Larz Anderson Park, Brookline
The Larz Anderson estate was once the summer home for Larz and Isabel Anderson, Boston socialites who married in 1897. He was a career diplomat and she was an author and philanthropist. She inherited $5 million from her father's fortune and estate when she was just five years old (roughly $150 million today), becoming the wealthiest woman in the world when she turned 21. They named the 64-acre property Weld, after her grandfather who originally settled the property.
From their travels the Andersons created a summer residence equal to that of any great estate in the world. At its height in the early-1900s, it featured cultural gardens, theaters, ponds, sculptures, a large residence, and an equally large carriage-house to store their cars and horses. Several other smaller homes were also built around the property as guest houses and storage.
When Isabel passed away in 1948 the estate was donated to the Town of Brookline to use as public space. Today, the original lands are intact and nearly un-developed from the time of the Andersons. It's a treasure to find in the fringes of Boston. The property is quite vast, allowing multiple activities to go on without interfering with each other. Baseball, car shows, picnics, walking, gardening, painting, etc. can all take place without feeling like they are encroaching on one another. I imagine Isabel would have been delighted.
However, the Town has done a poor job with planning, foresight, and upkeep of the property. The home was torn down. Large sheds and maintenance warehouses were built over existing gardens and tennis courts, and most shockingly, the elaborate Italian garden was cut up and razed for the addition of an outdoor hockey rink. Why anyone would look at an Italian garden with flower beds, statutes, and fountains, and think it's a good place for a hockey rink is beyond comprehension. They literally cut through the granite walls and plopped a rink down. As if there were no other locations in Brookline or the estate itself to place a rink.
As a municiapl park only the bare minimum upkeep and maintenance is carried out. Nothing is done to restore the original splendor and opulence of the grounds. Maybe no one in Brookline cares - a wealthy enclave with private residential areas under constant renewal and surely with plenty of private gardens. Who needs an opulent and splendid open space? Still, I question "Why" the need to build industrial buildings over gardens. Much of what made this a treasure has been destroyed or removed. The open space is still here but the manicured grounds have become overgrown. Weeds and overgrowth are abundant where they shouldn't be. The water garden (pond) is still a beautiful setting but the water itself is filthy and oily (runoff outlets can be seen in my photos, indicating that this pond is more of a basin).
There are some well-preserved sections of the property that merit praise and adoration: the former carriage-house is now the Museum of Transportation and houses 14 of the original Anderson cars as well as other automotive artifacts. This was literally a horse barn and is now the best-kept item on the property. It hosts a dozen car shows each year, bringing in much-needed revenue. I feel that if it were not for the Museum, much of this side of the property would have been sub-divided into homes already. The Japanese garden on the edge of the property has been turned into a community garden but much of the original garden is overgrown thicket.
The estate sits in a sort of suspension - neglected but not abandoned, partially in ruins, partially in restoration. I see the enormous potential of this site in commercial purposes. But I also understand what little has been done deserves enormous praise and encouragement. Perhaps one day Brookline can fully realize the huge potential of this property.
Read MoreFrom their travels the Andersons created a summer residence equal to that of any great estate in the world. At its height in the early-1900s, it featured cultural gardens, theaters, ponds, sculptures, a large residence, and an equally large carriage-house to store their cars and horses. Several other smaller homes were also built around the property as guest houses and storage.
When Isabel passed away in 1948 the estate was donated to the Town of Brookline to use as public space. Today, the original lands are intact and nearly un-developed from the time of the Andersons. It's a treasure to find in the fringes of Boston. The property is quite vast, allowing multiple activities to go on without interfering with each other. Baseball, car shows, picnics, walking, gardening, painting, etc. can all take place without feeling like they are encroaching on one another. I imagine Isabel would have been delighted.
However, the Town has done a poor job with planning, foresight, and upkeep of the property. The home was torn down. Large sheds and maintenance warehouses were built over existing gardens and tennis courts, and most shockingly, the elaborate Italian garden was cut up and razed for the addition of an outdoor hockey rink. Why anyone would look at an Italian garden with flower beds, statutes, and fountains, and think it's a good place for a hockey rink is beyond comprehension. They literally cut through the granite walls and plopped a rink down. As if there were no other locations in Brookline or the estate itself to place a rink.
As a municiapl park only the bare minimum upkeep and maintenance is carried out. Nothing is done to restore the original splendor and opulence of the grounds. Maybe no one in Brookline cares - a wealthy enclave with private residential areas under constant renewal and surely with plenty of private gardens. Who needs an opulent and splendid open space? Still, I question "Why" the need to build industrial buildings over gardens. Much of what made this a treasure has been destroyed or removed. The open space is still here but the manicured grounds have become overgrown. Weeds and overgrowth are abundant where they shouldn't be. The water garden (pond) is still a beautiful setting but the water itself is filthy and oily (runoff outlets can be seen in my photos, indicating that this pond is more of a basin).
There are some well-preserved sections of the property that merit praise and adoration: the former carriage-house is now the Museum of Transportation and houses 14 of the original Anderson cars as well as other automotive artifacts. This was literally a horse barn and is now the best-kept item on the property. It hosts a dozen car shows each year, bringing in much-needed revenue. I feel that if it were not for the Museum, much of this side of the property would have been sub-divided into homes already. The Japanese garden on the edge of the property has been turned into a community garden but much of the original garden is overgrown thicket.
The estate sits in a sort of suspension - neglected but not abandoned, partially in ruins, partially in restoration. I see the enormous potential of this site in commercial purposes. But I also understand what little has been done deserves enormous praise and encouragement. Perhaps one day Brookline can fully realize the huge potential of this property.
