Longwood Real Estate
Longwood is a quiet, residential neighborhood in the eastern section of Brookline just four miles from Downtown Boston. Despite housing Wheelock College, the area’s 6,000 residents are mostly medical and research professionals rather than students, and live and work in Longwood. The neighborhood incorporates a strong planning aesthetic from its original developers with urban residential areas designed to surround public green areas for residents to enjoy at their leisure.
At the heart of the community are four squares: Kynvet, Longwood, Mason, and Winthrop. Homes in Longwood were built around residential squares rather than arranged in the traditional grid pattern.
The area is known as a prime example of the “English Cottage” ideal while other historic homes were constructed in the Greek revival-style architecture. The housing stock also includes a small supply of condos and high-rise apartment complexes. While Longwood Medical Area features a number of bars, restaurants, and casual eateries, the bulk of the neighborhood is residential. Read more about Longwood real estate.
Longwood Real Estate For Sale
More About Longwood Real Estate
Longwood Location
The Longwood neighborhood is bounded by the Mass Pike to the north with the Fenway neighborhood to the east; Longwood Avenue to the south; and Coolidge Corner to the west. The neighborhood maintains its own “Longwood” stop with the “D” branch of the MBTA Green Line running through the station. Longwood also has a nearby stop on the “C” branch called Hawes Street.
Longwood History
David Sears II, a wealthy landowner in Boston, named Longwood after Napoleon’s estate on St. Helena. It was Sears who had perhaps the greatest influence on the neighborhood, drawing from his ancestral roots in England for inspiration in developing the area. One of his lasting influences was the open residential square, much like the flowing designs of Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of modern landscape architecture. At Sears’ urging, the builders created squares with homes set back from the road fringed by thick trees. The original green squares were reserved for private use of the residents although they were later donated to the town by the Sears family in 1902. Sears modeled his homes after the “English Cottages” popular in the 1840s and 50s based on the ideal of a gracious, comfortable home in a rural setting.
The Frederick Sears cottage located at 24 Cottage Farm Road, is one of the surviving homes, now owned by Boston University. In Sears’ time the section north of Beacon Street was called Cottage Farms while the area south of Beacon Street retained the Longwood name. Both districts are on the National Register of Historic Places. Up until the 20th century, Sear’s restrictions on development prevailed, as he wanted to maintain the area’s rural character. It was only later that economics dictated the conversion of many of the former estates into smaller single-family homes and apartment blocks.
