment. In 1841 edition of the
Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Andrew Jackson Downing described the area this way:
The town has since seen considerable development, though still does maintain a considerable amount of greenspace in certain neighborhoods.
Transportation and economy
Two branches of upper
Boston Post Road, established in the 1670s, passed through Brookline. Brookline Village was the original center of retail activity. In 1810, the Boston and Worcester Turpike, now
Massachusetts Route 9, was laid out, starting on
Huntington Avenue in Boston and passing through the village center on its way west.
Steam railroads came to Brookline in the middle of the 19th century. The
Boston and Worcester Railroad was constructed in the early 1830s, and passed through Brookline near the Charles River. The rail line is still in active use, now paralleled by the
Massachusetts Turnpike. The Highland Branch of the
Boston and Albany Railroad was built from Kenmore Square to Brookline Village in 1847, and was extended into Newton in 1852. In the late 1950s, this would become the
Green Line "D" Branch.
The portion of Beacon Street west of Kenmore Square was laid out in 1850.
Streetcar tracks were laid above ground on Beacon Street in 1888, from
Coolidge Corner to
Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, via Kenmore Square. In 1889, they were electrified and extended over the Brighton border at
Cleveland Circle. They would eventually become the
Green Line "C" Branch.
Thanks to the
Boston Elevated Railway system, this upgrade from
horse-drawn carriage to electric trolleys occurred on many major streets all over the region, and made transportation into downtown Boston faster and cheaper. Much of Brookline was developed into a
streetcar suburb, with large brick apartment buildings sprouting up along the new streetcar lines.
Neighborhoods
The neighborhoods, squares, and other notable areas of Brookline include:
There are many neighborhood associations, some of which overlap.
Demographics
As of the
2000 census, there were 57,107 people, 25,594 households, and 12,233 families residing in the town. The
population density was 8,409.7 people per square mile (3,247.3/km²). There were 26,413 housing units at an average density of 3,889.6/sq mi (1,501.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 81.08%
White, 2.74%
Black or
African American, 0.12%
Native American, 12.83%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 1.01% from
other races, and 2.18% from two or more races. 3.53% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 25,594 households out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were
married couples living together, 7.1% have a female householder, and 52.2% were non-families as defined by the Census bureau. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the town the population was spread out with 16.6% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 37.3% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.
The median income for a family was $92,993. Males had a median income of $56,861 versus $43,436 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $44,327. About 4.5% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Brookline is governed by a
representative (elected) town meeting, which is the legislative body of the town, and a five-person
Board of Selectmen which serves as the executive branch of the town. For more details about the roles and procedures within the government of Brookline, please see
the town government's own description
.
Education
Public schools
The town is served by the
Public Schools of Brookline. The student body at
Brookline High School includes students from more than 50 different countries. Many students attend Brookline High from surrounding, neighborhoods in Boston, such as Mission Hill and Mattapan, via the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (
METCO) system.
There are eight elementary schools in the Brookline Public School system: Edith C. Baker School,
Devotion, Driscoll,
Heath School, Lawrence, Lincoln, Pierce, and Runkle. As of December 2006, there were 6,089 K-12 students enrolled in the Brookline public schools. The system includes one early learning center, eight grades K-8 schools, and one comprehensive high school.
The student body is 66.1% White, 17.7% Asian, 9.9% Black, 5.9% Hispanic, and 0.4% other. Approximately 30% of students come from homes where English isn't the first language.
Private schools
Several private primary and secondary schools, including the
Beaver Country Day School,
Brimmer and May School,
British School of Boston,
Dexter School,
Maimonides School, and
The Park School are located in the town.
Higher education
Several institutes of higher education are located in Brookline, including:
Pine Manor College
Hellenic College
Newbury College
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
parts of Boston University
Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis
The New England Institute of Art
Culture
As close to Boston as Brookline is, it has managed to maintain its own identity. Brookline features a mixture of urban and suburban living, upscale shops and recreational parks, apartment buildings and large estates. Along with offering both a city atmosphere and a feeling of being in the country, there's a wide mix of people in Brookline. It is the home of many academic and scientific professionals who work at the nearby medical centers in Boston. Brookline has staunchly refused to be absorbed by Boston, which surrounds it like a horseshoe. Brookline has kept its town meeting form of government since its 1705 incorporation. It also has an overnight on-street parking ban which is unusual for such a dense area. Among its many unusual resources, Brookline has its own working farm (with farm stand), the oldest country club in the nation, a town golf course, a park on a hillside overlooking Boston with an open-air skating rink and transportation museum, as well as numerous neighborhood parks and playgrounds scattered throughout the town.
Its major retail centers, like Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village, Washington Square, Cleveland Circle and the Chestnut Hill Shopping Center, are pedestrian-oriented shopping areas with a variety of stores, restaurants and malls.
Although predominantly residential, Brookline is somewhat open to new commercial development, and has amended its zoning to encourage limited growth along its major thoroughfares.
Brookline is known in the Boston area for its large population of Russian immigrants and numerous synagogues. Jewish culture is very strong in Brookline, and is especially notable along the section of Harvard Street that starts at Washington St (Brookline Village) runs through Beacon Street (Coolidge Corner) and ends at Commonwealth Avenue, continuing into Allston-Brighton. This neighborhood is home to at least three area synagogues including the first Jewish congregation in Massachusetts (Ohabei Shalom, founded in Boston in 1842 and located in Brookline since the 1920s) and a number of Jewish-themed restaurants and stores. Brookline is also known for its excellent schools, which are supported in large part by property taxes — the town has one of the highest property tax burdens in the country.
