Brookline, Massachusetts

{{distinguish|text=Brooklyn, a borough of New York City}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}

{{Infobox settlement

| name = Brookline, Massachusetts

| official_name =

| nickname =

| motto =

| image_skyline = Coolidge Corner South Side, Brookline, MA, USA - panoramio.jpg

| imagesize =

| image_caption = S. S. Pierce Building in the Coolidge Corner neighborhood

| image_seal = Seal of Brookline, Massachusetts.png

| image_flag =

| image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Brookline highlighted.svg

| mapsize = 250px

| map_caption = Location as an exclave of Norfolk County in Massachusetts

| pushpin_map = Boston Metro#Massachusetts#USA

| pushpin_label = Brookline

| coordinates = {{coord|42|19|54|N|71|07|18|W|display=inline,title}}

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = {{Flag|United States|size=23px}}

| subdivision_type1 = State

| subdivision_type2 = County

| subdivision_name1 = {{Flag|Massachusetts|size=23px}}

| subdivision_name2 = Norfolk

| established_title = Settled

| established_date = 1638

| established_title2 = Incorporated

| established_date2 = 1705

| established_title3 =

| established_date3 =

| government_type = Representative town meeting

| leader_title = Town Administrator

| leader_name = Charles Carey

| leader_title1 = Select Board

| leader_name1 = Bernard Greene (Chair)
David Pearlman (Vice-Chair)
John VanScoyoc
Paul Warren
Michael Rubenstein

| unit_pref = Imperial

| area_total_km2 = 17.7

| area_total_sq_mi = 6.8

| area_land_km2 = 17.6

| area_land_sq_mi = 6.8

| area_water_km2 = 0.1

| area_water_sq_mi = 0.1

| population_as_of = 2020

| settlement_type = Town

| population_total = 63,191

| population_density_km2 = 3,590.4

| population_density_sq_mi = 9,292.8

| elevation_m = 15

| elevation_ft = 50

| timezone = Eastern

| utc_offset = −5

| timezone_DST = Eastern

| utc_offset_DST = −4

| postal_code_type = ZIP Codes

| postal_code = {{ubl|02445–02446 (Brookline)|02447 (Brookline Village)|02467 (Chestnut Hill)}}

| area_code = 617/857

| blank_name = FIPS code

| blank_info = 25-09175

| blank1_name = GNIS feature ID

| blank1_info = 0619456

| footnotes =

| website = {{URL|www.brooklinema.gov}}

}}

Brookline ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|r|ʊ|k|l|aɪ|n|audio=en-us-Brookline.oga}}) is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Allston, Fenway–Kenmore, Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, and West Roxbury. The city of Newton borders Brookline to the west. It is known for being the birthplace of John F. Kennedy.

The land which comprises what is today Brookline was first settled in 1638 as a hamlet in Boston, known as Muddy River (as it was settled on the west side of the river of the same name). It was incorporated as a separate town with the name of Brookline in 1705. In 1873, Brookline had a contentious referendum in which it voted to remain independent from Boston. The later annexations of Brighton and West Roxbury, both in 1874, and that of Hyde Park in 1912, eventually made Brookline into an exclave of Norfolk County. The town has a history of racial discrimination in zoning, which has led to a disproportionately wealthy population and a very low percentage of Black residents, at only 2.5%.

Several streets and railroads were laid out in the town in the 19th century. Today, these are Massachusetts Route 9 (locally Boylston St., which cuts the town in two) and the various branches of the MBTA's Green Line. To the north of Route 9, the area is fairly urban; the southern part is much less so.

At the time of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 63,191.{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/brooklinetownnorfolkcountymassachusetts,US/PST045219|title=U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: United States|website=Census.gov}} It has been the most populous municipality in Massachusetts to have a town (rather than city) form of government since Framingham changed to a city in 2018, following a 2017 referendum.{{Cite web |date=April 5, 2017 |title=Framingham votes to become a city |url=https://www.mma.org/framingham-votes-to-become-a-city/ |access-date=March 11, 2023 |website=Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) |language=en-US}}

History

File:Dorchester 1858.jpg

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. It was bounded by a section of the Charles River between the now covered Smelt Brook in the west and the Muddy River in the east.

