Inventory No: BKL.910

Historic Name: Anderson, Larz Park - Italianate Garden

Common Name: Goddard Ave Address: Goddard Ave and Newton St

City/Town: Brookline

Village/Neighborhood: Goddard - Weld; Park

Local No:

Year Constructed:

Architect(s): Platt, Charles Adams; Walker-Kleusing Architectural Style(s): Use(s): Arboretum or Botanical Garden

Significance: Agriculture; Art; Landscape Architecture; Recreation BKL.Q: Anderson, Larz Park Historic District Area(s): BKL.W: Brookline Multiple Resource Area Nat'l Register District (10/17/1985); Nat'l Register MRA Designation(s): (10/17/1985); Preservation Restriction (12/31/1998) Building Materials(s):

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This file was accessed on: Wednesday, September 09, 2015 at 3:59: PM FORM H - PARKS Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form No. Forms within ND LANDSCAPES BosSou Bkl.

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING Town Brookline 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Place (neighborhood or village) -ltalianate Garden

Address or Location Newton Street and Goddard Ave.

Ownership ^ Public fj Private

Type of Landscape (check one): 1X1 park ["J farm land ~] green/common ] mine/quarry | | garden f~J training field ] boulevard/parkway ] o?/zer (specify)

Date or Period 1901/1989/1999

Source articles

Landscape Architect Charles Piatt

Location of Plans

Alterations/Intrusions (Vi/A c/ater; 1956-58 green, fountain and pergola demolished-skating rink built; 1995-new pavilion built; 1999- restoration of balustrade on wall and overlook.

Condition fair

Acreage Italaiante garden-200 sq.ft.

Setting Italianate Garden stands atop the hill in the Larz Anderson Park surrounded by residential area.

VlVwv o\- SlcA+Wj A.nL iA//£ryvCtK loAu^fy^cic Recorded by Greer Hardwicke/Roger Reed

Organization Brookline Preservation Commission

Date (month/year) June 1999

AUG 2 7 1999

MASS. HIST. COMM

Follow Massachusetts H ical Commission Si:rvey Manual instructions for compla this form PARKS AND LANDSCAPES FORM

VISUAL/DESIGN ASSESSMENT 0 see continuation sheet Describe topography and layout. Note structures such as bandstands, gazebos, sheds, stone walls, monuments, and fountains Note original.nngfeatUr£S SUCh asf°rmalPlantings. agricultural plantings, and bodies of water. If possible, compare current appearance with

The Italianate Garden was part of the plan built behind the original Weld/Anderson house designed by Charles Piatt in 1901 It was the \ finishing feature adjoining the Bowling Green and grove. The Italianate Garden is surrounded on two sides by a high stone terrace wall ix to ten feet in height. Atop the stone wall stood a balustrade. The garden itself was in a rectangular depressed section. The south end containec a pergola and the north end secUon corner pergolas with statuary in between. There was an inner low terrace, about three feet and a broad grass mall m the center.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE JXJ see continuation sheet Discuss history of use. Evaluate the historical associations of the landscape/park with the community.

The original land of Larz Anderson Park belonged to the Goddard family and during the Revolution it was known as Goddard Heights. Larz Anderson Park is named after the husband of Isabel Weld Anderson, granddaughter of I, a merchant and shipbuilder. He bought the Goddard and several other parcels between 1841 and 1881 to create "Windy Top", his summer estate. The estate passed into the hands of his son. William F. Weld II, who built a new house, designed by Edmund Wheelwright, and the carriage house. Isabel bought the property from her cousin in 1899. (see LAP district form).

After Larz and Isabel Anderson obtained the property, they began a decade long labor of love to improve their country estate. They hired Little & Browne to enlarge the original Shingle style house and to design the lagoon area. The firm of Fox & Gale was hired for the concrete walls and minor landscape improvements. The design for the Italianate Garden the Bowling Green was by Charles Piatt.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES • see continuation sheet

Baker, John Cordis. American Country Houses and their Gardens. Philadelphia, 1906. Croly, Herbert. "The Architectural Work of Charles A. Piatt", Architectural Review, v. XV, n. 3, pp. 181-244. Ferree, Ban. American Estates and Gardens. New York: 1904. "The Garden of Weld", Architectural Review, v. XII, n. 5, 1903. "The Garden of Weld upon the estate of Captain Larz Anderson at Brookline, Mass.", House and Garden , v.5, 1904. Howe, Samuel. "American Homes and Gardens. The Weld garden Brookline, Mass.", Country Life, v. XLIII, n. 1115, May 1918. Kenworthy, Richard. "Bringing the World to Brookline: the gardens of Larz and Isabel Anderson", Journal of Garden History, v. 11, n.4, 1991. "Published Records of Italianate Gardens in America", Journal of Garden History, v. 10, 1990. LeMoyne, Louis Valcon. Country Residences in Europe and America. New York, 1921. Limon, Jodie. "Sunsets: The Life of Isabel Perkins Anderson", unpublished paper, 1984. Miller, Wilheim. "An 'Italianate Garden" that is full of flowers ", Country Life in America, 7, March 1905. Morgan, Keith. Charles A. Piatt: The Artist as Architect. Piatt, Charles A. Italian Garden. New York, 1894. Shelton, Louise. Beautiful Gardens in America. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1915. "The Garden of Weld", House and Garden, XVII,, n.3, 1910.

• Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address BROOKLINE LARZ ANDERSON PARK MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING Bkl 2186 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125

Visual/Design Assessment, continued

The garden was reached through the Bowling Green by two narrow paths, both marked by two paired herms, to the main garden which was alternatively reached by walks that ran outside the balustrades and came to the loggias. One path led into a marble wishing well set into the stir wall. A series of sculptures lined the area between the loggias. These four paths came to a terrace with a wall fountain. The fountain is flanked by two half-round columns. The wall contains a plague reading, "This garden was built in 1901 and called "Weld". Descending the steps and standing by the fountain which was framed by huge amphorae from the Palazzo Piombino, the main vista of the garden opened up to a central grass mall. On each side of the mall and set on two different levels were flower borders, up to 17,000 square feet of beds. They were replanted during March to October to provide a continual display. At the far end of the mall, was an elaborate fountain, the Cupid Fountain, sculpted in Italy. Flanking the stirs to the fountain were two seated lions. Behind this stood a pergola which displayed the Andersons' collection of topiary boxwood bought in Holland in 1902 and 1904. Sited around the garden, in containers, were magnificent bay trees brought back from travels.

Other elements included terrace walks along the upper sections along the balustrade; the north section commanding an incredible vista of the Boston skyline, one of the most magnificent in the Boston area. Stairs descend from the other end near the old pergola. At the mall level ran a patterned brick walk around the perimeter. At each corner are marble curved seats. On the slopes in the middle stand two balustraded overlooks with seating areas on the mall level.

The garden can be viewed from outside—the retaining walls with their balustrades, the corner loggias/pergolas and glimpses of the statue and wishing well.

In 1958-58, the Town removed much of the original elements to construct a skating rink and a zamboni shed.

What is left of the garden is the stone wall, the northwest loggia/pergola, column remnants of the southwest loggia/pergola, the staircase and three seating areas. The banks and the overlooks also remain, as do the northeast and southeast staircases. Sections of the patterned brick walkway are also extant.

A skating rink covers the grassy mall section and parterres. The wall fountain is gone, but the wishing well and one statue survive. The most recent rehabilitation project has restored the balustrade atop the stone wall and restored one of the overlooks and terrace walk. A new pavilion was erected in place of the eastern pergola in 1993. It has columns from the original pergola as well as the smaller one on the front and back. A zamboni structure intrudes in the northeastern corner. The restoration of 199 has restored much of the visual integrity of the Italianate garden as viewed from the park. INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address

BROOKLINE LARZ ANDERSON PARK

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(S) Form NO. MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD l^LJ I2186 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125

Historical Narrative, continued

netSnn 1897S (t^S NeZT^ ^ AnderS°n'S ^ who had ^ redone h« « °n the

The Italian theme for the garden was particularly appropriate for the Welds. Not only had begun a love affair with the Renaissance and things Italian, the Anderson had fallen in love and been married in . The original garden contained a pergola (now the site of the pavilion) with a fountain of dolphins. There was also a staircase with lions. In the space between the house and the pergola was the mall running through the center. On either side were spaces with flowerbeds and pots. Toward the outer edge were walks, paved with brick. Each end towards the house had a gazebo, one extant, and two flanking staircases. Each bank has a balustraded overlook in the center. A parrot was perched one of the end gazebos.

The garden played a part in the community as well. Plays were performed for friends and for children of Boston settlement houses. Isabel held parties for neighborhood children. One of the theatrical events was a play by Isabel Anderson performed in 1919 and 1925. called a Witch in the Woods, a children's play calling for environmental responsibility. In July 1907, thousands of tourists came through the site.

Charles Piatt (1861-1933) began his career as a painter. He made an attempt to go to architecture school at he Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Failing that he traveled back and forth from America to Europe, particularly Rome. After his wife and daughter died he returned to Amenca, ending up in Cornish, N.H. in early 1890's. In 1892, he traveled to Italy with his brother William, an apprentice at the Olmsted firm in Brookline. He established a new American landscape tradition and formula which was a break from the picturesque and naturalistic one established by Olmsted.

His designs are more formal and geometric vs. Olmsted more naturalistic approach. In July 1893, the first of two articles appeared in Harper's on "Formal Gardens of Italy". He published Italian Gardens in 1894. In 1895, his first outside commission came in the form of the Elliots in Needham who recommended him to the Brandegees in Brookline. Brandegee was a Boston Park Commissioner.

Larz Anderson died in 1937 and Isabel in 1948. She bequeathed the 62 acres of what is now Larz Anderson Park to the Town; her will stipulated that the buildings and land be used for recreational and educational purposes.

The Town removed the house and much of the major elements of the Italianate garden in 1956-58 and built a warming hut and skating rink on the site. In 1985, the Park was listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. The Town received an Urban Self-help grant in 1988, which allowed the Town to commission a Master Plan by Walker-Kleusing, landscape architects. The grant provided monies to restore several historic elements of the park, the lagoon, the tempieto and the bowling green adjacent to the Italianate garden. The old warming hut was torn down and a new pavilion rebuilt on the site of the old pergola on the east, opening up the garden to its original siting. A 1998-99, Massachusetts Historical Commission Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund award has restored the balustrade on the retaining walls, the terrace walks, and one overlook. I I

INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 110 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125

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