Brookline is a town in
Norfolk County, Massachusetts-National protected areas:* Adams National Historical Park* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site* John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site-Demographics:...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which borders on the cities of
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and
NewtonNewton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.
Etymology
Brookline was known as the hamlet of
Muddy River (a river which today makes up part of the Brookline-Boston border) 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
RoxburyRoxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
, which are both now parts of Boston.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Brookline has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.7 km²), of which, 6.8 square miles (17.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.44%) is water.
Brookline borders
NewtonNewton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
(part of
Middlesex County-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...
) to the west and Boston (part of
Suffolk CountySuffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...
) to the east, north, south, northwest, and southwest; it is therefore non-contiguous with any other part of Norfolk County. While Brookline shares similarities with many Northeastern urban neighborhoods, such as
Chestnut Hill, PhiladelphiaChestnut Hill is a neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Boundaries:Chestnut Hill is bounded as follows:...
, Brookline is unique in that it is a separate town. Brookline became an exclave in 1873 when the neighboring town of
West RoxburyWest Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston bordered by Roslindale to the north, the Town of Dedham to the east and south, the Town of Brookline and the City of Newton to the west. Many people mistakenly confuse West Roxbury with Roxbury, but the two are not connected. West Roxbury is separated from...
was annexed by
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
(and left Norfolk County to join
Suffolk CountySuffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...
) 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 RiverThe Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
) from its westernmost neighborhoods of
Allston-BrightonAllston-Brighton is a set of two interlocking Boston neighborhoods, Allston and Brighton.-Geographical and technical Issues:Allston and Brighton's border runs along Everett Street in the North, running south along Gordon Street and terminates at the Brookline town line along Kelton Street...
, which had been the separate town of Brighton until annexed by Boston in 1873.
Settlement and borders
Once part of
AlgonquianThe Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
territory, Brookline was first settled by
EuropeanWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
colonists in the early 17th century. The area was an outlying part of the colonial settlement of
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
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
CambridgeCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
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 boundary, abutting Boston, was the Muddy River.
The Town 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 RiverThe Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
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 SquareKenmore Square is a square in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, consisting of the intersection of several main avenues as well as several other cross streets, and Kenmore Station, an MBTA subway stop. Kenmore Square is close to or abuts Boston University, Fenway Park, and Lansdowne Street, a...
and
Packard's CornerPackard's Corner is located in Boston, Massachusetts at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Brighton Avenue. Packard's Corner is serviced by the Packard's Corner stop on the B Branch of the MBTA's Green Line, a light rail line that runs mostly above ground...
. The current northern border follows Commonwealth Avenue, and on the northeast, St. Mary's Street. When the
Emerald NecklaceThe Emerald Necklace consists of an chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It gets its name from the way the planned chain appears to hang from the "neck" of the Boston peninsula, although it was never fully constructed.-Overview:The Necklace...
of parks and parkways was designed for Boston by
Frederick Law OlmstedFrederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
in the 1890s, the Muddy River was integrated into
the RiverwayRiverway is a parkway in Boston, Massachusetts. The parkway is a link in the Emerald Necklace system of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s. Starting at the Landmark Center end of the Back Bay Fens, the parkway follows the path of the Muddy River south to Olmsted Park...
and
Olmsted ParkOlmsted Park is a linear park in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts, and a part of Boston's Emerald Necklace of connected parks and parkways. Originally named Leverett Park, in 1900 it was renamed to honor its designer, Frederick Law Olmsted....
, 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 RoxburyWest Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston bordered by Roslindale to the north, the Town of Dedham to the east and south, the Town of Brookline and the City of Newton to the west. Many people mistakenly confuse West Roxbury with Roxbury, but the two are not connected. West Roxbury is separated from...
and
Hyde ParkHyde Park is a dissolved municipality and currently the southernmost neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Hyde Park is home to a diverse range of people, housing types and social groups. It is an urban location with suburban characteristics...
connected Brookline to the rest of Norfolk County until they were annexed by Boston in 1874 and 1912, respectively, putting them in
Suffolk CountySuffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...
. 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 RoadThe Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into the first major highways in the United States.The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York...
, established in the 1670s, passed through Brookline. Brookline Village was the original center of retail activity. In 1810, the Boston and Worcester Turnpike, now Massachusetts Route 9, was laid out, starting on
Huntington AvenueHuntington Avenue is a secondary thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts beginning at Copley Square, and continuing west through the Back Bay, Fenway, Longwood, and Mission Hill neighborhoods...
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 TurnpikeThe Massachusetts Turnpike is the easternmost stretch of Interstate 90. The Turnpike begins at the western border of Massachusetts in West Stockbridge connecting with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway...
. The Highland Branch of the
Boston and Albany RailroadThe Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail and CSX. The line is used by CSX for freight...
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 CornerCoolidge Corner is a neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts, centered around the intersection of Beacon Street and Harvard Street. The neighborhood takes its name from the Coolidge brothers' general store that opened in 1857 at that intersection on the location of today's S.S...
to
Massachusetts AvenueMassachusetts Avenue, known to locals as Mass Ave, is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts, and several cities and towns northwest of Boston...
in Boston, via Kenmore Square. In 1889, they were electrified and extended over the Brighton border at
Cleveland CircleCleveland Circle, an area of Boston, Massachusetts, is located in Boston's Brighton neighborhood, and more specifically the Aberdeen section of Brighton, in very close proximity to Brookline and Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, at the intersection of Beacon Street and Chestnut Hill Avenue.Cleveland...
