{"nrhp_refnum":"85003310","name":"Saint Aidan's Church and Rectory","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"207 Freeman and 158 Pleasant Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brookline","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.347671373000026,"lon":-71.11909295099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-10-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Medieval Revival Catholic church (1911) and an attached rectory (built 1850-1855, remodelled 1920) on a landscaped 1.5-acre lot at 207 Freeman Street and 158 Pleasant Street, Brookline, Massachusetts. The church was designed by Maginnis and Walsh.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a fine example of the American Roman Catholic village church, designed by the nationally prominent firm of Maginnis and Walsh. It was Brookline's third Catholic parish and is tied to Cardinal O'Connell and Monsignor John T. Creagh, a noted canon law scholar. It was also the parish church where the Joseph P. Kennedy family worshipped and where John F. Kennedy was baptized.","narrative":"St. Aidan's Church and Rectory stand on a landscaped corner lot at Freeman and Pleasant Streets in Brookline. The church, built in 1911 to designs by Maginnis and Walsh, follows the Medieval Revival village-church model, with cross-gabled massing, local ashlar stone, stucco and half-timbering, a broach-spired belfry and slate roofs. Inside, exposed mahogany beams, mahogany wainscoting and stained glass by Murphy & Millson create a restrained but colorful interior. The rectory began as a house of 1850-1855, part of the Chadbourne estate, and was rebuilt and enlarged in 1920 to match the church. St. Aidan's was Brookline's third Catholic parish, founded in 1910, with Cardinal O'Connell laying the cornerstone in 1911. Monsignor John T. Creagh served as pastor from 1913 to 1951. The Joseph P. Kennedy family worshipped here, and John F. Kennedy was baptized in the church. The property was listed for its architecture and its role in the local Catholic community.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Maginnis and Walsh (church)","architectural_style":"Medieval Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The form describes the church as unchanged and still in religious use, in an intact neighborhood.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:58.039001-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/88/7924/63792488/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85003310.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003310/ea8c7e5a2f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003310/ea8c7e5a2f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Thomas Kelley from Boston, MA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Aidan%27s_Church_and_Rectory,_Brookline,_Massachusetts.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas Kelley from Boston, MA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Aidan%27s_Church_and_Rectory,_Brookline,_Massachusetts.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792488","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Aidan%27s_Church_(Brookline,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7400882"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/saint-aidans-church-and-rectory-85003310/"}