In 1843, a racially restrictive covenant in Brookline forbade resale of property to "any negro or native of Ireland."{{cite book|last=Rothstein|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Rothstein|title=The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America|title-link=The Color of Law|year=2017|place=New York|publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation|page=78|isbn=978-1631494536}}{{cite web|last=Santucci|first=Larry|title=How Prevalent Were Racially Restrictive Covenants in 20th Century Philadelphia? A New Spatial Data Set Provides Answers|series=Discussion Papers (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia)|year=2019|publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia|page=7

|url=https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/frbp/assets/consumer-finance/discussion-papers/dp19-05.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418081957/https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/frbp/assets/consumer-finance/discussion-papers/dp19-05.pdf |archive-date=April 18, 2021 |url-status=live

|access-date=May 28, 2023

|doi=10.21799/frbp.dp.2019.05|s2cid=212806978}}{{Cite web |title=Documenting Racially Restrictive Covenants in 20th Century Philadelphia |url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/cityscpe/vol22num3/ch11.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221151046/https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/cityscpe/vol22num3/ch11.pdf |archive-date=December 21, 2020 |url-status=live}}

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. Boston annexed the strip of land along the Charles River, cutting Brookline off from the shoreline. The current northern border follows Commonwealth Avenue, and on the northeast, St. Mary's Street. When Frederick Law Olmsted designed the Emerald Necklace of parks and parkways for Boston 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 Boston–Brookline 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 the 1841 edition of the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Andrew Jackson Downing described the area this way:

{{blockquote|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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/bonsai/beginnings.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202082944/http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/bonsai/beginnings.html|url-status=dead|title=Arnold Arboretum Website|archive-date=February 2, 2007}}}}

Brookline residents were among the first in the country to propose extending the vote to women. Benjamin F. Butler, in his 1882 campaign for governor, advocated the idea.John Gould Curtis, History of the Town of Brookline Massachusetts, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York, 1933, pg.305

=Transportation history=

Two branches of upper Boston Post Road, established in the 1670s, passed through Brookline. Brookline Village was the original center of retail activity.[http://www.town.brookline.ma.us/Planning/brooklinevillage.html Brookline Village] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008104829/http://www.town.brookline.ma.us/Planning/brooklinevillage.html |date=October 8, 2007 }} 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 became 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.brooklinehistoricalsociety.org/history/presComm/beaconSt.asp|title=History of Beacon St.|website=Brooklinehistoricalsociety.org|access-date=October 24, 2019}} In 1889, they were electrified and extended over the Brighton border at Cleveland Circle. They would eventually become the Green Line C branch.

Due 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.

=Housing and zoning history=

Brookline has a history of racial covenants that blocked people of color and some ethnic minorities to own housing there. In the early 20th century, Brookline banned the construction of triple-decker housing, which was a form of housing popular with poor immigrant communities in the United States. Advocates for the ban justified the ban with anti-immigrant rhetoric.{{Cite web |title=Brookline homes: One wealthy liberal town reckons with its past |url=https://apps.bostonglobe.com/2023/10/special-projects/spotlight-boston-housing/brookline-identity-crisis/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |website=The Boston Globe}}

In 1922, Prescott F. Hall, a Brookline resident who co-founded the Immigration Restriction League, petitioned the Brookline government to exclusively allow single-family housing. In 1924, the Brookline government enacted a zoning change to only permit single-family housing in most of the territory of Brookline. Many of the present-day apartment buildings in Brookline were constructed prior to this zoning change.

