Brookline, Massachusetts

Brookline is a suburban town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, on the western edge of Boston and east of Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732. Brookline was first settled in 1638 as a hamlet in Boston, but was incorporated as a separate town in 1705.

Etymology
Brookline was known as the hamlet of Muddy River and was considered a part of Boston until the Town of Brookline was independently incorporated in 1705. (The Muddy River was used as the Brookline-Boston border at incorporation.) It is said that the name derives from a farm therein once owned by Judge Samuel Sewall.

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.

The northern part of Brookline, roughly north of the D-line tracks, is urban in character, as highly walkable and transit rich. The population density of this part of town is nearly 20,000 PD/sqmi, on a par with the densest neighborhoods in nearby Cambridge, Somerville, and Chelsea, and just below that of central Boston's residential districts (Back Bay, South End, Fenway, etc.). The overall density of Brookline, which also includes suburban districts and grand estates south of the D-line, is higher than that of many of the largest cities in the United States, especially in the South and West. Brookline borders Newton (part of Middlesex County) to the west and Boston (part of Suffolk County) to the east, north, south, northwest, and southwest; it is therefore non-contiguous with any other part of Norfolk County. While Brookline shares similarities with many northeastern urban neighborhoods, such as Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Brookline is unique in that it is a separate town. Brookline became an exclave in 1873, when the neighboring town of West Roxbury was annexed by Boston (and left Norfolk County to join Suffolk County) and Brookline refused to be annexed by Boston after the Brookline-Boston annexation debate of 1873.

Brookline separates the bulk of the city of Boston (except for a narrow neck or corridor near the Charles River) from its westernmost neighborhoods of Allston-Brighton, which had been the separate town of Brighton until annexed by Boston in 1873.

Settlement and borders


Once part of Algonquian territory, Brookline was first settled by European colonists in the early 17th century. The area was an outlying part of the colonial settlement of Boston and known as the hamlet of Muddy River. In 1705, it was incorporated as the independent town of Brookline. The northern and southern borders of the town were marked by two small rivers or brooks, hence the name. The northern border with Brighton (which was itself part of Cambridge until 1807) was Smelt Brook. (That name appears on maps starting at least as early as 1852, but sometime between 1888 and 1925 the brook was covered over. ) The southern 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 River belonging to Boston, cutting Brookline off from the shoreline. It also put certain lands north of the Muddy River on the Boston side, including what are now Kenmore Square and Packard's Corner. The current northern border follows Commonwealth Avenue, and on the northeast, St. Mary's Street. When the Emerald Necklace of parks and parkways was designed for Boston by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s, the Muddy River was integrated into the Riverway and Olmsted Park, creating parkland accessible by both Boston and Brookline residents.

Throughout its history, Brookline has resisted being annexed by Boston, in particular during the Brookline-Boston annexation debate of 1873. The neighboring towns of West Roxbury and Hyde Park connected Brookline to the rest of Norfolk County until they were annexed by Boston in 1874 and 1912, respectively, putting them in Suffolk County. Brookline is now separated from the remainder of Norfolk County.

Brookline has long been regarded as a pleasant and verdant environment. In 1841 edition of the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Andrew Jackson Downing described the area this way:

The whole of this neighborhood of Brookline is a kind of landscape garden, and there is nothing in America of the sort, so inexpressibly charming as the lanes which lead from one cottage, or villa, to another. No animals are allowed to run at large, and the open gates, with tempting vistas and glimpses under the pendent boughs, give it quite an Arcadian air of rural freedom and enjoyment. These lanes are clothed with a profusion of trees and wild shrubbery, often almost to the carriage tracks, and curve and wind about, in a manner quite bewildering to the stranger who attempts to thread them alone; and there are more hints here for the lover of the picturesque in lanes than we ever saw assembled together in so small a compass.

The town has since seen considerable development, though still does maintain a considerable amount of greenspace in certain neighborhoods.

Transportation and economy
Two branches of upper Boston Post Road, established in the 1670s, passed through Brookline. Brookline Village was the original center of retail activity. In 1810, the Boston and Worcester Turnpike, now Massachusetts Route 9, was laid out, starting on Huntington Avenue in Boston and passing through the village center on its way west.