. They would eventually become the Green Line "C" Branch.
Thanks to the
Boston Elevated RailwayThe Boston Elevated Railway was a precursor first to the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Massachusetts, now the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, operating rapid transit, streetcars and buses in the Boston, Massachusetts area. It was formerly known as the West End Street Railway.The...
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 suburbA streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Early suburbs were served by horsecars, but by the late 19th century cable cars and electric streetcars, or trams, were used, allowing...
, with large brick apartment buildings sprouting up along the new streetcar lines.
Neighborhoods
The neighborhoods, squares, and other notable areas of Brookline include:
- Aspinwall Hill
- Beaconsfield
- Brookline Hills
- Brookline Village
- Buttonwood Village
- Chestnut Hill
Chestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located six miles west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity, but unlike most of them, it encompasses parts of three separate municipalities, each of...
, which also extends into NewtonNewton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
and the Boston neighborhoods of West RoxburyWest Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston bordered by Roslindale to the north, the Town of Dedham to the east and south, the Town of Brookline and the City of Newton to the west. Many people mistakenly confuse West Roxbury with Roxbury, but the two are not connected. West Roxbury is separated from...
and Brighton
- Cleveland Circle
- Coolidge Corner
Coolidge Corner is a neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts, centered around the intersection of Beacon Street and Harvard Street. The neighborhood takes its name from the Coolidge brothers' general store that opened in 1857 at that intersection on the location of today's S.S...
- Corey Farm
- Corey Hill
- Cottage Farm
Cottage Farm Historic District is a historic district roughly bounded by Amory, Dummer, Lenox, Brookline and Beacon Streets in Brookline, Massachusetts.It was built in 1850 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.-External links:...
- Fisher Hill
- Larz Anderson Park
- Longwood (across the Muddy River
The Muddy River is a series of brooks and ponds that runs through sections of Boston's Emerald Necklace, including along the south boundary of Brookline, Massachusetts...
from the Longwood Medical and Academic AreaThe Longwood Medical and Academic Area is a medical campus in Boston....
in Boston)
- North Brookline
- "Pill Hill
Pill Hill is a neighborhood in Brookline, Massachusetts. Like other Pill Hills in the United States, Pill Hill in Brookline was nicknamed for its proximity to the hospitals in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area and convenience for housing doctors....
"
- The Point (originally "Whiskey Point")
- Putterham Circle
- The Runkle District
- South Brookline ("Sobro")
- Washington Square
There are many neighborhood associations, some of which overlap.
Demographics
As of the 2010 census, there were 58,732 people, 26,448 households, and 12,233 families residing in the town. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 8,701.0 people per square mile (3,247.3/km²). There were 26,413 housing units at an average density of 3,889.6 per square mile (1,501.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 73.3% White, 3.4% Black or
African AmericanRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.12% Native American, 15.6% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.18% from two or more races. 5.0% 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 couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household was $62,496. The median income for a family was $80,933. Males had a median income of $56,861 versus $43,436 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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.
Climate
Government
Brookline is governed by a
representative (elected) town meetingA representative town meeting is a form of municipal legislature particularly common in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont....
, which is the legislative body of the town, and a five-person
Board of SelectmenThe board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...
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:
http://www.brooklinema.gov/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=445
Fire Department
Brookline is protected 24/7 by the professional firefighters of the Brookline Fire and Rescue Department. The department operates out of five fire stations throughout the town and runs an apparatus fleet of eight engines (including one quint and three reserve engines), three trucks(including one tower and one reserve truck), and one special hazards rescue unit.
Fire station locations
Fire Station #1 – Brookline Village: Engine 1, Engine 1 (Reserve), Ladder 2, Rescue/Special Hazards 1
Fire Station #4 – Boylston Street: Engine 4, Squad 1
Fire Station #5 – Coolidge Corner: Quint 5, Tower 1, Ladder 1 (Reserve)
Fire Station #6 – Training Division-Hammond Street: Engine 6
Fire Station #7 – Washington Square: Engine 3, Engine 3 (Reserve), Engine 5 (Reserve)
Public schools
The town is served by the
Public Schools of Brookline. The student body at
Brookline High SchoolBrookline High School is a four-year public high school in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, in the United States.As of the 2007-08 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,826 students and 136 teachers , for a student-teacher ratio of 13.4 to 1 teacher.-Education:Almost every senior in...
includes students from more than 50 countries. Many students attend Brookline High from surrounding neighborhoods in Boston such as Mission Hill and Mattapan through the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (
METCOMETCO stands for the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity. Founded in 1966 in Boston, Massachusetts, METCO is the longest continuously running voluntary school desegregation program in the country and a national model for the few other voluntary desegregation busing programs currently...
) system.
There are eight elementary schools in the Brookline Public School system: Baker School,
DevotionThe Edward Devotion Elementary School, affectionately known as "Devo," is a public elementary school located at 345 Harvard Street, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. The school was founded in 1894 on land bequeathed to the town by Edward Devotion , and is probably named for his eponymous grandfather ...
