Located six miles west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, Chestnut Hill is
a wealthy suburban village notable for its stately old houses, scenic landscape,
and the historic campus of Boston College. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity, but unlike most of them, it encompasses parts of three separate municipalities: the
town of Brookline, the city of Boston {parts of its neighborhoods of Brighton and West Roxbury), and the
city of Newton, Massachusetts
(its village which is also called Chestnut Hill). Chestnut Hill's borders are roughly defined by the Chestnut Hill, MA
02467 ZIP Code.) Chestnut Hill is not strictly a topographical designation; the name refers to a series of small hills that overlook the 135-acre
(546,000 m²) Chestnut Hill Reservoir rather than one particular hill.
Because of the significance of its landscape and architecture, the National Register of Historic Places, in 1986, designated parts of Chestnut Hill as
historic districts. Examples of Colonial, Italianate, Shingle, Tudor, and Victorian architectural styles are
evident in the village's country estates and mansions. The Boston College campus is itself an early example of Collegiate Gothic architecture. While most of Chestnut Hill remained farmland well into the
early twentieth century, the area around the reservoir was developed, in 1870, by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park in
New York and of the Emerald Necklace in Boston and
Brookline.
Points of interest in Chestnut Hill
- Alumni Stadium, home of the Boston College
Eagles football team (Brighton, MA)
- Conte Forum and Kelley Rink, home of BC basketball and hockey (Brighton, MA)
- Burns Library, rare books and special collections at Boston College (Newton, MA)
- Cardinal's Mansion, former residence of Boston's archbishops, now part of the Boston
College campus (Brighton, MA)
- McMullen Museum of Art, on the Boston College campus (Newton, MA)
- O'Connell House, formerly the main house of the Louis K. Liggett estate, now the Upper Campus of Boston College. (Newton, MA)
- "Tip" O'Neill Museum, a permanent exhibit in the O'Neill
Library at Boston College that documents the life and career of the late Speaker of the House (Newton, MA)
- St. Ignatius Church, on the Boston College campus (Brighton, MA)
Other Schools
- Pine Manor College, a private women's college (Brookline, MA)
- Beaver Country Day School, a private middle and high school (Brookline,
MA)
- Brimmer and May School, a private elementary, middle and high school (Brookline, MA)
- Mount Alvernia Academy, a private elementary school (Newton, MA)
- The Chestnut Hill School, a private elementary school
(Newton, MA)
Registered Historic Districts
- Chestnut Hill Historic District — Roughly bounded by Middlesex Rd., Reservoir Ln., Denny Rd.,
Boylston St. and Dunster Rd. (added November 17, 1985) {mostly
in Brookline, but includes small parts of Boston and Newton)[2]
- Old Chestnut Hill Historic District — Along Hammond St. and Chestnut Hill Rd. roughly bounded
by Beacon St. and Essex Rd., and Suffolk Rd. (added October 4, 1986), within Newton city limits.[4]
Religious
Retail Shopping
- The Atrium Mall, an upscale shopping center (Brookline and Newton, MA)
- The Mall at Chestnut Hill, an upscale shopping center (Newton, MA)
- The Chestnut Hill Shopping Center, upscale stores, restaurants, and a movie theater (Brookline, MA)
Social, Cultural and Recreational
- The Chestnut Hill Country Club and Newton Commonwealth Golf Club (Newton, MA)
- The Country Club (Brookline, MA)
- The Longwood Cricket Club, birthplace of the Davis
Cup (Brookline, MA)
- Reilly Memorial Recreation Center, a public ice skating rink and swimming pool (Brighton,
MA)
Geographical
Transport
Chestnut Hill is served by three branches of the Green Line of the MBTA, Boston's light rail system.
Stations include:
- B Line: South Street, Boston College
- C Line: Cleveland Circle
- D Line: Reservoir, Chestnut Hill Ave
Famous Natives and Residents of Chestnut Hill
- Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science Church (Newton, MA)
- Reginald Fessenden, called the father of broadcast radio, the
Reginald A. Fessenden House in Chestnut Hill (Newton) is a US National
Landmark as well as a US Historic Place.
- Terry Francona, manager of the Boston Red
Sox
- Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, the first wife of Theodore Roosevelt, and mother of Alice Roosevelt
Longworth
- Louis K. Liggett, drugstore magnate (Newton, MA)
- Leverett Saltonstall, Governor of Massachusetts (1939–1945) and
United States Senator (1945–1967)
See also
References
- ^ Map of Boston, Massachusetts, including Arlington, ... Brookline, ...
Newton, etc., <ref>2007, Heathrow, Florida: AAA</li>
<li id="wp-_note-1">'''[[#wp-_ref-1|^]]''' Map of Boston, Massachusetts, including Arlington, ... Brookline, ... Newton,
etc., 2007, Heathrow, Florida: AAA</li> <li id="wp-_note-2">'''[[#wp-_ref-2|^]]''' Map of Boston, Massachusetts,
including Arlington, ... Brookline, ... Newton, etc., 2007, Heathrow, Florida: AAA</li> <li
id="wp-_note-3">'''[[#wp-_ref-3|^]]''' Map of Boston, Massachusetts, including Arlington, ... Brookline, ... Newton, etc.,
2007, Heathrow, Florida: AAA</li> <li id="wp-_note-4">'''[[#wp-_ref-4|^]]''' Map of Boston, Massachusetts, including
Arlington, ... Brookline, ... Newton, etc., <ref>2007, Heathrow, Florida: AAA</li></ol></ref>
External links
Coordinates:
42°19′50″N, 71°09′58″W
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