Steam railroads came to Brookline in the middle of the 19th century. The Boston and Worcester Railroad was constructed in the early 1830s, and passed through Brookline near the Charles River. The rail line is still in active use, now paralleled by the Massachusetts Turnpike. The Highland Branch of the Boston and Albany Railroad was built from Kenmore Square to Brookline Village in 1847, and was extended into Newton in 1852. In the late 1950s, this would become the Green Line "D" Branch.

The portion of Beacon Street west of Kenmore Square was laid out in 1850. Streetcar tracks were laid above ground on Beacon Street in 1888, from Coolidge Corner to Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, via Kenmore Square. In 1889, they were electrified and extended over the Brighton border at Cleveland Circle. They would eventually become the Green Line "C" Branch.

Thanks to the Boston Elevated Railway system, this upgrade from horse-drawn carriage to electric trolleys occurred on many major streets all over the region, and made transportation into downtown Boston faster and cheaper. Much of Brookline was developed into a streetcar suburb, with large brick apartment buildings sprouting up along the new streetcar lines.

Neighborhoods
The neighborhoods, squares, and other notable areas of Brookline include:


 * Aspinwall Hill
 * Beaconsfield
 * Brookline Hills
 * Brookline Village
 * Buttonwood Village
 * Brookline High School, Near Pierce District
 * Chestnut Hill, which also extends into Newton and the Boston neighborhoods of West Roxbury and Brighton
 * Cleveland Circle
 * Coolidge Corner
 * Corey Farm
 * Corey Hill
 * Cottage Farm
 * Fisher Hill
 * Larz Anderson Park
 * Longwood (across the Muddy River from the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston)
 * North Brookline
 * "Pill Hill"
 * The Point (originally "Whiskey Point")
 * Putterham Circle
 * The Runkle District
 * South Brookline ("Sobro")
 * Saint Mary
 * Washington Square

There are many neighborhood associations, some of which overlap.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 57,107 people, 25,594 households, and 12,233 families residing in the town. The population density was 8,409.7 people per square mile (3,247.3/km²). There were 26,413 housing units at an average density of 3,889.6 per square mile (1,501.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 81.08% White, 2.74% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 12.83% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from other races, and 2.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.53% of the population.

There were 25,594 households out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.2% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the town the population was spread out with 16.6% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 37.3% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $66,711, and the median income for a family was $92,993. Males had a median income of $56,861 versus $43,436 for females. The per capita income for the town was $44,327. About 4.5% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.3% of those under the age of 18 and 7.5% of those ages 65 and older.

Government
Brookline is governed by a representative (elected) town meeting, which is the legislative body of the town, and a five-person Board of Selectmen that 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 at Brooklinema.gov.

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 School 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 (METCO) system.

There are eight elementary schools in the Brookline Public School system: Baker School, Devotion, Driscoll, Heath, 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 More. Currently it is being used by Runkle School, while being renovated. Runkle should be moving back approximately September 2012. Once Runkle moves out Devotion School will be moving into the Old LIncoln.

The student body is 57.8% White, 18.2% Asian, 6.7% Black, 9.6% Hispanic, and 7.6% Multi-race. Approximately 30% of students come from homes where English is not the first language. (Data from Massachusetts department of education 2011–2012 Year)

Private schools
Several private primary and secondary schools,are located in Brookline.


 * Beaver Country Day School
 * Brimmer and May School
 * Dexter School
 * Maimonides School
 * The Park School
 * Southfield School

Higher education
Several institutes of higher education are located in Brookline, including:


 * Pine Manor College
 * Hellenic College
 * Newbury College
 * Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
 * parts of Boston University
 * parts of Boston College
 * part of the Wheelock College campus
 * Northeastern University's Parsons Field
 * Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis
 * The New England Institute of Art

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 meeting form of government since its 1705 incorporation. It also has an overnight on-street parking ban which is unusual for such a dense area. Among its many unusual resources, Brookline has its own working farm (with farm stand), the oldest country club in the nation, a town golf course, a park on a hillside overlooking Boston with an open-air skating rink and transportation museum, as well as numerous neighborhood parks and playgrounds scattered throughout the town.

Its major retail centers, including Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village, Washington Square, Cleveland Circle and the Chestnut Hill Shopping Center, are pedestrian-oriented shopping areas with a variety of stores, restaurants and malls.

Although predominantly residential, Brookline is somewhat open to new commercial development, and has amended its zoning to encourage limited growth along its major thoroughfares.