, Driscoll,
HeathHeath School is part of Public Schools of Brookline and is located in Brookline, USA in the Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts area. It is an elementary and middle school that serves the Chestnut Hill neighborhoods and educates students in grades K-8....
, 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 Old Lincoln School is a surplus building used by the town to temporarily teach students in when another school building is being renovated. It was also rented in 2009 as the venue for the play
Sleep No MoreSleep No More is an immersive theatre production created by British theatre company Punchdrunk. Based on Punchdrunk's original 2003 London production, the company reinvented Sleep No More in a co-production with the American Repertory Theatre , which opened at the Old Lincoln School in Brookline,...
.
The student body is 58.6% White, 18.0% Asian, 7.2% Black, 9.3% Hispanic, and 6.6% Multi-race. Approximately 30% of students come from homes where English is not the first language. (Data from Massachusetts department of education)
Private schools
Several private primary and secondary schools, including the
Beaver Country Day SchoolBeaver Country Day School is an independent, college preparatory day school for students in grades 6 through 12 founded in 1920. The school is located on a campus in the village of Chestnut Hill, in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston. Beaver is a member of the Cum Laude Society, the...
,
Brimmer and May SchoolBrimmer and May School is an independent, pre-K-12 school located at 69 Middlesex Road, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools.- History :...
,
Dexter SchoolFounded in 1926, the Dexter School is an independent school for boys located in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. Its campus is also home to its sister school, Southfield, an independent school for girls founded in 1992....
,
Maimonides SchoolMaimonides School is a coeducational, Modern Orthodox, Jewish day school located in Brookline, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1937 by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and his wife Tonya Soloveitchik...
, and
The Park SchoolThe Park School is an independent school in Brookline, Massachusetts, for boys and girls in pre-kindergarten through ninth grade. It was founded in 1888 as Miss Pierce’s School. Jerrold I. Katz has been the head of school since 1993.- Campus :...
are located in the town.
Higher education
Several institutes of higher education are located in Brookline, including:
- Pine Manor College
Pine Manor College is a private, liberal arts women's college located in Chestnut Hill, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1911 and currently serves almost 500 students, 75% of whom live on the campus.-Most diverse:...
- Hellenic College
The Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology are an Orthodox Christian liberal arts college and seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts.-History:...
- Newbury College
- Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
- parts of Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
- parts of Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
- part of the Wheelock College
Wheelock College is a private, coeducational college located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1888 by Lucy Wheelock. The mission of Wheelock College is to primarily improve the lives of children and families...
campus
- Northeastern University's Parsons Field
Parsons Field is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Brookline, Massachusetts. It is home to the Northeastern University baseball, men's soccer, and women's soccer teams as well as the Brookline High School Warriors football team. Additionally, the stadium was the home of the Northeastern Huskies...
- Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis
- The New England Institute of Arthttp://www.artinstitutes.edu/boston/
Public libraries
- Public Library of Brookline, 361 Washington St., Brookline, MA 02445
- Coolidge Corner Branch Library, 31 Pleasant St., Brookline, MA 02446
- Putterham Branch Library, 959 West Roxbury Pkwy., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Culture
As close as Brookline is to Boston, 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 is 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 meetingA town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....
form of government since its 1705 incorporation. It also has an overnight on-street
parkingParking is the act of stopping a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied for more than a brief time. Parking on one or both sides of a road is commonly permitted, though often with restrictions...
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 clubThe Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest country club in the United States. It holds an important place in golf history, as it is one of the five charter clubs that founded the United States Golf Association, and has hosted numerous USGA tournaments including the...
in the nation, a town golf course, a park on a hillside overlooking Boston with an open-air
skatingIce skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
rink and
transportation museumLarz Anderson Auto Museum is located on the grounds of Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, Massachusetts and is the oldest collection of motorcars in the United States....
, as well as numerous neighborhood parks and playgrounds scattered throughout the town.
Its major retail centers, including
Coolidge CornerCoolidge Corner is a neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts, centered around the intersection of Beacon Street and Harvard Street. The neighborhood takes its name from the Coolidge brothers' general store that opened in 1857 at that intersection on the location of today's S.S...
, Brookline Village, Washington Square,
Cleveland CircleCleveland Circle, an area of Boston, Massachusetts, is located in Boston's Brighton neighborhood, and more specifically the Aberdeen section of Brighton, in very close proximity to Brookline and Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, at the intersection of Beacon Street and Chestnut Hill Avenue.Cleveland...
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
RussianRussian Americans are primarily Americans who traces their ancestry to Russia. The definition can be applied to recent Russian immigrants to the United States, as well as to settlers of 19th century Russian settlements in northwestern America which includes today's California, Alaska and...
and
IsraeliIsraeli Americans are Americans of Israeli descent. According to the 2000 census, there were 106,839 people of Israeli ancestry in the United States.- Demographics :...
immigrants and numerous synagogues. Jewish culture is very strong in Brookline; the Jewish population was estimated in 2002 at 20,300, so Jews compose over 35% of the town's population. Jewish culture 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-BrightonAllston-Brighton is a set of two interlocking Boston neighborhoods, Allston and Brighton.-Geographical and technical Issues:Allston and Brighton's border runs along Everett Street in the North, running south along Gordon Street and terminates at the Brookline town line along Kelton Street...