In 1970, the state authorized rent control in municipalities with more than 50,000 residents.{{cite web | url = https://rentcontrolhistory.com/chapters/rent-control-was-enacted-in-1920/ | title = Rent control was enacted in 1920. | publisher = Mass Landlords, Inc | accessdate = January 3, 2024 }} Brookline, Lynn, Somerville, and Cambridge subsequently adopted rent control.{{r|enacted}} Brookline began decontrolling units in 1991.{{Cite news | title = Once Rejected by Voters, Rent Control Back on the Table in Massachusetts | date = January 13, 2020 | publisher = NewBostonPost | first = Tom |last = Joyce }}

Brookline has a recent history of blocking multifamily housing construction. Since the 1970s, new housing construction has plunged in Brookline. It has enacted zoning changes that ban multifamily apartment buildings and limit the height of buildings. Proposals for new development frequently face onerous lawsuits. These restrictions on housing supply have led housing prices in Brookline to skyrocket in recent decades. In 2023, the median sale price for a single-family home in Brookline was $2.51 million, and the median condo price was $927,500.

As a consequence of restrictions on housing supply, Brookline is overwhelmingly wealthy. Only 2.5% of its population is Black, which is the second-lowest share of Black people in any community in the Boston area. Only 14% of Brookline teachers, 21% of Brookline police, and 22% of Brookline firefighters live in Brookline, as median salaries for these kinds of jobs make housing in Brookline largely unaffordable.

=Etymology=

Brookline was known as the hamlet of Muddy River and was considered 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.) The name is said to derive from a farm therein once owned by Judge Samuel Sewall.{{cite book

| author = Dudley, Dean (1871)

| title =Brookline, Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury Directory for 1871; Containing a General Directory of the Residents, Town Registers, Business Directory, Map, &c., &c.

| year = 1871

| publisher=Dean Dudley & Co.

| location = Boston

| pages = 15–16

| quote = The name of Brookline came, as the late Rev. Samuel Sewall (great grandson of Judge Samuel Sewall) conjectures, from one of the farms within its bounds, namely the Gates' farm, hired of Judge Sewall, which was probably called Brookline because Smelt Brook, running through it, formed the line between that and one of the neighboring farms, and this brook also separated that farm from Cambridge. Judge Sewall, in his journal, often mentions the name "Brookline" before the town was incorporated. Rev. Mr. S. also thinks it was Judge Sewall who suggested that name for the town.}} Originally, the property of CPT John Hull and Judith Quincy Hull. Judge Sewall came into possession of this tract, which embraced more than 350 acres, through Hannah Quincy Hull (Sewall) who was the Hull's only daughter. John Hull in his youth lived in Muddy River Hamlet, in a little house which stood near the Sears Memorial Church. Hull removed to Boston, where he amassed a large fortune for those days. Judge Sewall probably never lived on his Brookline estate.{{Cite web|url=http://www.brooklinehistoricalsociety.org/history/proceedings/1903/1903_Sewall.html|title=1903 Proceedings of the Brookline Historical Society|website=Brooklinehistoricalsociety.org}}

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Brookline has a total area of {{convert|17.7|km2|abbr=on|order=flip}}, {{convert|0.1|km2|abbr=on|order=flip}} (0.44%) of which is covered by water.

The northern part of Brookline, roughly north of the D-line tracks, is urban in character, highly walkable and transit rich. The population density of this northern part of town is nearly {{convert|20,000|PD/sqmi|-3}}, similar to the densest neighborhoods in nearby Cambridge, Somerville, and Chelsea, Massachusetts (the densest cities in New England), and slightly lower than 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 still 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) in all other directions; it is therefore noncontiguous with any other part of Norfolk County. Brookline became an exclave of Norfolk County in 1873, when the neighboring town of West Roxbury was annexed by Boston (and left Norfolk County to join Suffolk County). Brookline refused to be annexed by Boston after the Boston–Brookline 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.