Brookline is known in the Boston area for its large population of Russian and Israeli 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-Brighton. This neighborhood is home to at least three area synagogues, including the first Jewish congregation in Massachusetts (Ohabei Shalom, founded in Boston in 1842 and located in Brookline since the 1920s), and a number of Jewish-themed restaurants and stores. Brookline is also known for its excellent schools, which are supported in large part by property taxes—the town has one of the highest property tax burdens in the country.

While residents of Brookline tend toward liberal values, economic and cultural factors keep this section of the Boston metropolitan area less diverse than its neighbor across the Charles River, Cambridge. 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 School nearby is built on land donated by Edward Devotion's grandson.

Points of interest

 * There were two stops on the Underground Railroad in Brookline: 9 Toxteth Street and 182 Walnut Street.


 * The Country Club, an exclusive sporting club in the town, was the first private club in the United States formed exclusively for outdoor activities. It is most famous as a golf club; it was one of the five clubs that formed what is now the United States Golf Association and has hosted the U.S. Open three times and the Ryder Cup Matches once.


 * "Fairsted", the 100-year-old business headquarters and design office for renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and the Olmsted Brothers firm, has been carefully preserved as the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, on 7 acre of landscaped grounds at 99 Warren Street. The town is home to part of Olmstead's Emerald Necklace of park systems.


 * Larz Anderson Park is in Brookline on the 64 acre estate once owned by Larz Anderson and Isabel Weld Perkins. The park contains the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, the oldest automobile collection in the country, as well as Putterham School, a one-room schoolhouse from colonial times.


 * The birthplace of John F. Kennedy stands in Brookline and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is maintained by the National Park Service and is open to the public from May through September.


 * St. Aidan's Church was where John F. Kennedy was 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' 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, which is located at the crossing of Beacon Street 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. Pierce Building (now occupied by a Walgreens), 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, one of only five surviving buildings from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 was relocated to Brookline.


 * John Goddard House, an historic house at 235 Goddard Avenue, was built in 1767 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Notable residents