. 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 values, economic and cultural factors keep this section of the
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
metropolitan area less diverse than its neighbor across the
Charles RiverThe Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
,
CambridgeCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. Brookline's liberalism and diversity are relatively new developments in the town's history. In the 19th century, Brookline, which had been called "the richest town in America", was a sanctuary for the wealthy, where Boston's elites built their summer homes. Brookline is still typically regarded by locals as a wealthier suburb of Boston (along with Newton), given the number of wealthy individuals (CEOs, high-profile executives, famous musicians and actors) who reside there.
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 SchoolThe Edward Devotion Elementary School, affectionately known as "Devo," is a public elementary school located at 345 Harvard Street, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. The school was founded in 1894 on land bequeathed to the town by Edward Devotion , and is probably named for his eponymous grandfather ...
nearby is built on land donated by Edward Devotion's grandson.
Points of interest
- There were two stops on the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
in Brookline: 9 Toxteth Street and 182 Walnut Street.
- The Country Club
The Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest country club in the United States. It holds an important place in golf history, as it is one of the five charter clubs that founded the United States Golf Association, and has hosted numerous USGA tournaments including the...
, 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 golfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
club; it was one of the five clubs that formed what is now the United States Golf AssociationThe United States Golf Association is the United States' national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the Rules of Golf. The USGA also provides a national handicap system...
and has hosted the U.S. OpenThe United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
three times and the Ryder Cup MatchesThe Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
once.
- "Fairsted", the 100-year-old business headquarters and design office for renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
and the Olmsted BrothersThe Olmsted Brothers company was an influential landscape design firm in the United States, formed in 1898 by stepbrothers John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. .-History:...
firm, has been carefully preserved as the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic SiteFrederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Frederick Law Olmsted is recognized as the founder of American landscape architecture and the nation’s foremost parkmaker...
, on 7 acres (2.8 ha) of landscaped grounds at 99 Warren Street. The town is home to part of Olmstead's Emerald NecklaceThe Emerald Necklace consists of an chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It gets its name from the way the planned chain appears to hang from the "neck" of the Boston peninsula, although it was never fully constructed.-Overview:The Necklace...
of park systems.
- Larz Anderson Park
Larz Anderson Park is a wooded, landscaped, and waterscaped parkland in Brookline, Massachusetts that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The southwest corner of the park is in Boston...
is in Brookline on the 64 acres (25.9 ha) estate once owned by Larz AndersonLarz Anderson III was a wealthy American businessman and diplomat who briefly served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan ....
and Isabel Weld PerkinsIsabel Weld Perkins , mostly known as Isabel Anderson or Mrs. Larz Anderson after her marriage, was a Boston-area heiress and author who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums. She is interred in the St...
. The park contains the Larz Anderson Auto MuseumLarz Anderson Auto Museum is located on the grounds of Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, Massachusetts and is the oldest collection of motorcars in the United States....
, the oldest automobile collection in the country, as well as Putterham SchoolPutterham School, built 1768, is a one room schoolhouse in Brookline, Massachusetts. Originally built at the juncture of Grove and Newton Streets, in 1966 the school was moved from its original site to its present location at Larz Anderson Park.-Use:...
, a one-room schoolhouse from colonial timesThe colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
.
- The birthplace of John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site, located in Brookline, Massachusetts' Coolidge Corner neighborhood, is a historical site that commemorates the life of President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963...
stands in Brookline and is listed in the National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It is maintained by the National Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
and is open to the public from May through September.
- St. Aidan's Church was where John F. Kennedy was baptized 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 Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
' gold medal. Though it is on the National Register of Historic Places, St. Aidan's Church has been closed and converted into housing.
- Coolidge Corner
Coolidge Corner is a neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts, centered around the intersection of Beacon Street and Harvard Street. The neighborhood takes its name from the Coolidge brothers' general store that opened in 1857 at that intersection on the location of today's S.S...
, which is located at the crossing of Beacon StreetBeacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and several of its western suburbs. Beacon Street in Boston, Brookline, Brighton, and Newton is not to be confused with the Beacon Street in nearby Somerville, or others elsewhere.-Description:...
and Harvard Street, 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. PierceSamuel Stillman Pierce was a grocer in Boston, Massachusetts, who established the S.S. Pierce company in 1831.-Biography:Samuel Stillman Pierce was born in Cedar Grove, Dorchester, in 1807. In 1836, he married Ellen Maria Wallis. They had 8 children. The family lived in the South End and...
Building (now occupied by a WalgreensWalgreen Co. , doing business as Walgreens , is the largest drugstore chain in the United States of America. As of August 31st, the company operates 8,210 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901, and has since expanded...
), and the Coolidge Corner Theatre.
- The Puppet Showplace Theatre, one of the four oldest puppet theatres in the United States, is located in Brookline Village.
- The Dutch House
The Dutch House is a historic house at 20 Netherlands Road in Brookline, Massachusetts.It was built in 1893 as part of the World's Fair in Chicago or and is one of the only surviving buildings. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.-References:...
, one of only five surviving buildings from the World's Columbian ExpositionThe World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
of 1893 was relocated to Brookline.
- John Goddard House
John Goddard House is a historic house at 235 Goddard Avenue in Brookline, Massachusetts.It was built in 1767 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.-References:...