=Neighborhoods=

Many neighborhood associations are active, some of which overlap.{{cite web |title=Map - Brookline Neighborhood Alliance |url=http://www.town.brookline.ma.us/gis/maplib/neighborhoodmaps/neighborhoods-all.pdf |access-date=July 24, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811155332/http://www.town.brookline.ma.us/gis/maplib/neighborhoodmaps/neighborhoods-all.pdf |archive-date=August 11, 2007 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.brooklinema.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=632:neighborhood-associations&catid=259:neighborhood-associations |title=Brookline Town website: Neighborhood Associations |website=Brooklinema.gov |access-date=December 31, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220001407/http://www.brooklinema.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=632%3Aneighborhood-associations&catid=259%3Aneighborhood-associations |archive-date=February 20, 2012 }}

Neighborhoods, squares, and notable areas of Brookline include:

{{Refbegin|30em}}

{{Refend}}

=Climate=

The climate of Brookline is humid continental Dfa.

{{Weather box

|location = Brookline, MA

|single line = Y

|Jan record high F = 72.0

|Feb record high F = 70.0

|Mar record high F = 89.0

|Apr record high F = 94.0

|May record high F = 97.0

|Jun record high F = 100.0

|Jul record high F = 104.0

|Aug record high F = 102.0

|Sep record high F = 102.0

|Oct record high F = 90.0

|Nov record high F = 83.0

|Dec record high F = 76.0

|Jan high F = 36.0

|Feb high F = 39.0

|Mar high F = 45.0

|Apr high F = 56.0

|May high F = 66.0

|Jun high F = 76.0

|Jul high F = 82.0

|Aug high F = 80.0

|Sep high F = 72.0

|Oct high F = 61.0

|Nov high F = 52.0

|Dec high F = 41.0

|year high F= 58.83

|Jan record low F = -30.0

|Feb record low F = -18.0

|Mar record low F = -8.0

|Apr record low F = 11.0

|May record low F = 31.0

|Jun record low F = 41.0

|Jul record low F = 50.0

|Aug record low F = 46.0

|Sep record low F = 34.0

|Oct record low F = 25.0

|Nov record low F = -2.0

|Dec record low F = -17.0

|Jan low F = 22.0

|Feb low F = 25.0

|Mar low F = 31.0

|Apr low F = 41.0

|May low F = 50.0

|Jun low F = 60.0

|Jul low F = 65.0

|Aug low F = 65.0

|Sep low F = 57.0

|Oct low F = 47.0

|Nov low F = 38.0

|Dec low F = 28.0

|year low F= 44.08

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.36

|Feb precipitation inch = 3.38

|Mar precipitation inch = 4.32

|Apr precipitation inch = 3.74

|May precipitation inch = 3.49

|Jun precipitation inch = 3.68

|Jul precipitation inch = 3.43

|Aug precipitation inch = 3.35

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.44

|Oct precipitation inch = 3.94

|Nov precipitation inch = 3.99

|Dec precipitation inch = 3.78

|year precipitation inch = 43.9

|source 1 = Weather.com{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/02445 | publisher=Open Publishing |year=2009 |title=Brookline, MA Weather Data |access-date=February 21, 2014}}

|date=August 2010

}}

Brookline falls under the USDA 6b Plant Hardiness zone.{{cite web

|url = http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/#

|title = USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

|year = 2012

|publisher = Agricultural Research Center, PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University; USDA

|access-date = February 21, 2014

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140227032333/http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/

|archive-date = February 27, 2014

|df = mdy-all

}}

Demographics

{{See also|List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income}}

{{Historical populations | type=USA | state=not collapsed

| 1790|484

| 1800|605

| 1810|784

| 1820|900

| 1830|1043

| 1840|1365

| 1850|2516

| 1860|5164

| 1870|6650

| 1880|8057

| 1890|12103

| 1900|19935

| 1910|27792

| 1920|37748

| 1930|47490

| 1940|49786

| 1950|57589

| 1960|54044

| 1970|58886

| 1980|55062

| 1990|54718

| 2000|57107

| 2010|58732

| 2020|63191

| 2024*|63925

| footnote=: * = population estimate. {{Historical populations/Massachusetts municipalities references}}{{cite web | title=1950 Census of Population | volume=1: Number of Inhabitants | at=Section 6, Pages 21–7 through 21-9 (pp. 135–136), Massachusetts Table 4. Population of Urban Places of 10,000 or more from Earliest Census to 1920 | publisher=Bureau of the Census | access-date=July 12, 2011 | year=1952 | url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/23761117v1ch06.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609073753/http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/23761117v1ch06.pdf |archive-date=June 9, 2011 |url-status=live}}{{cite web | title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020−2022| publisher=United States Census Bureau | access-date=November 24, 2023 | url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html}}

