Larz Anderson Park
Encyclopedia
Larz Anderson Park is a wooded, landscaped, and waterscaped 64 acres (25.9 ha) parkland in Brookline, Massachusetts
that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The southwest corner of the park is in Boston
. The park contains playing fields, picnic areas, gardens, waterways, an ice skating rink, and two sites of special interest:
As Larz Anderson Park is about a half-mile away from Jamaica Pond
it might also be considered a de facto extension of Boston's Emerald Necklace
into the town of Brookline.
. The Boston skyline can be seen from atop the main ridge and the open, rolling hills make the park one of the best kite-flying
spots in the area. For a small fee, Brookline grants permits for the use of picnic equipment including a charcoal grill and table for up to twelve guests.
The cavernous Carriage House houses the Larz Anderson Auto Museum. A self-guided walking tour brings visitors past museum, the Putterham School, the water garden
, Chinese garden
, Japanese garden
, Italian garden and bowling green
.
The Jack Kirrane Ice Skating Rink, located on the site of the Andersons' Italian Garden, is named for Jack Kirrane
, a Brookline native and member of the 1960 gold-medal winning United States Olympic Ice Hockey team.
, in 1899 the estate was purchased from a fellow Weld Family member by socialite heiress Isabel Weld Perkins
and her Paris
-born diplomat husband Larz Anderson
.
Crowning this Brookline property was a twenty-five room mansion overlooking the Boston skyline which the Andersons named "Weld" to honor Isabel's grandfather. They remodeled it to resemble Lulworth Castle
, an ancestral home associated with the Welds. This became the Andersons' home for summers and Christmas holidays.
Their gardens, designed by Charles A. Platt
, were featured in a 1904 issue of Town and Country
. The accompanying photographs show lavishly ornate terraces laid out in Europe
style. After Larz served as Ambassador
to Japan
, the Andersons improved the beautiful property still further and added the Chinese and Japanese gardens, a water garden with koi
, sculpture, a polo
field, topiary
and an outdoor theater.
When Isabel Anderson died in 1948, she bequeathed this entire estate to the Town of Brookline, including mansion, land, and a collection of vehicles. Although the mansion became damaged beyond affordable repair and was torn down in 1955, the immense Carriage House and the elegant "Temple of Love" on the shore of the water garden still reflect the charm and magnificence of Weld when the Andersons were alive.
Today the park is used for the home cross country course for Brookline High School
.
. In donating these along with the property, Isabel stipulated that these be known as the "Larz Anderson Collection." Fourteen of the original thirty-two vehicles remain in the collection and are still on display as part of the Larz Anderson Auto Museum
Since the grand opening over fifty years ago, the museum
has grown into a major New England
non-profit educational institution with community events, lectures, children’s programs, walking tours of the park, and an ever-changing series of exhibits on the Andersons, motor vehicles, and the automobile's impact on society and culture.
From June until October, the school is open from noon until 3 pm on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. Members of the Brookline Historical Society will also open the museum by appointment for school groups and other visitors.
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:...
that is listed on 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...
. The southwest corner of the park is in Boston
Boston
Boston 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...
. The park contains playing fields, picnic areas, gardens, waterways, an ice skating rink, and two sites of special interest:
- Larz Anderson Auto MuseumLarz 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 United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - Putterham SchoolPutterham 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 timesColonial AmericaThe 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...
As Larz Anderson Park is about a half-mile away from Jamaica Pond
Jamaica Pond
Jamaica Pond is a kettle pond, part of the Emerald Necklace of parks in Boston designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The pond and park are in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, close to the border of Brookline...
it might also be considered a de facto extension of Boston's 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...
into the town of Brookline.
Features
Set amidst a landscape of ponds and trees are athletic fields, historic buildings and a skating rinkIce rink
An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, figure skating and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows...
. The Boston skyline can be seen from atop the main ridge and the open, rolling hills make the park one of the best kite-flying
Kite
A kite is a tethered aircraft. The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is generated when air flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind...
spots in the area. For a small fee, Brookline grants permits for the use of picnic equipment including a charcoal grill and table for up to twelve guests.
The cavernous Carriage House houses the Larz Anderson Auto Museum. A self-guided walking tour brings visitors past museum, the Putterham School, the water garden
Water garden
Water gardens, also known as aquatic gardens, are a type of man-made water feature. A water garden is defined as any interior or exterior landscape or architectural element whose primarily purpose is to house, display, or propagate a particular species or variety of aquatic plant...
