Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. 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 is in a different county: the town of Brookline
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
in Norfolk County
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:...
; the city of Boston in Suffolk County
Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Suffolk 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...
(parts of its neighborhoods of Brighton
Brighton, Boston, Massachusetts
Brighton is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located in the northwest corner of the city. It is named after the town of Brighton in the English city of Brighton and Hove...
and West Roxbury
West Roxbury, Massachusetts
West 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 the city of Newton
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton 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:...
in Middlesex County
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
-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...
(all of its village of Chestnut Hill). Chestnut Hill's borders are roughly defined by the Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
. Chestnut Hill is not strictly a topographical designation; the name refers to a series of small hills that overlook the 135-acre (546,000 m²) Chestnut Hill Reservoir
Chestnut Hill Reservoir
Chestnut Hill Reservoir is a reservoir created in 1870 on existing marshes and meadowland to supplement the city of Boston's water needs. It is surrounded by Chestnut Hill, a neighborhood which consists of parts of Boston, Brookline, and Newton. The reservoir, though, is located entirely within...
rather than one particular hill. Chestnut Hill is perhaps best known as the home of Boston College
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 Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
route, as well as the Collegiate Gothic canvas of the world famous architect, Frederick Law Olmstead.
History
While most of Chestnut Hill remained farmland well into the early twentieth century, the area around the reservoir was developed, in 1870, by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law OlmstedFrederick 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...
, designer of Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
in New York
New York
New 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...
and of the Emerald Necklace
Emerald Necklace
The 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...
in Boston and Brookline.
Because of the significance of its landscape and architecture, the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, in 1986, designated parts of Chestnut Hill as historic districts. Examples of Colonial, Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
, Shingle
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
, Tudor Revival, and Victorian architectural
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
styles are evident in the village's country estates and mansions. The Boston College campus is itself an early example of Collegiate Gothic architecture.
Geographical
- Hammond Pond ReservationHammond Pond ReservationHammond Pond Reservation is a protected woodland park in Newton, Massachusetts. It features Hammond Pond fishing, hiking trails and formations of sandstone conglomerate and Roxbury puddingstone which are popular for rock climbing....
, an extensive forest preserve and protected wetlands (Newton)
Transport
Chestnut Hill is served by three branches of the Green LineGreen Line (MBTA)
The Green Line is a streetcar system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States. It is the oldest line of Boston's subway, which is known locally as the 'T'. The Green Line runs underground downtown and on the surface in outlying...
of the MBTA, Boston's light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
system. Stations include:
- B Line: Chestnut Hill Avenue, South Street, Boston College
- C Line: Cleveland Circle
- D Line: Reservoir, Chestnut Hill
Registered historic districts
- Boston College Main Campus Historic DistrictBoston College Main Campus Historic DistrictBoston College Main Campus Historic District located at 140 Commonwealth Avenue in the village of Chestnut Hill in Newton, Massachusetts was added to the National Register of Historic Places on .-National Register listing:...
—140 Commonwealth Ave. (in Newton) - Chestnut Hill Historic District—roughly bounded by Middlesex Rd., Reservoir Ln., Denny Rd., Boylston St. and Dunster Rd. (added November 17, 1985) (mostly in Brookline, but includes small parts of Boston and Newton)
- Chestnut Hill Reservoir Historic DistrictChestnut Hill Reservoir Historic DistrictChestnut Hill Reservoir Historic District is located between Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, just east of the Boston College Main Campus Historic District and the Boston-Newton city line...
—within Boston city limits - Old Chestnut Hill Historic DistrictOld Chestnut Hill Historic DistrictOld Chestnut Hill Historic District is a historic district along Hammond Street and Chestnut Hill Road roughly bounded by Beacon Street and Essex Road, and Suffolk Road in Newton, Massachusetts.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986....
—along Hammond St. and Chestnut Hill Rd. roughly bounded by Beacon St. and Essex Rd., and Suffolk Rd. (added October 4, 1986), within Newton city limits
Notable natives
- Robert KraftRobert KraftRobert 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...
, owner of the New England PatriotsNew 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... - Mary Baker EddyMary Baker EddyMary Baker Eddy was the founder of Christian Science , a Protestant American system of religious thought and practice religion adopted by the Church of Christ, Scientist, and others...
, founder of the Christian Science Church (Newton, MA) - Reginald FessendenReginald FessendenReginald Aubrey Fessenden , a naturalized American citizen born in Canada, was an inventor who performed pioneering experiments in radio, including early—and possibly the first—radio transmissions of voice and music...
, called the father of broadcast radio, the Reginald A. Fessenden HouseReginald A. Fessenden HouseThe Reginald A. Fessenden House, 45 Waban Hill Road in the village of Chestnut Hill in Newton, Massachusetts, was the residence from 1906 or earlier to 1932 of the inventor Reginald A. Fessenden, called "the father of radio broadcasting," because he was the first to broadcast the human voice and...
in Chestnut Hill (Newton) is a US National Landmark as well as a US Historic Place. - Theo EpsteinTheo EpsteinTheo 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...
, general manager of the Chicago CubsChicago 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... - Terry FranconaTerry FranconaTerry 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 SoxBoston 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"... - Alice Hathaway Lee RooseveltAlice Hathaway Lee RooseveltAlice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt was the first wife of Theodore Roosevelt. They had one child, Alice Lee Roosevelt.- Early Life and Courtship by Theodore Roosevelt :...
, the first wife of Theodore RooseveltTheodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, and mother of Alice Roosevelt LongworthAlice Roosevelt LongworthAlice Lee Roosevelt Longworth was the oldest child of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. She was the only child of Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee.... - Louis K. LiggettLouis K. LiggettLouis K. Liggett was an American drug store magnate who founded Rexall and was later chairman of United Drug Company.-Early life:...
, drugstore magnate (Newton, MA) - Leverett SaltonstallLeverett SaltonstallLeverett A. Saltonstall was an American Republican politician who served as the 55th Governor of Massachusetts and as a United States Senator .-Biography:...
, Governor of Massachusetts (1939–1945) and United States Senator (1945–1967)