}}

As of the census{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }} of 2010, 58,732 people, 24,891 households, and 12,233 families were residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|8,701.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The 26,448 housing units had an average density of {{convert|3,889.6|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 73.3% White, 3.4% African American, 0.12% Native American, 15.6% Asian (6.7% Chinese, 2.6% Indian, 2.3% Korean, and 1.8% Japanese), 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 5.0% of the population (0.9% Mexican and 0.8% Puerto Rican). (Source: 2010 Census Quickfacts)

Of the 25,594 households, 21.9% had children under 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 not families. About 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the town, the age distribution was 16.6% under 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 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.

The median income{{cite web | url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/brooklinecdpmassachusetts | title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Brookline CDP, Massachusetts }} for a household for 2021 in the town was $83,318, and for a family was $122,356. 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. The poverty rate of Brookline's residents rate rose from 9.3% in 2000 to 13.1% in 2010.{{Cite web|url= http://brookline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Understanding-Brookline-Emerging-Trends-and-Changing-Needs.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116203828/http://brookline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Understanding-Brookline-Emerging-Trends-and-Changing-Needs.pdf |archive-date=November 16, 2021 |url-status=live |title=Understanding Brookline|author=Brookline Community Foundation|date=2013 }} and then reduced to 10.2% in 2021

Arts and culture

  • Brookline, along with the nearby Boston neighborhood of Brighton and the city of Newton, is a cultural hub for the Jewish community of Greater Boston.{{cite web

|url = http://www.jewishdatabank.org/Studies/details.cfm?StudyID=449

|title = Greater Boston 2005 Community Study

|last = Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston

|year = 2005

|website = Berman Jewish Databank

|access-date = February 23, 2014

}}

  • The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Metropolis of Boston is headquartered in Brookline."[http://www.goarch.org/archdiocese/metropolises Metropolises]" . Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Retrieved on February 9, 2014. "162 Goddard Avenue, Brookline, MA 02445 "
  • Brookline Village is home to Puppet Showplace Theater, New England's only dedicated puppet theater and center for puppetry arts. The theater is located in the historic 32 Station Street building directly across from the Brookline Village MBTA Green Line stop.
  • The four Poet Laureates of Brookline include: Judith Steinbergh, Jan Schreiber, Zvi Sesling, and, currently, Jennifer Barber.{{Cite web|url=http://www.brooklinearts.org/brookline-poet-laureate.html|title=Brookline Poet Laureate|website=Brookline Commission for the Arts}}
  • Along with Boston and Quincy, it has a large Irish American presence.{{Cite web |date=March 17, 2016 |title=Just how Irish is Boston? |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/17/just-how-irish-boston/aTIo00BOP5Nyw6WdHAgXSI/story.html |access-date=March 7, 2023 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}}

=Points of interest=

{{See also|Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts|label 1=Chestnut Hill Points of Interest}}

File:Overlooking Leverett Pond in Olmsted Park from the Brookline, MA side.JPG

These historic buildings are open to the public:

Other historic and cultural sites include:

