Anderson, Larz, Park Historic District

Larz Anderson Park in Brookline covers almost 62 acres of town-owned land that once formed the Weld estate, called "Windy Top" and later "Weld." The land was earlier the Goddard family's property. After Isabel Perkins Anderson acquired the estate in 1899, the grounds were landscaped to plans by Charles Platt. Her husband Larz Anderson served as a United States ambassador, and the couple entertained political and social figures here. The estate passed to the Town after her death in 1948, with a requirement that it serve educational and recreational purposes. Surviving features include a lagoon, a tree allee, a gazebo and remnants of an Italian garden. Buildings include the Wheelwright-designed carriage house, now a transportation museum, a stucco gatehouse, the Putterham School dating from the 1760s, a late 18th-century cottage and an Italianate house of the mid 19th century. Later skating and service buildings are noncontributing.