National Register of Historic Places

Beacon Street Historic District

Brookline, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Listed
October 16, 1985
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
85003322

About this property

The Beacon Street Historic District is a historic district running most of the length of Beacon Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, roughly from Saint Mary's Road, near Kenmore Square, to Ayr Road near Cleveland Circle. It includes a small number of properties on adjacent streets, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Beacon Street in Brookline was built in 1850-51 as an extension of the road over the mill dam that was constructed across the Back Bay of Boston, running from the end of Mill Dam Road to Cleveland Circle. The area remained predominantly rural, with small clusters of housing in the Cleveland Circle and Harvard Street areas. In the 1880s industrialist Henry Whitney, a Brookline resident, conceived of the Beacon Street corridor as a broad boulevard, lined with housing, with a streetcar line running down the middle, and began purchasing land. He retained Frederick Law Olmsted and John Charles Olmsted, noted landscape designers who were also Brookline residents, to design the boulevard. When the streetcar line (now the MBTA Green Line "C" branch) went into service in December 1888, it was the second non-experimental electric streecar service in the nation, after the Union Passenger Railway of Richmond, Virginia. Most of Beacon Street is lined with multi-story residential housing, and is still roughly in the form envisioned by Whitney and the Olmsteds. Clusters of commercial development have supplanted some of the housing in the Coolidge Corner, Washington Square, and Cleveland Circle areas, but the roughly 2-mile (3.2 km) stretch of road largely retains its residential character.

Location

Brookline, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
42.34070, -71.12764

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks and old features hidden in the landscape.
Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
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Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from first peoples to the present day.
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Nearby Historic Sites

House at 156 Mason Terrace
Industrial
0.2 mi
St. Mark's Methodist Church
Industrial
0.2 mi
Orrock, Rev. John, House
Industrial
0.2 mi
Cypress-Emerson Historic District
Listed
0.2 mi
Lynch-O'Gorman House
Industrial
0.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Siege of Boston – Roxbury Lines
1775Revolutionary War
1.5 mi
Siege of Boston – Cambridge Lines
1775Revolutionary War
2.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Beacon Street Historic District listed on the National Register?

Beacon Street Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 16, 1985.

What type of historic resource is Beacon Street Historic District?

Beacon Street Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Beacon Street Historic District?

The period of significance for Beacon Street Historic District is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Beacon Street Historic District?

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