  • 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. Although it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, St. Aidan's Church has been closed and converted into housing.
  • The Dutch House, one of only five surviving buildings from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 was relocated to Brookline.
  • Two stops on the Underground Railroad are in Brookline: 9 Toxteth Street and 182 Walnut Street.{{cite web|url=http://www.garrenshay.com/ur/Toxteth%20St.htm|title=The William Bowditch House|access-date=September 12, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070727204854/http://www.garrenshay.com/ur/Toxteth%20St.htm|archive-date=July 27, 2007}}{{cite web|url=http://www.garrenshay.com/ur/Walnut%20St.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031101005846/http://www.garrenshay.com/ur/Walnut%20St.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 1, 2003|title=The Samuel Philbrick House|access-date=September 12, 2007}}
  • 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 four times and the Ryder Cup matches once.
  • 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 Washington Square). It includes a number of historically significant sites, including the S.S. Pierce Building and the Coolidge Corner Theatre.{{Cite web|url=https://coolidge.org/|title=Virtual Screening Room | Coolidge Corner Theater|website=Coolidge.org}}
  • Brookline is home to part of Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace of park systems, including Olmsted Park.
  • The Puppet Showplace Theatre, one of the four oldest puppet theatres in the United States, is located in Brookline Village.

Government

Since 1916, Brookline has been governed by a representative town meeting, which is the town's legislative body, and a five-person select board, the town's executive branch.{{cite book |title=Annual report of the town officers of Brookline for the year ending December 31, 1915 |date=1916 |publisher=The Riverdale Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |page=74 |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreportofto1915broo/page/74/mode/2up?q=%22on+the+question%22&view=theater |access-date=February 5, 2024}}{{cite web |title=Select Board |url=https://www.brooklinema.gov/343/Select-Board |website=Brooklinema.gov|access-date=April 26, 2021}} Fifteen town meeting representatives are elected to three-year terms from each of the town's 17 precincts.{{cite web |title=Town Meeting |url=https://www.brooklinema.gov/264/Town-Meeting |website=brooklinema.gov |publisher=Town of Brookline, Massachusetts |access-date=February 5, 2024}} From 1705 to 1916, the town was governed by an open town meeting and a select board.

New and existing laws

In 2017, a Brookline Town Meeting voted to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day instead of Columbus Day.{{Cite web|url=https://patch.com/massachusetts/brookline/brookline-change-columbus-day-indigenous-peoples-day|title=Brookline To Change Columbus Day To 'Indigenous People's Day'|date=November 16, 2017|website=Patch.com}}

In 2019, Brookline banned the distribution of carry-out plastic bags at grocery stores and other businesses.{{Cite magazine |last=Ducharme |first=Jamie |date=December 9, 2021 |title=One Massachusetts Town Could shape the Future of Tobacco |url=https://time.com/6126252/brookline-tobacco-free-generation-law/ |access-date=January 31, 2022 |magazine=Time}}

In 2021, Brookline banned the sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes to anyone born after January 1, 2000, in Article 8.23 of the town bylaws, expanding on Massachusetts' existing prohibition on the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21. In March 2023, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the bylaw in the case Six Brothers Inc. v. Town of Brookline.{{Cite news |last=Stout |first=Matt |date=March 8, 2024 |title=Massachusetts' Highest Court Upholds Novel Brookline Rule Banning Tobacco Sales to Anyone Born This Century |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/03/08/metro/brookline-ban-tobacco-sales-born-after-1999-upheld-supreme-judicial-court |access-date=March 9, 2024 |work=The Boston Globe}}

Education

=Public schools=

{{Main|Public Schools of Brookline}}

File:Brookline High School, March 2022.JPG in March 2022]]

The town is served by the Public Schools of Brookline. The student body at Brookline High School includes students from more than 76 countries. Many students attend Brookline High from surrounding neighborhoods in Boston, such as Mission Hill and Mattapan through the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity system.

The eight elementary schools in the Brookline Public School system are: Baker School, Florida Ruffin Ridley School, Driscoll, Roland Hayes School, Lawrence School, Lincoln School, Pierce School, and Runkle School. 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 rented in 2009 as the venue for the play Sleep No More.

As of the 2012–13 school year, the student body was 57.4% White, 18.1% Asian, 6.4% Black, 9.9% Hispanic, and 8.2% multiracial. About 30% of students came from homes where English is not their first language.

