A Case for the Establishmen,t of a Neighborhood DesignOverlay District for the

Jamaica Hills section of Boston

By Peter M. Welsh of 48 Louders Lane, Jamaica PlainMarch 20,2010

A Brief History of the Jamaica Hills section of Boston

When we think of Boston's wonderful history our view,is often constrained by thepresent-day interpretation of important places and people; We tend to imagine ourhistory and the important places of Boston as ',ourcontemporary history books have taughtus. The historians' important places includes·the Old State House, Bunker Hill,Dorchester Heights, Paul Revere's Home and Faneuil Market.While these places, and the events that occurred at each, represent a significant part ofour history in Boston-and in America, they represent only a portion of the magnificentstory that this city has to tell.

When the lens is widened we see a vista that is in deeper and broader than we hadimagined .. In fact, the picture that begins to emerge maybe ,closer to what our forbearersactually saw when they looked at their city.!

Let us imagine for a moment that the fabric that made Boston in Colonial Times (prior toand during the War of Independence) includeg many other glorious portions of what wenow call Boston. Beyond the crowded docks 'of the Boston Harbor and the taverns ofCharlestown there were other places that help~d stitch that fabric into a city of greatvibrancy. '

To ride to one of these places, imagine you were a merchant on an early morning coachin 1750 and were traveling from Boston to Pr6vidence. You would have boarded thecoach at sun up at the Old State House and traveled along Washington Street whichconnected the peninsula of Boston to the mainland along "the neck". you would havetraveled through the town of Roxbury 'along past Roxbury Common and marked yourprogress by the chain of engraved milestones laid out by ludgePaul Dudley of Roxburyin 1720. As you left Roxbury you would tum'onto Centre Street and enter a new andbeautiful landscape. To the west you would see what we now call Jamaica Pond (a bodyof water of almost 70 acres). You would turn onto Pond Street and enter the "Jamaicaend of Roxbury" (Images of America Jamaica Plain by Anthony Mitchell Sammarco1997)As early as 1667 this area was called "Pond Plain" described by Francis S. Drake in"The Town of Roxbury", published in 1878,"Jamaica Plain is one of the loveliest spots in New England. It abounds in springs andbrooks, and its soil, light and gravely, is easily cultivated. For fifty years its death rateaveraged but one to one hundred. Its inhabitants were the olden time principally well-to-do farmers, and until recently it was a market"'garden for the supply of vegetables forBoston. " Perhaps this is why it was also called "The Eden of America".

Your coach would then turn from Pond Street onto Centre Street as you headed south toProvidence and New York. The "Pond Plain" to the southwesterly side of Jamaica Pondwould be very different than it is today. On both sides of Centre Street between what istoday May Street and the Arnold Arboretum would be graceful farms, with an abundanceof fruit trees and vegetables. The hills on either side of the street would be captivating.

Perhaps there would be no more captivating place along this portion of Centre Street thana small lane that bears off to the west and is named for the farmer who settled the land _Lowders Lane. It might catch your attention and you might ask the driver to stop as didHarriet Manning Whitcomb in 1897 in her Annals and Reminiscences of Jamaica Plain,

"But we are tempted to spare a few moments for a stroll through Louders Lane. Manytimes we proved the truth of Young's words: How blessing brighten as they take theirflight!" and they ring in our hearts to-day as we wander into this picturesque old way~ andwe love even more dearly than of yore the quiet, the grassy sides, the wild growths ofroses and blackberry-bushes, the tangle of ivy and woodbine, and the lovely vistasthrough leafY framings of sunny hillsides and woods, of pastures dotted with grazingcattle, and peaceful farm homes. It is a country idyll, sweet and restful! We may slackenour horses reins while he crops the wayside grass, or we may sit on a fallen stone fromthe old wall, while we muse of early days when there was no turnstile to block our path,but we should wander on around the loops of Sargent's woods, and gather at will the blueand white violets, the anemones and columbines and cowslips, without a fear of brass-buttoned monitor or coasting wheelman.

