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Brookline, Massachusetts

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Brookline, Massachusetts
Town
Official seal of Brookline, Massachusetts
Seal
Location in Massachusetts
Location in Massachusetts
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts
CountyNorfolk County
Settled1638
Incorporated1705
Government
 • TypeRepresentative town meeting
Elevation
50 ft (20 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total57,107
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code
02445, 02446, 02447, 02467
Area code617 / 857
Websitehttp://www.town.brookline.ma.us/

Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. It borders Newton (part of Middlesex County) to the west and Boston (part of Suffolk County) to the east, north, south, northwest, and southwest; it is therefore non-contiguous with any other part of Norfolk County. As of the 2000 census, the population of the town was 57,107.

Origin of the name

Brookline was known as the hamlet of Muddy River and was considered a part of Boston until the Town of Brookline was independently incorporated in 1705. Its name is derived from the brooks that created the town lines with the former towns of Brighton and Roxbury, which are both now parts of Boston.[citation needed]

Veterans of the American Revolutionary War from Brookline were granted land and settled in the Brookline neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, naming it after their previous home as well as the many streams of their new home.[citation needed]

History

Once part of Algonquian territory, Brookline was first settled by European colonists in the early 1600s.

Its physical separation from the rest of Norfolk County comes from the fact that the former towns of West Roxbury and Hyde Park were both part of the county until they were absorbed by Boston. Throughout its history, Brookline resisted being absorbed by Boston, thus giving it its separation from the rest of Norfolk County proper. (See The Brookline-Boston Annexation Issue of 1873.)

Brookline has long been regarded as a pleasant and verdant environment. In 1841 edition of The Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Andrew Jackson Downing described the area this way:

The whole of this neighborhood of Brookline is a kind of landscape garden, and there is nothing in America of the sort, so inexpressibly charming as the lanes which lead from one cottage, or villa, to another. No animals are allowed to run at large, and the open gates, with tempting vistas and glimpses under the pendent boughs, give it quite an Arcadian air of rural freedom and enjoyment. These lanes are clothed with a profusion of trees and wild shrubbery, often almost to the carriage tracks, and curve and wind about, in a manner quite bewildering to the stranger who attempts to thread them alone; and there are more hints here for the lover of the picturesque in lanes than we ever saw assembled together in so small a compass.[1]

The town has since seen considerable development, though still does maintain a considerable amount of greenspace in certain neighborhoods.

Geography

Brookline is located at 42°19′50″N 71°8′1″W / 42.33056°N 71.13361°W / 42.33056; -71.13361Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (42.330664, -71.13364).Template:GR

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 17.7 km² (6.8 mi²). 17.6 km² (6.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.44%) is water.

Brookline actually separates the bulk of the city of Boston from its westernmost neighborhoods of Allston/Brighton, which had been the separate town of Brighton until annexed by Boston in 1873.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 57,107 people, 25,594 households, and 12,233 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,247.3/km² (8,409.7/mi²). There were 26,413 housing units at an average density of 1,501.9/km² (3,889.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 81.08% White, 2.74% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 12.83% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from other races, and 2.18% from two or more races. 3.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 25,594 households out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were married couples living together, 7.1% have a female householder, and 52.2% were non-families as defined by the Census bureau. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the town the population was spread out with 16.6% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 37.3% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.

The median income for a family was $92,993. Males had a median income of $56,861 versus $43,436 for females. The per capita income for the town was $44,327. About 4.5% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Brookline is governed by a representative (elected) town meeting, which is the legislative body of the town, and a five-person Board of Selectmen which serves as the executive branch of the town. For more details about the roles and procedures within the government of Brookline, please see the town government's own description.

Education

Public schools

The town is served by the Public Schools of Brookline. The student body at Brookline High School includes students from more than 50 different countries. Many students attend Brookline High from surrounding, neighborhoods in Boston, such as Mission Hill and Mattapan, via the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) system.