, an historic house at 235 Goddard Avenue, was built in 1767 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
See also
Chestnut Hill Points of InterestChestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located six miles west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity, but unlike most of them, it encompasses parts of three separate municipalities, each of...
.
Notable residents
- Jeff Adrien
Jeff Adrien is an American professional basketball player. He is a 6'7" forward. Adrien formerly served as captain for the University of Connecticut Huskies.-High school:...
(born 1986), University of ConnecticutThe admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
HuskiesThe Connecticut Huskies is the name of the men's college basketball team representing the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, Connecticut, USA. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big East Conference...
captain and power forwardPower forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...
- Eddie Andelman
Eddie Andelman is an American sports radio talk show host. He has worked over 40 years in sports talk radio in Boston and has appeared on over 100 sports stations all over the country.- Career :...
, sports radio host and businessman. Moved to Brookline as child. Brookline High grad.
- Larz Anderson
Larz Anderson III was a wealthy American businessman and diplomat who briefly served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan ....
, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
AmbassadorAn ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- William Aspinwall (1743–1823), surgeon, member of the Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
and Massachusetts SenateThe Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...
- Ray Atherton
Ray Atherton was a United States diplomat who served as the first United States Ambassador to Canada .-Biography:Ray Atherton was born in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1883. He was educated at Harvard College, graduating with a B.A. in 1905. He then moved to Paris to study architecture, becoming...
(1883–1960), first United States Ambassador to Canada was born and raised in Brookline
- Saul Bellow
Saul Bellow was a Canadian-born Jewish American writer. For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts...
, Nobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning novelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist, lived the last 12 years of his life in Brookline.
- Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
, professional basketball player, lived in Brookline while he played for the Boston CelticsThe Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
- Ran Blake
Ran Blake is an American pianist and composer from Springfield, Massachusetts. In a career that spans five decades, Blake has created a unique niche in improvised music as an artist and educator...
, jazz pianist and composer
- Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
, lived in Brookline as a child, is mayor of New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
- Zabdiel Boylston
Zabdiel Boylston, FRS was a physician in the Boston area. He apprenticed with his father, an English surgeon named Thomas Boylston. He also studied under the Boston physician Dr...
, physician who introduced inoculation against smallpox to the North American colonies in 1721
- Richard Burgin
For the Polish-American violinist,, see Richard BurginRichard Burgin is an American fiction writer, editor, composer, critic, and academic. He has published fourteen books, with one more forthcoming, and since 1996 has been professor of Communication and English at St. Louis University...
, author, editor of Boulevard (magazine)Boulevard magazine, published by St. Louis University, is an American literary magazine that publishes award-winning prose and poetry. Boulevard has been called "one of the half-dozen best literary journals" by Poet Laureate Daniel Hoffman in The Philadelphia Inquirer.- Overview :Richard Burgin...
.
- Michael A. Burstein
Michael A. Burstein is an American writer of science fiction. He was born in New York City, and grew up in the neighborhood of Forest Hills in the borough of Queens. He attended Hunter College High School in Manhattan...
(born 1970), science fiction writer
- Stanley Cavell
Stanley Louis Cavell is an American philosopher. He is the Walter M. Cabot Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value at Harvard University.-Life:...
(born 1926), professor of philosophy, winner of the MacArthur FellowThe MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
- Herman Chernoff
Herman Chernoff is an American applied mathematician, statistician and physicist formerly a professor at MIT and currently working at Harvard University.-Education:* Ph.D., Applied Mathematics, 1948. Brown University....
(born 1923), statistician
- B. D. Colen, photographer and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
- Ida Conquest
Ida Conquest was a leading lady of Broadway in the late 19th century and early 20th century.-Appearance & family:...
, actress
- Zach Cone, creator and player of Biker Boy
Biker Boy is a fictional superhero character created and played by Zach Cone. Biker Boy promotes bicycling as an alternative to walking and driving, and primarily aims to increase the use of helmets, among both children and adults...
.
- James Driscoll, professional golfer on the PGA Tour
- Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
(born 1933), former Governor of MassachusettsThe Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
and 1988 Democratic Presidential candidate
- Theo Epstein
Theo Nathan Epstein is the President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs.On November 25, 2002, he became the youngest GM in the history of Major League Baseball when the Boston Red Sox hired him at the age of 28...
(born 1973), Chicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
President of Baseball Operations and former Boston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
General ManagerGeneral manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
- Hank Eskin, webmaster of Where's George?
Where's George? is a website that tracks the natural geographic circulation of American paper money. Its popularity has led to the establishment of a number of other currency tracking websites , sites that track other objects—such as used books—and it has been used in at least one research paper to...
- Frederick Perry Fish
Frederick Perry Fish was an American lawyer and executive who served as president of American Telephone & Telegraph Corporation from 1901 to 1907. He was the founder of the law firm now known as Fish & Richardson....
(died 1930), pioneering intellectual property attorney
- Kenny Florian
Kenneth Alan Florian is a Peruvian-American mixed martial artist who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, and is known for his cerebral approach to the sport based on his meticulous game plans and...
