Boston Neighborhood Architectural Details

A Portfolio of Elegant Design Delights

By: Mark Favermann - Dec 14, 2008

Snugly set along the border of the Town of Brookline and the City of Boston and referred to as the St. Mary's Neighborhood in Brookline and Audubon Circle in Boston, there are an extensive number of wonderfully quirky structures, unusual facades and unique architectural details. The buildings were all built in the last quarter of the 19th Century. Monmouth Street and Monmouth Court in Brookline have wonderful structures that were created with skillful craftsmanship. These details suggest that Italian and other immigrants who had highly refined skills worked on these projects. The results are often surprising but elegant and beautiful.

On a beautiful one block street in Boston right next to Brookline runs Keswick Street. Keswick Street has seventeen doorways. Strangely, each door has the exact same design as all the others even though ownership is historically different.

At 853 Beacon Street, there is an ornately carved cornice frieze. Adjacent to this is a different frieze design carved into 855 Beacon Street. However, they both appear to be done at the same time.None of the other brownstone buildings on that part of Beacon Street have similar decoration. A short block away, on 867 Beacon Street, a bulding owned by Boston University, there is a unique bay window encapsulated in a beautifully stained green copper sheathing. There is nothing like this anywhere else in Boston. What was the architect or builder thinking?

The City of Boston is the most European of American cities. The architectural details of these Boston area buildings are certainly on a par with many great European cities' architectural ornamentation. We just have to stop, look, savor and appreciate. They are a gift for all seasons.

Back to Architecture Section Home