{"nrhp_refnum":"78000460","name":"Longwood Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Chapel, St. Marys, Monmouth, and Kent Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brookline","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.34201950000005,"lon":-71.11181446762586,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-09-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Landscape Architecture","Architecture","Religion","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 52-acre, ten-block residential historic district in eastern Brookline, Massachusetts, close to downtown Boston. It developed from the mid-19th century and is bounded by St. Mary's, Beacon, Kent and Chapel Streets.","why_significant":"The district is argued to be significant both architecturally and historically. It grew into one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in metropolitan Boston after 1850 under the development of David Sears and Amos A. Lawrence. It holds a wide range of mid-to-late 19th century domestic architecture, townhouses, churches and Longwood Towers, and was home to several notable Boston figures.","narrative":"Longwood is a 52-acre residential district in eastern Brookline, a short distance from downtown Boston. Its regular street grid, mature trees and Longwood Square, with its European beech grove, reflect planned suburban development that began around 1850. Financier David Sears and businessman Amos A. Lawrence developed much of the land after the Brookline Branch Railroad arrived. The streets hold a varied collection of mid-to-late 19th century houses in Mansard, Queen Anne, Shingle and Georgian Revival styles, along with Gothic Revival brick townhouses on Monmouth Court designed by George Putnam in 1876. Christ's Church, built in 1860 of Roxbury pudding stone, and the Church of Our Saviour, built in 1867 with Tiffany chancel windows, anchor the district's religious history. Longwood Towers, a Gothic Revival apartment complex from 1923, adds a larger-scale element. The district was listed for its architectural variety and its ties to Sears, Lawrence and other prominent Bostonians who lived there.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"George Putnam (Gothic Revival townhouses, 1876); Alexander Estey (Church of Our Saviour); Hartwell, Richardson and Driver (1905 Georgian Revival house); Kenneth M. DeVos (Longwood Towers); Peabody and Stearns (Boit House); Samuel Glaser; others listed in the inventory","architectural_style":"Mansard, Queen Anne, Shingle Style, Georgian Revival, Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Largely residential and well maintained, with a few educational facilities, two churches, apartment buildings and one restaurant; a small number of modern intrusions.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.947594-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/26/7962/63796226/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/78000460.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000460/b35ee7d8ba-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000460/b35ee7d8ba-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"User:Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BrooklineMA_LongwoodHD.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796226","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longwood_Historic_District_(Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6674525"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/longwood-historic-district-78000460/"}