There are eight elementary schools in the Brookline Public School system: Baker, Devotion, Driscoll, Heath School, Lawrence, Lincoln, Pierce, and Runkle. As of December 2006, there were 6,089 K-12 students enrolled in the Brookline public schools. The system includes one early learning center, eight grades K-8 schools, and one comprehensive high school.

The student body is 66.1% White, 17.7% Asian, 9.9% Black, 5.9% Hispanic, and 0.4% other. Approximately 30% of students come from homes where English is not the first language.

Private schools

Several private primary and secondary schools, including the Beaver Country Day School, British School of Boston, Dexter School Maimonides School, and The Park School are located in the town.

Higher education

Several institutes of higher education are located in Brookline, including:

Culture

[original research?]

As close to Boston as Brookline is, it has managed to maintain its own identity. Brookline features a mixture of urban and suburban living, upscale shops and recreational parks, apartment buildings and large estates. Along with offering both a city atmosphere and a feeling of being in the country, there is a wide mix of people in Brookline. It is the home of many academic and scientific professionals who work at the nearby medical centers in Boston. Brookline has staunchly refused to be absorbed by Boston, which surrounds it like a horseshoe. Brookline has kept its town meeting form of government since its 1705 incorporation. It also has an overnight on-street parking ban which is unusual for such a dense area. Among its many unusual resources, Brookline has its own working farm (with farm stand), the oldest country club in the nation, a town golf course, a park on a hillside overlooking Boston with an open-air skating rink and transportation museum, as well as numerous neighborhood parks and playgrounds scattered throughout the town.

Its major retail centers, like Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village, Washington Square, Cleveland Circle and the Chestnut Hill Shopping Center, are pedestrian-oriented shopping areas with a variety of stores, restaurants and malls.

Although predominantly residential, Brookline is somewhat open to new commercial development, and has amended its zoning to encourage limited growth along its major thoroughfares.

Brookline is known in the Boston area for its large population of Russian immigrants and numerous synagogues. Jewish culture is very strong in Brookline, and is especially notable along the section of Harvard Street that starts at Washington St (Brookline Village) runs through Beacon Street (Coolidge Corner) and ends at Commonwealth Avenue, continuing into Allston-Brighton. This neighborhood is home to at least three area synagogues including the first Jewish congregation in Massachusetts (Ohabei Shalom, founded in Boston in 1842 and located in Brookline since the 1920s) and a number of Jewish-themed restaurants and stores. Brookline is also known for its excellent schools, which are supported in large part by property taxes — the town has one of the highest property tax burdens in the country.

While residents of Brookline tend toward liberal ideals, economic and cultural factors keep this section of the Boston metropolitan area less diverse than its neighbor across the Charles River, Cambridge. It's also worth noting that Brookline's liberalism and diversity are relatively new developments in the town's history. In the 19th century Brookline, which has been called "the richest town in America", was a sanctuary for the wealthy where Boston's elites built their summer homes. The legacy of privilege is still visible, with Brookline existing as a deliberately engineered exclave of Norfolk County surrounded on three sides by the city of Boston but never incorporated into it, a measure designed to keep out the Irish and other ethnic immigrants.[citation needed]

Points of interest

  • Brookline Arts Center, Brookline's art and culture hub. For over 43 years the Brookline Arts Center has provided quality art classes for all ages.
  • St. Aidan's Church was where John F. Kennedy was christened and where the Kennedy family and other prominent Irish-Americans were parishioners. The church was designed by architect Charles Maginnis, who was awarded the American Institute of Architect's Gold Medal. Though it is on the National Register of Historic Places, St. Aidan's Church has been closed and may be converted into housing.

See also Chestnut Hill Points of Interest.

Notable residents

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Brookline".

See also

References

  1. ^ Arnold Arboretum Website
  2. ^ Brookine 300th Anniversary at Boston Central
  3. ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
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