Pill Hill, Brookline, Massachusetts Explained
Pill Hill, also known as "High Street Hill,"[1] is a neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts, United States, and part of Greater Boston.
History
Pill Hill became part of Brookline in 1844, when it was annexed from Boston.[2]
Noted abolitionist Samuel Philbrick lived in Brookline at 182 Walnut Street during the mid-19th century.[3] His home eventually became a stop for the Underground Railroad.[4]
Like other Pill Hills in the United States, Pill Hill in Brookline was nicknamed for the large numbers of doctors in the neighborhood.[1] That was likely due to its proximity to hospitals in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area of Boston.[5] "High Street Hill" is the older and more formal name for the neighborhood.[1] The neighborhood has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Pill Hill Historic District. Pill Hill is one of seven Local Historic Districts in Brookline.[6]
Geography
Settlement and borders
Pill Hill is centered along High Street, but also includes Allerton Street and Cumberland and Pond Avenues, and Hawthorn, Glen and Edgehill Roads.
Pill Hill immediately borders other Brookline neighborhoods, including Brookline Village to its north and the historically working-class neighborhood known as The Point ("Whiskey Point")[5] to its south. Pill Hill also lies adjacent to Olmsted Park and Leverett Pond to its east (part of Greater Boston's Emerald Necklace park system); parkland which in turn borders the Boston neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain and Mission Hill.
The neighborhood is also near Route 9, a major Massachusetts highway.
Climate
Brookline falls under the USDA 6b Plant Hardiness zone.[7]
Demographics
The most commonly reported ethnicities/ancestries in Pill Hill are Irish (20.7%), various Asian ancestries (14.6%), English (6.7%), Italian (6.5%), and Russian (6.1%). Additionally, 2.4% of those living in Pill Hill have Spanish ancestry.[8]
17.9% of Pill Hill residents are foreign born.[9]
Languages
The most common language spoken in Pill Hill is English, spoken by 72.9% of households. Other languages spoken in the neighborhood include Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and French.[10]
Culture
Pill Hill is mostly residential but also has places of commerce, particularly operating along Boylston Street/Route 9.
Architecture
The Pill Hill neighborhood of Brookline has various examples of Victorian architecture.[11]
Sites
- Philbrick Square, a park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1880s, is located in Pill Hill.[12]
- The historic Free Hospital for Women has been located in Pill Hill since 1895.[13]
- The historic Hotel Adelaide is located in Pill Hill on High Street. Hotel Adelaide is no longer a functioning hotel, however, and instead presently serves as residential apartments.
- Eliphalet Spurr House, 103 Walnut Street, oldest building in Pill Hill
Public transportation
Light rail and subway
Pill Hill's close proximity to Brookline Village, allows for easy access to the MBTA's Green Line D-train at Brookline Village (MBTA station). Additionally, Pill Hill is in close proximity to the Green Line E-train line in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, notably the Riverway stop.
Both D and E lines of the MBTA's Green Line have service to downtown Boston.
Bus
Pill Hill is also served by MBTA bus service.[14]
Education
Public schools
The local public school is the William H. Lincoln School.
42.3276°N -71.1193°W
Notable people
- Arthur Bowditch, architect, designed and lived at 12 Maple St.[15]
- Gloria Braggiotti, dancer and writer, lived at 78 Upland Rd. as a child
- Mario Braggiotti, pianist, lived at 78 Upland Rd. as a child
- John W. Candler, politician, lived at 99 High St.
- William Bosworth Castle, physician and physiologist, lived at 22 Irving St.
- Walter Channing, physician, lived at 138 High St.
- Sara R. Ehrmann, civic leader, lived at 14 Irving St.
- Carl Fehmer, architect, lived at 70 Upland Rd.
- Max Fiedler, conductor, lived at 100 High St.
- Prescott F. Hall, lawyer, lived at 127 High St.
- Roland Hayes, lyric tenor and composer, lived at 58 Allerton St. for 50 years
- Helen Hopekirk, pianist and composer, lived at 169 Walnut St.
- Walter Harrington Kilham, architect and Kilham & Hopkins partner, designed and lived at 33 Edgehill Rd.
- Arthur Dehon Little, chemist, lived at 107 Upland Rd.
- Judith Eleanor Motley Low, architect and founder of Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture, lived at 28 Allerton St.
- Arthur Nikisch, conductor, lived at 100 High St. in 1889
- Robert Swain Peabody, architect and Peabody & Stearns partner, designed numerous houses in Pill Hill, designed and lived at 50 Edgehill Rd.
- Samuel Philbrick, abolitionist, lived in Pill Hill in the mid-19th century[16]
- John Rock, obstetrician and gynecologist, lived at 28 Allerton St.
- John Daniel Runkle, president of MIT, lived at 84 High St.
- John H. Sherburne, attorney and politician, lived at 92 High St.
- Moorfield Storey, lawyer and civil rights leader, lived at 44 Edgehill Rd.
- Charles Storer Storrow, civil engineer and industrialist, lived at 70 Upland Rd. from 1878 to 1885
- Charles Pickard Ware, educator, music transcriber, and abolitionist, lived at 195 Walnut St. in the 1880s
Notes and References
- Web site: Over a half-century, Brookline neighbors shape and protect Pill Hill . Simpson . Neal . 16 July 2008 . Wicked Local . 13 March 2014.
- Web site: Brookline Village Walking Tours Pill Hill . High Street Hill Association . 9 January 2015.
- Web site: The Serious History of Brookline's Priciest New Listing . Acitelli . Tom . 8 March 2013 . Curbed Boston . 9 January 2015.
- Web site: The Serious History of Brookline's Priciest New Listing . Acitelli . Tom . 8 March 2013 . Curbed Boston . 9 January 2015.
- Web site: Sorry, never heard of it . Sweeney . Emily . 24 March 2013 . The Boston Globe . 13 March 2014.
- Web site: Local Historic Districts . Town of Brookline, Massachusetts . 13 March 2014.
- Web site: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map . Agricultural Research Center . PRISM Climate Group Oregon State University . 2012 . USDA . 21 February 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140227032333/http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ . 27 February 2014 .
- Web site: Brookline, MA (Boylston St / Cypress St) Found within zip codes: 02445 . Neighborhood Scout . 9 January 2015.
- Web site: Brookline, MA (Boylston St / Cypress St) Found within zip codes: 02445 . Neighborhood Scout . 9 January 2015.
- Web site: Brookline, MA (Boylston St / Cypress St) Found within zip codes: 02445 . Neighborhood Scout . 9 January 2015.
- Web site: Brookline Village Walking Tours Pill Hill . High Street Hill Association . 22 February 2014.
- Web site: Philbrick Square . Town of Brookline, Massachusetts . 13 March 2014.
- Web site: Free Hospital for Women. Records, 1875–1975: Finding Aid. . 8 August 2008 . Harvard University Library . 13 March 2014.
- Web site: MBTA Service Nearby feature with "Pill Hill, Brookline, MA" as keywords . MBTA . 13 March 2014.
- Web site: Walking Tour: Pill Hill . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220826222328/https://brooklinehistoricalsociety.org/tours/PillHill/tour.asp . August 26, 2022 . February 3, 2024 . Brookline Historical Society.
- Web site: The Serious History of Brookline's Priciest New Listing . Acitelli . Tom . 8 March 2013 . Curbed Boston . 9 January 2015.
United States