We see again the dignified form of Manlius Sargent in his stately horse, as he rodethrough his wood-roads, and many another familiar face of those who sought these ruralpaths, and cared not yet for "rapid tansit," with its spectral accompaniments. And ourhope is akin to a prayer, that what is left of Louder's Lane may be spared to us yet manyyears

And perhaps, still thinking of the picturesque old way you re-boarded the coach andtraveled but a few yards to your breakfast at the Peacock Tavern (Site of the FaulknerHospital). The Peacock Tavern would be crowded with fellow travelers and localgentlemen. Perhaps you would see Captain John May, Mr. John Hancock of Eliot Street, Corporal John Lowder, Sir Francis Barnard, the royal governor of Massachusetts ofPond Street, or a member of the Weld family of South Street.

Today, as we travel on Centre Street and take a turn onto Louders Lane or visit theArnold Arboretum we can envision what those before saw and realize that we owe itthem to remember and preserve what remains.

The coach ride by Louders Lane in 1750 may have been imaginary, but the places, homesand people whom we met along our route were very real. In fact, if we set out on thesame path today beginning at Jamaica Pond, and travel southerly along the Arborway and

then wind our way on to Pond Street, May Street, Centre Street and Louders Lane we willfind many landmarks that were familiar to residents of the area in the early and the late18th and early 19th centuries. ~

Often these landmarks are hidden from us, surrounded by recent subdivisions andbuildings that erected without restraint. But if we really search for these hidden jewelsthey emerge from the crowded background as a beautiful melody emerges from acomplicated piece.

The farmland that was so prevalent in the 18tp century may have been subdivided anddeveloped; the Peacock Tavern maybe a distant memory, but the gracious homes and therugged stone walls that demarcated their boundaries that have survived deserve ourprotection. For without additional protectionithese irreplaceable treasures may vanishforever.

The Transformation of Jamaica Plain in the 19th Century.,

During the Colonial Period Jamaica Plain - in particular the area south of Jamaica Pondand onto Moss Hill and what is now the Arnold Arboretum (known as Jamaica Hills)-was comprised of stately farms, country-seats, and the slimmer residences of Boston'swealthy merchants and professionals. But in the mid-to-Iate 1800's Jamaica Plain wentthrough a dramatic transformation. Once called the "Eden of America" ("Annals andReminiscences of Jamaica Plain" by Harriet Manning Whitcomb, Cambridge 1897, p.2),for its natural beauty and agricultural productivity, Jamaica Plain was transformed by aninflux of people and the purchase of farmland. The farms were transformed into largeand elegant estates.

"The early inhabitants were well-to-do farmers supplying vegetables and fruits to Boston.It was also the site of elegant country-seats occupied by government officials,professional and literary men, and city merchants for more than a century it was anattractive summer resort for Bostonians." ("A Guide to Jamaica Plain, Ma-The Eden ofAmerica, A knoll" by Charlie Rosenberg).

To find the hidden jewels from the 18th and 19th century that remain on Moss Hill andthe areas at the base of the Hill and onto the Arboretum-:- side of Centre Street, we beginour search by examining the many maps that are available in the collections of theBoston Public Library and Harvard University. Our search also includes the surveycompleted by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1982. This survey recommendedthat a number of these wonderful homes in the Jamaica Hills be listed on the NationalHistoric Register.

From these early maps we see the farms that line the old Centre Street as it windsbetween the current Arboretum and Moss Hill down to what is today called Weld Street.

The transformation from farms to large states is captured in the Detail from the 1888Bromley Real Estate Atlas map and the Detail from the 1896 Bromley Real Estate AtlasMap. (attachments #3 and #4). In fact, some of the significant homes shown on the mapsand built in the mid-18th century and the mid-19th century are still there today.In some cases the homes still reign as they did, in other instances the solid stone wallsthat measured their boundaries stand: and, in some cases the beautiful pathways withblossoms of trees and shrubs that magically led through the landscape can still bediscovered.

