Parks of Brookline, Massachusetts

On the same day that I visited Frederick Law Olmsted NHS, I perused a pair of parks in Brookline, MA.

Brookline Reservoir Park

The first of these parks was Brookline Reservoir Park, located down the street from Fairstead. The park consisted of a wide, paved trail around a resevoir, benches along the trail, shade trees, a thin lawn, and geese. A sign near the onstreet parking area details the history behind the park.

According to this sign and the park’s webpage, the reservoir was constructed to hold drinkable water for Boston residents and completed around 1848. The use of iron in the gatehouse has special recognization, as the building has oldest extant iron roof, wrought iron roof trusses, and cast iron staircase built for public use in the United States.

This historic building might have been demolished in 1902 if local residents had not put $50,000 toward the $150,000 price to save the reservoir. Purchesers included John Charles Olmstead, the nephew and adopted son of the architect and an architect himself, along with Pulitzer Prize winning poet Amy Lowell, abolitionist and inventor Edward Atkinson, and groundbreaking obstetrician William Channing. Since then, the park has been a recreation area for residents.

The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2015 as Brookline Reservoir of the Cochituate Aqueduct. While its paperwork has not yet been digitized, the Library of Congress holds old photographs of the area.

Larz Anderson Park & Putterham School

The largest park in Brookline, and many times the size of Brookline Reservoir across town, Larz Anderson Park boasts a community garden, bridges, fountains, pavilions, and an outdoor skating rink. Named after the diplomat whose carriage house turned auto museum still stands on the property, the park was gifted to the city by Anderson's wife, Isabel Weld Anderson, in 1951. The city lost little time tearing down the historic mansion and replacing the Italian gardens with a skating rink by 1958. This was probably not what Mrs. Anderson had in mind.

An added bonus to the park is Putterham School, named for its original location in the village of Putterham and now owned by the Brookline Historical Society. This one-room schoolhouse was built about a mile down the road at the corner of Newton and Grove streets in 1768. The building was expanded throughout the 19th and early 20th century, occasionally acting as a Catholic church or synagogue instead of a school, until it was brought to its current location in 1966.

The remains of the estate are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Larz Anderson Park Historic District. Like Brookline Reservoir, its paperwork has not yet been digitized.

Conclusion

If you have spent the day in Brookline and are looking for a place to relax, these parks are the perfect setting for picnics, leisurely walks, and learning about local history. Most paths are paved and accessible, with no rocks or tree branches, along with plenty of seating and shady spaces.

Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 8/10

Accessibility: 9/10