{"nrhp_refnum":"85003306","name":"Perkins Estate","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"450 Warren St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brookline","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.319681248500046,"lon":-71.143717139388,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-10-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Conservation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large residential estate at 450 Warren Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, centered on a Picturesque main house with a theatre wing, outbuildings and historic gardens. The house dates possibly from 1824 and probably from the 1850s, on land bought by Thomas Handasyd Perkins in 1799.","why_significant":"The estate is argued to be an outstanding example of nineteenth century Picturesque architecture, influenced by A.J. Downing. It is also associated with Thomas Handasyd Perkins and his family, who were prominent merchants and philanthropists. Its well-preserved eighteenth and nineteenth century landscaping and gardens add to its importance.","narrative":"This 22-acre residential estate on Warren Street in Brookline grew from land that merchant Thomas Handasyd Perkins bought in 1799. Its main house, probably given its present form in the 1850s and possibly designed by Edward C. Cabot, is a Picturesque building of stone, slate and wood with a fishscale-shingled second floor, five chimneys, irregular massing and a mansard roof. A small private theatre, added shortly before the Civil War, once hosted the actress Fanny Kemble. Outbuildings include a converted gasometer, barns, a gardener's cottage and The College, a brick building Perkins built to house gardening apprentices. Perkins was a leading horticulturist who imported plants from abroad, and the grounds still hold notable specimens and garden features. The property stayed in the Perkins family descendants into the twentieth century. It was listed for its architecture, its link to Perkins and its preserved landscape.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Edward C. Cabot (?)","architectural_style":"Picturesque","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residential; the main house has had little alteration and the grounds remain well preserved, though the greenhouses are gone (the last was torn down in 1967).","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.092631-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/7923/63792361/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85003306.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003306/2f9aef267b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003306/2f9aef267b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BrooklineMA_PerkinsEstate.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BrooklineMA_PerkinsEstate.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792361","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perkins_Estate","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7169040"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/perkins-estate-85003306/"}