Old Chestnut Hill Historic District
The district consists of a residential enclave of high-quality architect-designed residences on ample, landscaped lots, that exemplified the development of Newton as a fashionable upper-class suburb. The area's colonial history begins with settlement in the 17th century by Thomas Hammond and others. Hammond was probably the builder of the c. 1700 Hammond House at 9 Old Orchard Road, considered to be Newton's oldest surviving structure. The 1723 house at 521 Hammond Street, a substantial Georgian style house, also belonged to the Hammond family.
Development of the area did not begin in a significant way until after 1886, when the Circuit Railroad brought rail service to the area. A station designed by H. H. Richardson was built at Chestnut Hill in 1883 and landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted; it was demolished in 1960. The houses in the district are predominantly Colonial Revival in their styling, although other forms popular into the 1920s are also represented, including Tudor Revival. There has been only limited new construction in the area since 1942. The 98-acre (40 ha) district includes 132 buildings, of which 109 contribute to its significance.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Newton, Massachusetts
- Chestnut Hill Historic District (Brookline, Massachusetts), which is mostly in Brookline but overlaps slightly into Newton
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "NRHP nomination for Old Chestnut Hill Historic District". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved April 19, 2014.