While residents of Brookline tend toward liberal ideals, economic and cultural factors keep this section of the Boston metropolitan area less diverse than its neighbor across the Charles River, Cambridge. It's also worth noting that Brookline's liberalism and diversity are relatively new developments in the town's history. In the 19th century Brookline, which has been called "the richest town in America", was a sanctuary for the wealthy where Boston's elites built their summer homes.
The Brookline Historical Society maintains its headquarters in the Edward Devotion House, one of the oldest colonial structures in Brookline with its earliest segments dating to probably around 1680. The first Edward Devotion (1621 -1685) settled in Brookline in about 1650. Devotion was a French Huguenot. The Brookline Historical Society was founded in 1901 and began meeting in the Devotion House the same year. The Edward Devotion School nearby is built on land donated by Edward Devotion's grandson.
Points of interest
There were two stops on the Underground Railroad in Brookline: 9 Toxteth Street and 182 Walnut Street.
The Country Club, an exclusive sporting club in the town, was the first private club in the United States formed exclusively for outdoor activities. It is most famous as a golf club; it was one of the five clubs that formed what is now the United States Golf Association and has hosted the U.S. Open three times and the Ryder Cup Matches once.
"Fairsted", the 100-year-old business headquarters and design office for renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and the Olmsted Brothers firm, has been carefully preserved as the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, on seven acres (28,000 m²) of landscaped grounds at 99 Warren Street. The town is home to part of Olmstead's Emerald Necklace of park systems.
Larz Anderson Park is in Brookline on the 64-acre estate once owned by Larz Anderson and Isabel Weld Perkins. The park contains the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, the oldest automobile collection in the country, as well as Putterham School, a one-room schoolhouse from colonial times.
The birthplace of John F. Kennedy stands in Brookline and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is maintained by the National Park Service and is open to the public from May through September.
St. Aidan's Church was where John F. Kennedy was christened and where the Kennedy family and other prominent Irish-Americans were parishioners. The church was designed by architect Charles Maginnis, who was awarded the American Institute of Architect's Gold Medal. Though it's on the National Register of Historic Places, St. Aidan's Church has been closed and may be converted into housing.
Coolidge Corner, which is located at the crossing of Beacon Street and Harvard Avenue, is one of Brookline's two primary retail districts (the other being Brookline Village). It includes a number of historically significant sites, including the S.S. Pierce Building (now occupied by a Walgreen's), and the Coolidge Corner Theatre.
See also Chestnut Hill Points of Interest.
Notable residents
Jeff Adrien, UCONN Basketball player and Brookline High School All-Star Basketball player (2000-2004)
Larz Anderson, United States Ambassador to Japan
William Aspinwall, (1743-1823), surgeon, member of the Massachusetts General Court and Massachusetts Senate
Saul Bellow, Nobel Prize-winning novelist, lived the last 12 years of his life in Brookline.
Larry Bird, professional basketball player, lived in Brookline while he played for the Boston Celtics
Zabdiel Boylston, physician who introduced inoculation against smallpox to the North American colonies in 1721
Michael A. Burstein (born 1970), science fiction writer
Stanley Cavell (born 1926), professor of philosophy, winner of the MacArthur fellow
Michael Dukakis (born 1933), former Governor of Massachusetts and 1988 Democratic Presidential candidate
Walter Elcock, Former president of the USTA
Theo Epstein (born 1973), Boston Red Sox General Manager
Hank Eskin, webmaster of Where's George?
King Gillette, inventor of the safety razor
Sheldon Lee Glashow (born 1932), Nobel Prize-winning physicist
John Hodgman (born 1971), author and contributor for This American Life and The Daily Show
Richard Jones, US ambassador to Israel, lived in Brookline for a couple of years, with his family.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), President of the United States. Born in Brookline where he lived his first 10 years. Baptized at and attended St. Aidan's Church. Attended Edward Devotion School, a Brookline public school from kindergarten until the beginning of 3rd grade, then Noble and Greenough Lower School and its successor Dexter School, a Brookline private school for boys through 4th grade. Moved with family to Riverdale, New York in September 1927.
Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968), Attorney General, US Senator, brother of President John F. Kennedy
Robert Kraft (born 1942), New England Patriots owner
Jon Krakauer (born 1954, raised in Corvallis, Oregon), author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air, columnist for Outside magazine
Michio and Aveline Kushi (http://www.michiokushi.org), leaders of the worldwide macrobiotic movement
Lester Lefton, president of Kent State University
Lawrence Lowell (1856-1943), former president of Harvard University
Eddie Lowery (1903-1984), Caddy of Francis Ouimet during the 1913 U.S. Open held in Brookline.
Larry Lucchino (born 1945), co-owner of Boston Red Sox
Roger Miller, rock musician
Marvin Minsky (born 1927), Artificial Intelligence theorist, inventor, author, professor
Nicholas Nixon, photographer, professor
Conan O'Brien (born 1963), host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903), landscape architect
Francis Ouimet (1893-1967), amateur golf player who won the US Open in 1913
Henry Varnum Poor, creator of the Standard & Poor's Index
Rishi Reddi, short story writer
Dan Rosenthal (born 1966) Assistant to the President in the White House under Bill Clinton
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903-1993), Noted Jewish scholar
Timothy M. Sullivan, Boston interior designer
James Taylor, American Musician, owns a home in Brookline
Mike Wallace (born 1918), TV journalist, best known for 60 Minutes
Barbara Walters (born 1929), television commentator and journalist
David Weinberger, notable blogger, internet expert, and political consultant
The Weld family
Jeremy M. Wertheimer, president of ITA Software in Cambridge, MA
Gary K. Wolf, creator of Roger Rabbit
References in popular culture
Beacon Street in Brookline is the setting of the Beacon Street Girls, a series of children's books for pre-teen girls.
Jonathan Coulton's song "Brookline" seems to revolve around the area and its culture.Further Information
Get more info on 'Brookline Massachusetts'.
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