 * Jeff Adrien (born 1986), University of Connecticut Huskies captain and power forward
 * Eddie Andelman, sports radio host and businessman. Moved to Brookline as child. Brookline High grad.
 * Larz Anderson, United States Ambassador to Japan
 * Ray Atherton (1883–1960), first United States Ambassador to Canada was born and raised in Brookline
 * Saul Bellow, Nobel Prize-winning novelist, lived the last 12 years of his life in Brookline.
 * Larry Bird, professional basketball player, lived in Brookline while he played for the Boston Celtics
 * Ran Blake, jazz pianist and composer
 * Michael Bloomberg, lived in Brookline as a child, is mayor of New York City
 * Zabdiel Boylston, physician who introduced inoculation against smallpox to the North American colonies in 1721
 * Richard Burgin, author, editor of Boulevard (magazine).
 * Michael A. Burstein (born 1970), science fiction writer
 * Stanley Cavell (born 1926), professor of philosophy, winner of a MacArthur Fellowship
 * Herman Chernoff (born 1923), statistician
 * Ida Conquest, actress
 * Zach Cone, creator and player of Biker Boy.
 * Michael Dukakis (born 1933), former Governor of Massachusetts and 1988 Democratic Presidential candidate
 * Theo Epstein (born 1973), Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations and former Boston Red Sox General Manager
 * Hank Eskin, webmaster of Where's George?
 * Frederick Perry Fish (died 1930), pioneering intellectual property attorney
 * Kenny Florian, professional mixed martial artist
 * Terry Francona, former manager of the Boston Red Sox
 * Edward Fredkin, digital physics pioneer, inventor of the trie data structure, the Fredkin gate and the Billiard-Ball Computer Model for reversible computing
 * Peter Gammons, baseball writer and ESPN commentator
 * King Gillette, popularizer of the safety razor
 * Sheldon Lee Glashow (born 1932), Nobel Prize-winning physicist
 * Robert R. Glauber, Harvard faculty, former Chairman of NASD
 * Robert Goldwyn (1930–2010), editor-in-chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for 25 years, Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and Chief of Plastic Surgery at the Beth Israel Hospital
 * Ellen Goodman (born 1941), American journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist
 * John Hodgman (born 1971), author and contributor for This American Life and The Daily Show
 * Levi Yitzchak Horowitz (1921–2009), the Bostoner Rebbe
 * Richard Jones, US ambassador to Israel, lived in Brookline for a couple of years, with his family.
 * Jeffrey Karp, biomedical researcher
 * John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), President of the United States. Born in Brookline where he lived his first 10 years. Baptized at and attended St. Aidan's Church. Attended Edward Devotion School, a Brookline public school, from kindergarten until the beginning of 3rd grade, then Noble and Greenough Lower School and its successor Dexter School, a Brookline private school for boys through 4th grade. Moved with family to Riverdale, New York in September 1927.
 * Eunice Kennedy Shriver, (1921–2009), sister of President John F. Kennedy. Born in Brookline.
 * Patricia Kennedy Lawford, (1924–2006), sister of President John F. Kennedy. Born in Brookline.
 * Robert F. Kennedy (1925–1968), Attorney General, US Senator, brother of President John F. Kennedy. Born in Brookline.
 * Jean Kennedy Smith (born 1928), sister of President John F. Kennedy. Born in Brookline.
 * Louise Andrews Kent (1886–1969), author
 * Robert Kraft (born 1942), New England Patriots owner
 * Jon Krakauer (born 1954, raised in Corvallis, Oregon), author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air, columnist for Outside magazine
 * Michio and Aveline Kushi, leaders of the worldwide macrobiotic movement
 * Abbott Lawrence Lowell (1856–1943), former president of Harvard University
 * Lester Lefton, president of Kent State University
 * Amy Lowell (born 1874), Poet
 * Eddie Lowery (1903–1984), Caddy of Francis Ouimet during the 1913 U.S. Open held in Brookline.
 * Larry Lucchino (born 1945), co-owner of Boston Red Sox
 * Arthur Chute McGill (1926-1980), theologian, philosopher, author and editor, Harvard professor 1971-80
 * Henry J. Meade, Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Air Force
 * Jean Baker Miller (1927-2006), psychoanalyst, feminist, author, social activist
 * Roger Miller, rock musician
 * George Minot (1885–1950), winner if the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
 * Marvin Minsky (born 1927), Artificial Intelligence theorist, inventor, author, professor
 * Abelardo Morell (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, photographer, professor at Massachusetts College of Art
 * Joel Mark Noe (1943–1991), pioneering reconstructive plastic surgeon, longtime resident
 * Conan O'Brien (born 1963), television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer
 * Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), landscape architect
 * Francis Ouimet (1893–1967), amateur golf player who won the US Open in 1913
 * Esther Petrack, contestant on America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15
 * Henry Varnum Poor, creator of the Standard & Poor's Index
 * Norman Ramsey (1915-2011), winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physics
 * Rishi Reddi, short story writer
 * Steve Rochinski (born 1954), American jazz guitarist, recording artist, composer, arranger, author, jazz educator
 * Neil Rolde (born 1932), writer and Maine politician
 * Dan Rosenthal (born 1966), Assistant to the President in the White House under Bill Clinton
 * Conrad Salinger (1901–1962), long-time orchestrator for MGM musicals
 * Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903–1993), noted Jewish scholar
 * Lawrence Summers, economist, president of Harvard University 2001–06
 * Paul Szep (born 1941), two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist
 * James Taylor, American musician, owns a home in Brookline
 * Michelle Thomas (1968–1998), Actress who played Justine Phillips on The Cosby Show and Myra Monkhouse on Family Matters
 * Mike Wallace (1918–2012), TV journalist, best known for 60 Minutes
 * Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations, Harvard University
 * Barbara Walters (born 1929), television commentator and journalist
 * Robert Weinberg, cancer researcher known for discovering a gene that causes normal cells to form tumors, and the first tumor suppressor gene
 * David Weinberger, notable blogger, internet expert, and political consultant
 * The Weld family
 * William A. Wellman (born 1896 in Brookline), director, Wings
 * Mikey Welsh, former bassist for the rock band Weezer, moved to Brookline in his youth
 * Gary K. Wolf, creator of Roger Rabbit
 * Moshe Yanai, electrical engineer and entrepreneur

References in popular culture

 * Beacon Street in Brookline is the setting of the Beacon Street Girls, a series of children's books for pre-teen girls.
 * Scenes from The Next Karate Kid were filmed in Brookline.
 * The Brookline Trunk by Louise Andrews Kent is a historical novel set in and around Brookline. It traces the history of Brookline from 1650 to 1955.
 * Jonathan Coulton's song "Brookline" refers to the town.