=Private schools=

=Higher education=

File:BrooklineMA Roughwood PineManorCollege.jpg in 2011]]

Several institutes of higher education are located in Brookline.

Also, parts of the following are located in Brookline: Boston University including Wheelock College, Boston College, and Northeastern University's Parsons Field.

Newbury College closed in 2019.{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2018/12/14/newbury-college-to-close-amid-weighty-financial-challenges/ |title=Massachusetts college to close amid financial challenges |agency=AP |newspaper=Boston Herald |date=December 14, 2018 |access-date=December 14, 2018}}

Infrastructure

=Transportation=

==Light rail and subway==

Brookline is served by the C and D branches of the MBTA's Green Line trains, with inbound service to downtown Boston and outbound service to Newton. The B line runs just to the northwest of Brookline along Commonwealth Avenue, through the Boston University campus and into Allston-Brighton.

==Bus==

Brookline is served by several MBTA bus routes:

=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

=Fire department=

The town of Brookline is protected full-time by 158 professional firefighters of the Brookline Fire Department (BFD). It currently operates out of five fire stations located throughout the town, under the command of a deputy chief per shift. The BFD also operates a fire apparatus fleet of four engines, two ladders, one quint, one cross-staffed rescue (special operations), two squads, one special operations unit, one haz-mat decontamination trailer, two maintenance units, and numerous other special, support, and reserve units. The BFD responds to roughly 8,500 emergency calls annually. The current chief of the BFD is John F. Sullivan.{{cite web|url=http://www.brooklinema.gov/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D272%26Itemid%3D226 |title=Town of Brookline, Massachusetts: Fire Department |access-date=January 7, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107200749/http://www.brooklinema.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=272&Itemid=226 |archive-date=January 7, 2014 }}

=Cemeteries=

  • The Old Burying Ground, also known as Walnut Street Cemetery.{{Cite web|url=http://www.brooklinema.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=781:paos-pp-old-burying-ground&catid=647:paos-park-pages&Itemid=993|title=Old Burying Ground|date=July 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728143548/http://www.brooklinema.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=781:paos-pp-old-burying-ground&catid=647:paos-park-pages&Itemid=993|archive-date=July 28, 2013}} 1717 – 1.54 acres (Walnut Street at Chestnut Street)
  • Walnut Hills Cemetery{{Cite web|url=http://brooklinema.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=733&Itemid=1085|title=Cemetery Overview|date=October 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015005219/http://brooklinema.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=733&Itemid=1085|archive-date=October 15, 2012}} 1875 – 45.26 acres (Grove Street and Allandale Road)

Notable people

= Athletes =

= Ambassadors =

= Academics, scientists, and technologists =

= Musicians =

= Politicians =

= Writers =

= Other =

=In film=

|url = http://www.mafilm.org/made-in-mass/

|title = Productions made in Massachusetts

|publisher = MA Film Office

|access-date = February 23, 2014

}}

=In television=

  • June Osborne / Offred, the protagonist of The Handmaid's Tale (2017–present), is from Brookline.{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/recap/the-handmaids-tale-season-1-episode-2/|title='The Handmaid's Tale' Recap: The Business of Being Born|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=September 8, 2018|language=en}}

=In book=

  • Dr. Melisande Stokes, the protagonist of The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. time travels to Muddy River hamlet (first settlement of today Brookline).

Sister cities

Brookline is twinned with:

|url = http://www.brooklinesistercity.org

|title = Quezalguaque

|publisher = Brookline Sister City Project

|access-date = March 3, 2014

}}

See also

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Further reading

  • Ronald Dale Karr (2018). Between City and Country: Brookline, Massachusetts, and the Origins of Suburbia. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
  • Keith N. Morgan, Elizabeth Hope Cushing, and Roger G. Reed (2012). Community by Design: The Olmsted Firm and the Development of Brookline, Massachusetts. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
  • Larry Ruttman (2005). Voices of Brookine. Foreword by Michael Dukakis. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Peter E. Randall Publisher. {{ISBN|1-931807-39-6}}.