, Chinese garden
Chinese garden
The Chinese garden, also known as a Chinese classical garden, is a style of landscape garden which has evolved for more than three thousand years, and which is inspired by Chinese literature, Chinese painting and Chinese philosophy...
, Japanese garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
, Italian garden and bowling green
Bowling green
A bowling green is a finely-laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls.Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on them...
.
The Jack Kirrane Ice Skating Rink, located on the site of the Andersons' Italian Garden, is named for Jack Kirrane
Jack Kirrane
John Joseph "Jack" Kirrane, Jr. is an American former ice hockey player. Kirrane was a member of the United States 1948 Winter Olympics and 1960 Winter Olympics teams, winning the gold medal in 1960. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987...
, a Brookline native and member of the 1960 gold-medal winning United States Olympic Ice Hockey team.
History
Cleared and developed as a farm in the 17th century by the WeldsWeld family
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...
, in 1899 the estate was purchased from a fellow Weld Family member by socialite heiress Isabel Weld Perkins
Isabel Weld Perkins
Isabel 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...
and her Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
-born diplomat husband Larz Anderson
Larz Anderson
Larz Anderson III was a wealthy American businessman and diplomat who briefly served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan ....
.
Crowning this Brookline property was a twenty-five room mansion overlooking the Boston skyline which the Andersons named "Weld" to honor Isabel's grandfather. They remodeled it to resemble Lulworth Castle
Lulworth Castle
Lulworth Castle, in East Lulworth, Dorset, situated south of Wool, is an early 17th century mock castle. The stone building has now been re-built as a museum....
, an ancestral home associated with the Welds. This became the Andersons' home for summers and Christmas holidays.
Their gardens, designed by Charles A. Platt
Charles A. Platt
Charles Adams Platt was a prominent artist, landscape gardener, landscape designer, and architect of the "American Renaissance" movement. His garden designs complemented his domestic architecture.-Early career:...
, were featured in a 1904 issue of Town and Country
Town and Country
- Locations in the United States :*Town 'n' Country, Florida*Town and Country, Missouri*Town and Country, Washington*Town & Country Village , California- Other uses :...
. The accompanying photographs show lavishly ornate terraces laid out in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
style. After Larz served as Ambassador
Ambassador
An 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 Japan
Japan
Japan 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...
, the Andersons improved the beautiful property still further and added the Chinese and Japanese gardens, a water garden with koi
Koi
or more specifically , are ornamental varieties of domesticated common carp that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens....
, sculpture, a polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
field, topiary
Topiary
Topiary is the horticultural practice of training live perennial plants, by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, perhaps geometric or fanciful; and the term also refers to plants which have been shaped in this way. It can be...
and an outdoor theater.
When Isabel Anderson died in 1948, she bequeathed this entire estate to the Town of Brookline, including mansion, land, and a collection of vehicles. Although the mansion became damaged beyond affordable repair and was torn down in 1955, the immense Carriage House and the elegant "Temple of Love" on the shore of the water garden still reflect the charm and magnificence of Weld when the Andersons were alive.
Today the park is used for the home cross country course for Brookline High School
Brookline High School
Brookline 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...
.
Auto Museum
The Andersons assembled an extraordinary collection of horse-drawn carriage, sleighs and vintage motorcarsHistory of the automobile
The history of the automobile begins as early as 1769, with the creation of steam engined automobiles capable of human transport. In 1806, the first cars powered by an internal combustion engine running on fuel gas appeared, which led to the introduction in 1885 of the ubiquitous modern gasoline-...
. In donating these along with the property, Isabel stipulated that these be known as the "Larz Anderson Collection." Fourteen of the original thirty-two vehicles remain in the collection and are still on display as part of the Larz Anderson Auto Museum
Since the grand opening over fifty years ago, the museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
has grown into a major New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
non-profit educational institution with community events, lectures, children’s programs, walking tours of the park, and an ever-changing series of exhibits on the Andersons, motor vehicles, and the automobile's impact on society and culture.
Putterham School
Built 1768 elsewhere in Brookline and moved to Larz Anderson Park in 1966, the Putterham School is now an educational museum displaying books, teaching aids, schoolroom equipment, exhibits related to the move and other articles of historical interest.From June until October, the school is open from noon until 3 pm on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. Members of the Brookline Historical Society will also open the museum by appointment for school groups and other visitors.