, professional mixed martial artist
- Terry Francona
Terry Jon Francona , nicknamed "Tito," is a former Major League Baseball manager and a former player. He was a first baseman and outfielder in the majors from 1981 to 1990. After retiring as a player, he managed several minor league teams in the 1990s before managing the Philadelphia Phillies for...
, former manager of the Boston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
- Edward Fredkin
Edward Fredkin is an early pioneer of digital physics. In recent work, he uses the term digital philosophy . His primary contributions include his work on reversible computing and cellular automata...
, digital physics pioneer, inventor of the trieIn computer science, a trie, or prefix tree, is an ordered tree data structure that is used to store an associative array where the keys are usually strings. Unlike a binary search tree, no node in the tree stores the key associated with that node; instead, its position in the tree defines the...
data structure, the Fredkin gateThe Fredkin gate is a computational circuit suitable for reversible computing, invented by Ed Fredkin. It is universal, which means that any logical or arithmetic operation can be constructed entirely of Fredkin gates...
and the Billiard-Ball ComputerA billiard ball computer, also known as a conservative logic circuit, is an idealized model of a reversible mechanical computer based on newtonian dynamics, proposed in 1982 by Edward Fredkin and Tommaso Toffoli...
Model for reversible computingReversible computing is a model of computing where the computational process to some extent is reversible, i.e., time-invertible. A necessary condition for reversibility of a computational model is that the transition function mapping states to their successors at a given later time should be...
.
- Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons is an American sportswriter, media personality, and a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA.-Education:...
, baseball writer and ESPN commentator.
- King Gillette, inventor of the safety razor
- Sheldon Lee Glashow
Sheldon Lee Glashow is a Nobel Prize winning American theoretical physicist. He is the Metcalf Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Boston University.-Birth and education:...
(born 1932), Nobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning physicist
- Robert R. Glauber
Robert R. Glauber is a Lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a visiting professor at the Harvard Law School. He is the former Chairman, President, Board Member and Chief Executive Officer of NASD. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance from 1989 to 1992...
, Harvard faculty, former Chairman of NASDNASD may refer to:*National Agricultural Safety Database, maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention*National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dockers, a British trade union...
- John Goddard, (1730–1816), the first wagon master general of the Army under the command of George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and Brookline's most notable PatriotPatriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
.
- Robert Goldwyn
Robert Malcolm Goldwyn , born in Worcester, Massachusetts, was an author, activist, Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and Chief of Plastic Surgery at the Beth Israel Hospital from 1972 to 1996. He was the editor-in-chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for 25 years.-Medical...
(1930–2010), editor-in-chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for 25 years, Professor of SurgerySurgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
at Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
, and Chief of Plastic SurgeryPlastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
at the Beth Israel HospitalBeth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts is a major flagship teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital and New England Deaconess Hospital...
- Ellen Goodman
Ellen Goodman is an American journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist.- Career :Goodman worked as a researcher and reporter for Newsweek magazine between 1963 and 1965, and has worked as an associate editor at the Boston Globe since 1967.In 1998, Goodman received the Elijah...
(born 1941), American journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist
- John Hodgman
John Kellogg Hodgman is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require, and That Is All, he is known for his personification of a PC in contrast to Justin Long's personification of a Mac in...
(born 1971), author and contributor for This American LifeThis American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
and The Daily ShowThe Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
- Levi Yitzchak Horowitz
Levi Yitzchak HeLevi Horowitz was a rabbi and the second Rebbe of the Boston Hasidic dynasty founded by his father, Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz...
, (1921–2009), the Bostoner Rebbe
- Richard Jones, US ambassador to Israel, lived in Brookline for a couple of years, with his family.
- John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
(1917–1963), President of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. Born in Brookline where he lived his first 10 years. Baptized at and attended St. Aidan's Church. Attended Edward Devotion SchoolThe Edward Devotion Elementary School, affectionately known as "Devo," is a public elementary school located at 345 Harvard Street, Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. The school was founded in 1894 on land bequeathed to the town by Edward Devotion , and is probably named for his eponymous grandfather ...
, a Brookline public school, from kindergarten until the beginning of 3rd grade, then Noble and GreenoughThe Noble and Greenough School, commonly known as Nobles, is a coeducational, nonsectarian day and boarding school for students in grades seven through twelve. It is located on a campus in Dedham, Massachusetts. The current enrollment of 550 students includes a balance of boys and girls, of whom...
Lower School and its successor Dexter SchoolFounded in 1926, the Dexter School is an independent school for boys located in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. Its campus is also home to its sister school, Southfield, an independent school for girls founded in 1992....
, a Brookline private school for boys through 4th grade. Moved with family to RiverdaleRiverdale is an affluent residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx in New York City. Riverdale contains the northernmost point in New York City.-History:...
, New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in September 1927.
- Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
(1925–1968), Attorney GeneralIn most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
, US SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, brother of President John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. Born in Brookline.
- Louise Andrews Kent
Louise Andrews Kent was an American author. She was born in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1886 and graduated from Simmons College School of Library Science in 1909, where she was president of her senior class and editor of the college paper. She became a newspaper columnist and author of...
(1886–1969), author
- Robert Kraft
Robert K. Kraft is an American business magnate. He is the Chairman and was the Chief Executive Officer of The Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development and a private equity portfolio...
(born 1942), New England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
owner
- Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer is an American writer and mountaineer, primarily known for his writing about the outdoors and mountain-climbing...
