West Newton Hill Historic District | |
Location | Roughly bounded by Highland Ave., Lenox, Hampshire, and Chestnut Sts., West Newton, Massachusetts |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°20′37″N71°13′16″W / 42.34361°N 71.22111°W |
Area | 35.9 acres (14.5 ha) |
Architect | Taylor, Bertrand |
Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Queen Anne, Shingle Style |
MPS | Newton MRA |
NRHP reference No. | 86001766 [1] |
Added to NRHP | September 4, 1986 |
The West Newton Hill NR Historic District is a residential National Register historic district in the village of West Newton, in the city of Newton, Massachusetts in the United States. It is composed of a cohesive collection of spacious houses built in the second half of the 19th century, representing the development of the West Newton area as a fashionable railroad suburb. [2] The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. [1]
The Boston and Worcester Railroad was built through West Newton in 1834, leading to its first significant period of growth. At this time, Chestnut Street was laid out across the hill south of the railroad line, and several houses were built. The improvement of regular passenger service in 1843 spurred further growth in the village, and in 1849 developers hired Alexander Wadsworth to lay out an 80-acre (32 ha) subdivision on the hill. Ten houses were built before 1879, and the majority of the development took place between 1880 and 1900. The district includes 36 acres (15 ha) of these subdivisions, with 58 contributing houses that are predominantly Queen Anne, Shingle, and Colonial Revival in their styling. Only six houses were built in the area after 1936. [2]
One of the oldest houses in the district is 12 Valentine Street, a Greek Revival house that was moved to its current location, and is believed to include timbers used from an early farmhouse. This was formerly the house of Lawson Valentine. One of a handful of antebellum houses in the district is at 128 Chestnut Street, the home of Rev Henry and Catherine Porter Lambert, built in 1854 with Queen Anne alterations introduced in 1900. [3] There are two notable well preserved Second Empire houses, at 152 Chestnut Street, 292 Otis Street, and 129 Chestnut Street. There are also several Italianate houses in the area dating from the 1870s.
Chestnut Street is lined by a significant number of Queen Anne houses, notable among them 170 Chestnut, which features the asymmetrical styling and varied gables, dormers, and projections typical of the style. The houses at 332 and 334 Otis Street are nearly mirror images of one another, with off-center projecting pavilions and hip roofs. [2] The corner house at 333 Otis Street features a pair of turrets, a wrap-around porch with columns with scamozzi capitals, a porte-cochère and a turreted carriage house which mimics the main house.
The bronze sculpture by Anne Whitney, Child with Calla Lily Leaves, [4] is a contributing resource to the district. This was cast from Whitney's 1893 submission to the World's Columbian Exposition and installed in 1903 in memory of Catherine Porter Lambert of 128 Chestnut Street. Distinctive from most of Whitney's pieces in its Art Nouveau design, this sculpture is located in a small community garden on the island at the intersection of Chestnut, Highland and Valentine Streets.
The National Register district is generally bounded on the west by Chestnut Street, running just south of Westfield Road to Highland Street, and on the north by Otis Street from Chestnut to Lenox Street, which defines the eastern boundary. The southern boundary includes Valentine and Highland Streets, omitting the houses south of those roads except for those within the triangular junction of Valentine Street with Burnham and Hampshire Roads. [2]
In 2017, the Newton Historical Commission and the Massachusetts Historical Commission approved a study report proposing a Local Historic District on West Newton Hill, encompassing about 330 houses, including those in the existing National Register areas including this area as well as Putnam Street, and the Day Estate, and several individual buildings such as: the Second Church, the original Peirce School, the Neighborhood Club and the Henry Day House, now the All Newton Music School. The proposed boundaries of this new district would have linked houses on either side of Chestnut Street into one protected area, while still allowing for ongoing modifications and updates. This proposal did not proceed to a vote by the Newton City Council due to a lack of consensus in the neighborhood. The most historic buildings are not protected from demolition. [5]
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages without a city center. It is home to the Charles River, Crystal Lake, and Heartbreak Hill, among other landmarks. It is served by several streets and highways, as well as the Green Line D branch run by the MBTA.
Chestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located six miles (10 km) west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is best known for being home to Boston College and a section of the Boston Marathon route. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity. It is located partially in Brookline in Norfolk County; partially in the city of Boston in Suffolk County, and partially in the city of Newton in Middlesex County. Chestnut Hill's borders are defined by the 02467 ZIP Code. The name refers to several small hills that overlook the 135-acre Chestnut Hill Reservoir rather than one particular hill.
The Highland branch, also known as the Newton Highlands branch, was a suburban railway line in Boston, Massachusetts. It was opened by the Boston and Albany Railroad in 1886 to serve the growing community of Newton, Massachusetts. The line was closed in 1958 and sold to the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), the predecessor of the current Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which reopened it in 1959 as a light rail line, now known as the D branch of the Green Line.
Highland Park is a neighborhood comprising several historic districts north of downtown Richmond, Virginia. Over time, various boundaries have served to split the neighborhood into sections traditionally labeled East Highland Park, North Highland Park, and South Highland Park. The southern Highland Park boundaries are roughly First Avenue to the west, Fifth Avenue to the east, the Shockoe Valley to the south, and E. Brookland Park Boulevard to the north. The Highland Park Southern Tip neighborhood is also known as the Chestnut Hill-Plateau Historic District. The Highland Park Plaza/Northern Highland Park boundaries are roughly defined by Pensacola ave and the railroad tracks to the north, Fifth avenue to the east, E. Brookland Park boulevard to the south, and Meadowbridge Road to the west. The zip code is 23222.
West Newton is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.