Some Examples of the Remaining Jewels of Jamaica Plain's Moss Bill and theJamaica Bills Area

The Nichols-Bowditch Mansion

As we turn onto Louders Lane today and precede easterly toward the Manning School wecome to the Moss B~ Footpath. The Footpath was built in the 19th century so thatpeople on the top of moss Hill had a pathway that allowed them to move down the hillwithout walking all the way around to Centre Street.

".

Climbing the Moss Bank Footpath we arrive at the Nichols-Bowditch mansion that stillcommands the view. The ltalianate mansion is a reminder of the Moss Hill homes builtin the second half of the 19th century. (see attached photo).

In the Victorian Era Jamaica Plains' 200 acre Moss Hill was also know as Bowditch Hill,named for one branch of the Bowditch family."Originally from Salem, the Nichols and Bowditch families often intermarried and in themid-nineteenth century bought land and built a number of mansions on Moss Hill" ("TheWee Stone House" by Stephen Lerman p. 11)

Mary Nichols (1793-1863) built the mansion in 1858. Mary Nichols had purchased theland for the mansion from John James Dixwell (1806-1876) who was married to theyoungest daughter of Nathaniel Bowditch.

"The progenitor of the Bowditch family was the famous Nathaniel Bowditch (1719-1839)- mathematician, ship's captain, and president of the American Academy of Arts andSciences, and the author of the New American Practical Navigator (1802), a book thathas gone through 75 additions and almost 1,000,000 copies over a span of200 years."(IBIDp.ll).

Many years after the Nichols-Bowditch mansion had passed from the ownership of thefamily, Mary Orne Bowditch returned to her grandfather's home and wrote a memoirentitled, the Moss Hill Memoir. The memoir not only captures what was once theelegance of the Bowditch estates, but allows us to glimpse the beauty that still remains.

"Then I said goodbye and turned up the driveway to Grandpapa Bowditch's. All MossHill is now girdled by new roads and small developments. Grandpapa's and UncleCharles' houses have been tom down. The bowling alley, pig sty, tilt, swing and

. woodpile are all gone, and our old playground is a wilderness. The well-kept lawns andgardens had grown up to be almost unrecognizable, but the new buildings were not yet insight from the hilltop. The spring was there, and, though uncared for, it is still the mostbeautiful place in the world. I retraced the familiar path to Grandpapa's garden. It waslike a maze growing about the sleeping beauty and symbolic of the life of pastgenerations - the paths overgrown and the unpruned shrubs flowering wildly, careless ofneglect. I wanted to pick armfuls of the lovely white blossoms, which no one but mewould ever see again, but something stopped me. Ipicked only a tiny bunch, which noteven the tree itself could miss. There was an unseen guardian. It was and will forever beGrandpapa's garden."

As we stand on the near the grounds of the Nichols-Bowditch mansion today on a springday we still feel the unseen guardian. But it is up to us to ensure that we protect thebeauty that still remains.

The Wee Stone House of Louders Lane

Walking back down the Moss Bank Footpath towards Louders Lane we pass a stand ofpine trees and a dense mass of rhododendrons and laurels that hide a beautiful stonehouse. The Wee Stone House at 57 Louders Lane was built in 1926, it is a wonderfulexample of style and designed based on the ideas of Ernest Flagg.

Our neighbors Stephen 1. Lerman and Phyllis M. Lerman purchased the home in 1986.Shortly after moving in they discovered a photograph of the house from 1939. Thisphotograph inspired them to research and write a wonderful little book entitled, WeeStone House, 57 Louders Lane Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts by Stephen J. Lerman.

"The inspiration for the style and design of Wee Stone house came from an extraordinaryarchitect, Ernest Flagg, whose radical ideas about small, affordable stone houses createda stir in the 1920s and 1930s and resurfaced in more recent years." ("Wee Stone House",p.2)

Ernest Flagg was a very well respected architect of New York whose designs includeThe Singer Tower and the Crocoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

"Concerned about the short supply, poor quality, and soaring cost of housing, Flaggturned his attention to affordable housing for the common man." (IBID, p 2)Heexperimented with different methods of construction that would lower the coat while stillmaintaining the integrity of architectural design. Eventually he came up with a method,now known as "the Flagg method". The Flagg method involved a process of erectingexterior walls of mosaic stone rubble by erecting wooden forms several feet high thatwere reused as the wall was constructed.