(born 1954, raised in CorvallisCorvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 54,462....
, OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
), author of Into the Wild and Into Thin AirInto Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster is a 1997 bestselling non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It details the author's presence at Mount Everest during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster when eight climbers were killed and several others were stranded by a 'rogue storm'...
, columnist for Outside magazine
- Michio
Michio Kushi born 1926 in Japan, helped to introduce modern macrobiotics to the United States in the early 1950s. He has lectured about philosophy, spiritual development, health, food and diseases at conferences and seminars all over the world.-Background:After World War II, Kushi studied with...
and Aveline Kushi (http://www.michiokushi.org), leaders of the worldwide macrobiotic movement
- Abbott Lawrence Lowell
Abbott Lawrence Lowell was a U.S. educator and legal scholar. He served as President of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933....
(1856–1943), former president of Harvard University
- Lester Lefton
Lester A. Lefton is an American academic and higher education administrator. He is the President of Kent State University . He has 35 years of experience in higher education, having served for 25 years at a public institution and nine at private institutions...
, president of Kent State UniversityKent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
- Amy Lowell
Amy Lawrence Lowell was an American poet of the imagist school from Brookline, Massachusetts who posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926.- Personal life:...
(born 1874), Poet
- Eddie Lowery
Edward Edgar Lowery was an American caddy, amateur golfer, and businessman.Lowery is best known as the 10-year-old caddy of Francis Ouimet during the 1913 U.S. Open held at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, which Ouimet won in a playoff over Harry Vardon and Ted Ray...
(1903–1984), CaddyIn golf, a caddy is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives insightful advice and moral support. A good caddy is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the best strategy in playing it. This includes knowing overall yardage, pin...
of Francis Ouimet during the 1913 U.S. Open held in Brookline.
- Larry Lucchino
Lawrence Lucchino, is the current President and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, and a member of John W...
(born 1945), co-owner of Boston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
- Henry J. Meade
Henry J. Meade was Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1925, Meade was an ordained Roman Catholic priest. He graduated from Saint Anselm College and Saint John's Seminary. Meade died on June 22, 2006.-Career:...
, Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force
- Jean Baker Miller (1927–2006) Psychiatrist and author of Toward a New Psychology of Women (1976)
- Roger Miller
Roger Miller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for co-founding the groups Mission of Burma and Alloy Orchestra.His main instruments are guitar and piano...
, rock musician
- George Minot
George Richards Minot was an American medical researcher who shared the 1934 Nobel Prize with George Hoyt Whipple and William P. Murphy for their pioneering work on pernicious anemia.-Life:...
(1885–1950), winner if the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Marvin Minsky
Marvin Lee Minsky is an American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence , co-founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, and author of several texts on AI and philosophy.-Biography:...
(born 1927), Artificial IntelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
theorist, inventor, author, professor
- Abelardo Morell
Abelardo Morell is a Boston-based photographer.Morell and his family fled Cuba in 1962, moving to New York City. Morell earned a Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College in 1977, and a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University School of Art in 1981...
(born 1948), photographer, professor at Massachusetts College of Art
- William Murphy, (1892–1987), winner if the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Nicholas Nixon
Nicholas Nixon is a photographer, known for his work in portraiture and documentary photography, and for championing the use of the 8x10 inch view camera.-Biography:...
, photographer, professor at Massachusetts College of Art
- Joel Mark Noe
Joel Noe , MD, FACS, was a pioneering plastic surgeon at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts who founded one of the nation's first burn units and argon laser programs...
, (1943-1991), pioneering reconstructive plastic surgeon, longtime resident
- Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
(born 1963), former host of Late Night with Conan O'BrienLate Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
and The Tonight ShowThe Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
, and current host of Conan
- Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
(1822–1903), landscape architectA landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
- Francis Ouimet
Francis DeSales Ouimet was an American golfer, who is frequently referred to as the "father of amateur golf" in the United States. He won the 1913 U.S. Open, and was the first American elected Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews...
(1893–1967), amateur golf player who won the US OpenThe United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
in 1913
- Esther Petrack
Esther Alexandra Petrack is a Jerusalem-born, American fashion model. Petrack was a contestant on Cycle 15 of the American reality TV show America's Next Top Model...
, contestant on America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15 is the fifteenth cycle of America's Next Top Model and the ninth season to be aired on The CW network. It premiered on September 8, 2010...
- Almira Pitman née Hollander (1854–1939), author of After Fifty Years: An Appreciation, and a Record of a Unique Incident and daughter-in-law of the Hawaiian noblewoman Kinooleoliliha
Kinooleoliliha Pitman née Hoolulu , also written as Kinoole-o-Liliha, was a member of the royal family during the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was known as Mrs. Pitman after her marriage. In the Hawaiian language, kino 'ole means "thin" and liliha can mean "heartsick".-Life:Her father was High Chief...
and Massachusetts-born businessman Benjamin PitmanBenjamin Pitman, , was an American businessman who married Hawaiian nobility.-Life:Benjamin Pitman born October 12, 1815 in Salem, Massachusetts....
- Henry Varnum Poor
Henry Varnum Poor was a financial analyst and founder of H.V. and H.W. Poor Co, which later evolved into the financial research and analysis bellwether, Standard & Poor's....