The National Register of Historic Places is a United States federal official list of places and sites considered worthy of preservation. In the state of Massachusetts, there are over 4,300 listings, representing about 5% of all NRHP listings nationwide and the second-most of any U.S. state, behind only New York. Listings appear in all 14 Massachusetts counties.
Spring Hill is the name of a ridge in the central part of the city of Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, and the residential neighborhood that sits atop it. It runs northwest to southeast, roughly bounded by Highland Avenue, Somerville Avenue, Elm Street, and Willow Avenue. Summer Street runs along the hill's crest.
The West Newton Village Center Historic District encompasses the heart of the village of West Newton, in the city of Newton, Massachusetts in the United States. It extends along Washington Street between Lucas Court in the west and Davis Court in the east, and includes a few properties on immediately adjacent side streets, including Watertown Street and Waltham Street. The village is the second-largest of Newton's commercial centers and is the best-preserved of its late 19th and early 20th century village centers. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Newtonville Historic District is a historic district in the village of Newtonville, in Newton, Massachusetts. The district encompasses the southern portion of the village's business district, as well as surrounding residential areas. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, and enlarged in 1990.
The Silver Hill Historic District encompasses the first major residential subdivision of Weston, Massachusetts. It includes 79 buildings on Silver Hill and Westland Roads, and Merriam Street. The area of Silver Hill and Westland Roads was formally laid out in 1905, while Merriam Street is a very old country road which had seen some development in the 1890s. The houses in the district are predominantly Colonial Revival and Queen Anne in their styling, a relative rarity in Weston although common in other Boston suburbs. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
77 Howard Street in Reading, Massachusetts is an excellent example of a well preserved Queen Anne Victorian house. It was built in the 1890s, during the town's growth as a railroad suburb of Boston. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Franklin B. Jenkins House is a historic house at 37 Chestnut Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Built c. 1895, it is one of Stoneham's finest Queen Anne Victorian houses. The 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house has an L shape, with a distinctive octagonal turret section at the crook of the L. A porch with turned posts and balusters wraps around the front and side to the turret section.
The Newton Lamson House is a historic house at 33 Chestnut Street in the Nobility Hill section of Stoneham, Massachusetts. Built c. 1887, it is one of Stoneham's finest Queen Anne/Stick style houses. It has a rectangular plan, with a gable roof that has a cross gable centered on the south side. The gable ends are clad in decorative cut shingles, and the gables are decorated with Stick-style vergeboard elements. Below the eaves hangs a decorative wave-patterned valance. The porch has turned posts and balusters. It is further enhanced by its position in the center of a group of stylish period houses, including the Sidney A. Hill House and the Franklin B. Jenkins House.
The Nobility Hill Historic District is a residential historic district roughly bounded by Chestnut and Maple Streets and Cedar Avenue in Stoneham, Massachusetts. The district includes a number of high quality houses representing a cross section of fashionable housing built between 1860 and 1920. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Old Chestnut Hill Historic District encompasses the historic residential heart of the Newton portion of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. When first listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, the district extended along Hammond Street, between Beacon Street and the MBTA Green Line right-of-way, and along Chestnut Hill Road between Hammond and Essex, including properties along a few adjacent streets. The district was expanded in 1990 to include more of Chestnut Hill Road and Essex Road, Suffolk Road and the roads between it and Hammond, and a small section south of the Green Line including properties on Hammond Street, Longwood Road, and Middlesex Road. A further expansion in 1999 added a single property on Suffolk Road.
The Pine Ridge Road–Plainfield Street Historic District encompasses a residential subdivision in the Waban section of Newton, Massachusetts. It includes 44 properties on Pine Ridge Road and Plainfield Street between Chestnut Street and Upland Road, and includes a few properties on the latter two streets. The area was laid out for development in the 1880s after the arrival of suburban rail service, and was built out by the 1930s. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Putnam Street Historic District is a residential historic district roughly bounded by Winthrop, Putnam, Temple, and Shaw Streets in Newton, Massachusetts. It encompasses a residential area located on the hill just south of West Newton which was developed between the 1860s and 1880s. The 20 properties in the nearly 8-acre (3.2 ha) district are primarily Second Empire, Queen Anne, and Stick style. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Hammond Pond Parkway is a historic parkway in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The road, built in 1932, extends 2 miles (3.2 km) from Hobart Road in Newton to Horace James Circle in Brookline, where it joins the West Roxbury Parkway. It was designed by Charles Eliot and the Olmsted Brothers to provide a parkway setting that provided access from Brookline, Newton, and the western portions of Boston to the southern parks of the Emerald Necklace. The parkway was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
West Roxbury Parkway is a historic parkway running from Washington Street in Boston, Massachusetts, where the Enneking Parkway runs south, to Horace James Circle in Chestnut Hill, where it meets the Hammond Pond Parkway. The parkway serves as a connector between Stony Brook Reservation and Hammond Pond Reservation. West Roxbury Parkway was built between 1919 and 1929 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. The parkway is distinctive in the roadway system developed by the Metropolitan District Commission beginning around the turn of the 20th century in that it was built in collaboration with the City of Boston, and is maintained by the city.
The Chestnut Hill Historic District encompasses the historic portion of the village of Chestnut Hill that lies in Brookline, Massachusetts, with only slight overlap into adjacent Newton. The 70-acre (28 ha) district is bounded on the north by Middlesex Road, on the east by Reservoir Lane, on the south by Crafts Road and Massachusetts Route 9, and on the west by Dunster Road. A small portion of the district extends south of Route 9, including a few houses and the Baldwin School on Heath Street. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 17, 1985.