"Articles about Flagg appeared in McCall's Magazine, Scientific American, AmericanCountry Life, House Beautiful, and most prominently in the Collier's, The NationalWeekly. By the late 1940s Flagg's methods had spread nationwide; Peters alone builtnearly 200 Flagg-style stone houses." (IBID p.3)

Wee Stone House is an exemplary example of Flagg's method and remains one of thefew houses in Boston capturing the beauty and simplicity of his design.

(insert photos)

Continuing our path onto Louders Lane after turning off the Moss Bank Footpath we arestruck by the old stone wall that likely was constructed to mark the boundary of theNichols Bowditch estate .. The wall of large stone, erected without mortar, accompaniesus as walk down the lane. The large old, stately oaks and shag bark walnut trees form aprotective canopy and shade the lane. Of particular note is a centuries old oak standingin front of 53 Louders Lane. What a tale this old tree could tell as it watched in silence

as careless development and greedy subdivisions sprouted.

At the foot ofLouders Lane as it joins Centre Street are found a collection of houses thatare the oldest in Jamaica Hills. They date to the late 18th century, and recall a time whenfarms lined the old Centre Street. According to the survey competed by the BostonLandmarks Commission in 1982, they represent rare examples of the Federal Style ofhipped roof architecture from the late 18th century. Four of these properties wererecommended for listing in the National Register. Although this recommendation camein 1982, no action has been initiated to preserve the gift of these properties.

The Earliest Examples of Houses in Jamaica Hills

It is worth discussing each of these historically significant homes at the base ofLoudersLane, lining Centre Street, to understand why they must be protected.

991 and 1011 Centre Street-the homes of Zachariah Chandler and John LowderThe first Lowder to settle in this area was John Lowder (1724-1799). "The availableevidence suggests that John was the Corporal John Lowder of the Third Company inRoxbury, commanded by Captain Lemuel Child, in Colnel Willaim Heath's Regiment,which fought against the British at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775." ("WeeStone House"p. 13)"During this period, the Lowder family had a significant physical presence in this area,with land and houses acquired through both inheritance and purchase, often involvingvery complex arrangements. " (IBID.p.14)

Both John Lowder and his father-in-law Zacharia Chandler owned parcels oflow land inwhat is now the Arnold Arboretum. In the 17th century this area was called Gore'sMeadow where hay was grown. It was acquired by the Arboretum 1888.

On the opposite side of Centre Street from Gore's Meadow and the Arboretum are anumber of homes that are the oldest existing dwellings in the neighborhood. 991 and1011 Centre Street were constructed in the late 1700s and both were owned by HenryLowder. The Hales map of 1832 shows these houses labeled Lowder. (see attached). Aswe have previously noted these houses were recommended for the National Register aftera survey conducted by the Boston Landmarks Commission on 1982. They are both "Rareexamples of the Federal Style". (site)

(991 Centre as it looked in an undated photograph from the Jamaica Plain HistoricalSociety-note the sign in the smaller photograph that still shows the old spelling ofLowders Lane)'

(991 as it looks today)

(1011 as it looks today)

(1011 as it looks today)

The house at 1085 Centre is another example of rare 18th century architect that survives.It was recommended for the National Register by the BLC in its survey of 1982 and wascategorized as a"rare surviving Federal style house with Greek Revival and Mansardattributes' The house predates 1796. (see Photo).

•

(1085 as it looks today)

Crossing to the Arboretum side of Centre Street, opposite the home at 1085 Centre, is1090 Centre Street, which survives what was once an estate of62 acres owned by JabezLewis and William Winchester. It is also a rare example of the Federal style and waslikely built in the late 18th century.

Next to the Lewis & Williams home at 1090 Centre Street is the Adams-NervineComplex at 990 Centre Street. Toqay Adams-Nervirie complex is a condominiumcomplex. The buildings in the complex were constructed in the mid-to-Iate 19th century,and a number of them are designated and listed in the National Registry. Two houses ofparticular note within the complex are the J. Gardner Weld House (built in 1875), and theAdams House (built in 1880).