, creator of the Standard & Poor'sStandard & Poor's is a United States-based financial services company. It is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. It is well known for its stock-market indices, the US-based S&P 500, the Australian S&P/ASX 200, the Canadian...
Index
- Norman Ramsey
Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr. was an American physicist. A physics professor at Harvard University since 1947, Ramsey also held several posts with such government and international agencies as NATO and the United States Atomic Energy Commission...
(born 1915), winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Rishi Reddi
Rishi Reddi is an American author. She was born in Hyderabad, India and grew up in the United Kingdom and the United States.Reddi is a graduate of Swarthmore College, where she studied English, and the Northeastern University School of Law. In 2001, she earned a masters degree in creative writing...
, short story writer
- Steve Rochinski
Stephen Rochinski is a self-taught bebop jazz guitarist and teacher.He has worked and performed with Tal Farlow, Attila Zoller, Jimmy Raney, Pete and Conte Candoli, Tim Hagans, Joe Lovano, Greg Hopkins, Gary Foster, Pat Harbison, Jeff Sherman, Hal Melia, Chip Stephens, Hank Marr, Brad Goode, Joe...
(born 1954), American jazz guitarist, recording artist, composer, arranger, author, jazz educator.
- Neil Rolde
Neil Rolde is a Maine historian and former politician. Rolde grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts and was taunted for being Jewish. He has written 16 books, most of which covered the history of Maine. He studied history at Yale University and began his career as a political aide to future governor...
, (born 1932), writer and Maine politician
- Dan Rosenthal (born 1966), Assistant to the President in the White House under Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
- Conrad Salinger
Conrad Salinger was an American arranger, orchestrator and composer, who studied classical composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He is credited with orchestrating nine productions on Broadway from 1931 to 1938, and over seventy-five motion pictures from 1931 to 1962...
(1901–1962), long-time orchestrator for MGM musicals
- Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903–1993), noted Jewish scholar
- Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Henry Summers is an American economist. He served as the 71st United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He was Director of the White House United States National Economic Council for President Barack Obama until November 2010.Summers is the...
, economist, president of Harvard University 2001–06
- Paul Szep
Paul Michael Szep is a celebrated political cartoonist. He was the chief editorial cartoonist at the Boston Globe from 1967–2001 and has been syndicated to hundreds of newspapers worldwide. He won the Pulitzer Prize twice for Editorial Cartooning in 1974 and 1977. Szep also won the prestigious...
(born 1941), two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist
- James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, American musicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, owns a home in Brookline
- Michelle Thomas
Michelle Thomas was an American actress. She was best known for her roles as Justine Phillips on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, and as Myra Monkhouse on the ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters.-Early life and career:Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Thomas grew up in Montclair, New Jersey and was an...
(1968–1998), Actress who played Justine Phillips on The Cosby ShowThe Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
and Myra Monkhouse on Family Matters
- Mike Wallace
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
(born 1918), TV journalist, best known for 60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
- Stephen Walt
Stephen Martin Walt is a professor of international affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Among his most prominent works are and . He coauthored The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy with John Mearsheimer.-Education and career:In 1983, he received a Ph.D. in...
, Professor of International Relations, Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
- Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
(born 1929), television commentator and journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
- Robert Weinberg
Robert Allan Weinberg is a Daniel K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research at MIT and American Cancer Society Research Professor; his research is in the area of oncogenes and the genetic basis of human cancer. Weinberg is also affiliated with the Broad Institute and is a founding member of the...
, cancer researcher known for discovering a gene that causes normal cells to form tumors, and the first tumor suppressor gene
- David Weinberger
David Weinberger is an American technologist, professional speaker, and commentator, probably best known as co-author of the Cluetrain Manifesto David Weinberger (born 1950 in New York) is an American technologist, professional speaker, and commentator, probably best known as co-author of the...
, notable blogger, internet expert, and political consultant
- The Weld
The Weld family is an extended family of Boston Brahmins most remembered for the philanthropy of its members. The Welds have many connections to Harvard University, the Golden Age of Sail, the Far East , the history of Massachusetts, and American history in general.William Weld, former Governor of...
family
- William A. Wellman
William Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Although Wellman began his film career as an actor, he worked on over 80 films, as director, producer and consultant but most often as a director, notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation...
, b. 1896 in Brookline, director, WingsWings is a silent film about World War I fighter pilots, produced by Lucien Hubbard, directed by William A. Wellman and released by Paramount Pictures. Wings was the first film, and the only silent film, to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Wings stars Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and...
- Mikey Welsh
Michael Edward "Mikey" Welsh was an American artist and musician, best known as the former bassist of Weezer. He played with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo during Cuomo's time in Boston during the hiatus in the band Homie...
, former bassistA bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
for the rock band WeezerWeezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
, moved to Brookline in his youth
- Gary K. Wolf, creator of Roger Rabbit
- Moshe Yanai
Moshe Yanai is an Israeli electrical engineer . He is also a technologist and inventor, businessman, entrepreneur, aviator , investor, multi-millionaire, and philanthropist...
, electrical engineer and entrepreneur
See also
- Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
- List of Registered Historic Places in Brookline, Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
- Representative town meeting format
A representative town meeting is a form of municipal legislature particularly common in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont....
- Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
External links