Blake Park: History of a Neighborhood

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Blake Park: History of a Neighborhood

In 1880, banker Arthur Welland Blake engaged Frederick Law Olmsted to draw plans for the subdivision into roads and lots of the Blake family

By Brookline Historical Society

When and where

Date and time

Sunday, June 11 · 2 - 3:30pm EDT

Location

Brookline High School 115 Greenough Street Brookline, MA 02445

About this event

  • 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Mobile eTicket

In 1880, banker Arthur Welland Blake engaged Frederick Law Olmsted to draw plans for the subdivision into roads and lots of the Blake family estate on the lower part of Brookline's Aspinwall Hill. Olmsted's plans were never executed, and the estate remained something of an anomaly; a large tract of open land renowned for its landscaping in the heart of a community rapidly developing as a "streetcar suburb". Join Ken Liss from the Brookline Historical Society to learn how the neighborhood of "Blake Park" finally emerged — despite failed plans, untimely deaths, and financial scandal — four decades after it was first conceived. 

About the organizer

The Brookline Historical Society is dedicated to the documentation and interpretation of Brookline's diverse history, to collecting, preserving, and maintaining artifacts of Brookline’s past, and to sharing the story of the town and its people with residents and visitors alike.