The final stop on our travels is on May Street (at the intersection of the Arborway andCentre Street). 63 May Street is an ltalianate' Style home of particular importancebecause it was once owned by the May family-a prominent family in Jamaica Plain whoonce held large land ownings and a position of influence in Boston from the 18th centurythrough the 19th century.

"More than two hundred and fifty years have passed since the first John May, master ofvessel, came from Mayfield, in Sussex, England, and became a resident of Jamaica Plain,and the ancestor of the many who bear the name of May in this country. "(Reminiscencesp.ll)

(63 May Street as it looks today)

The first May house on what was then May's Lane was built in 1650 It has been ownedand occupied by direct descendants of John May since 1771 through the writing of byHarriet Manning Whitcomb in 1897, "Annals and Reminiscences of Jamaica Plain". Itwas remembered as a typical New England fruit fann and noted for the quality of itscherries, peaches, pears, apples, and berries. Its boundaries originally included thebeautiful hill and estate of the Bowditch family~ and the lowlands extending north andeast to Pond and Eliot Streets.

"During the siege of Boston, the house was given up to soldiers for barracks. CaptainLemuel May was one of the minute-men who responded to the reveille at the break ofday on the 19th of April, 1775, and fought valiantly for his country at Lexington andConcord." (IBID p. 12)

The Benjamin May house at 63 May Street is our reminder of a rich and storied time inour history. It remains today and holds a place in the critical chapter of America.

Finally, our tour ends at the top of Moss Hill ~t the Nichols-Bowditch house. The houseremains today an excellent example of Italianate architecture.

Our tour of the Jamaica Hills could go on to list the many other homes of historical note,and the old carriage ways and stone paths that dot our landscape. But I think we see fromthis brief look that this area represents a singular portion of our shared history in Boston.In the following section we will complete the case for the creation of an IPOD for thiswonderful place.

The Missing Jewel in the Emerald Necklace-the Jamaica Hills

There is no other neighborhood in Boston that offers the public park land and green spaceof Jamaica Plain. Jamaica Plain (particularly the area southwest of Jamaica Pond) wasrecognized in the 19th century as the "Eden of America" for its beginnings as a placewhere farms supplied Boston with an abundance of fruits and vegetables. It was also thehome of summer estates and large land holdings that were owned by the wealthiestcitizens of Boston.

What was created in the 18tJ;tcentury and preserved in the 19thcentury has been protected,to leave us the Jamaica Plain that we find today. The history of publicly owned openspace, park land, and the responsibilities of safe-guarding these treasures is the essentialspirit of this neighborhood.

From Forrest Hills Cemetery to Franklin Park through Arnold Arboretum and onto theArborway and finally to Jamaica Pond are found many of the shinning jewels of theEmerald Necklace;.. all of them within the boundaries of Jamaica Plain.

But it is not the open space alone that has been deemed worthy of protection. The city ofBoston through its Zoning Code has often recognized that certain portions ofneighborhoods deserve protection. To that end Neighborhood Design Overlay Districtshave been established, "to protect the historic character, existing scale, quality ofpedestrian environment, character of the residential neighborhoods and concentrations ofhistoric buildings within the Neighborhood Design Overlay Districts" (Article 55,Section 55-28 Establishment of Neighborhood Overlay Districts, City of Boston Zoningcode as amended on May 9, 1996 and July 31, 1997).

This process has been used to establish the Mission Hill Neighborhood district, and in Jamaica Plain seven Neighborhood Design Overlay Districts were established in1996.Let us take each one in turn and recap the rationale that was given as criteria forestablishment. Please note that the following notes were all taken from Article 55-Jamaica Plain Neighborhood District, Section 55-28.

1. Glenvale Park Neighborhood Design Overlay District. Glenvale Park was platted in1848 and features a significant concentration of architecturally notable Greek Revival,ltalianate, and Mansard residences.

2. Green Street Neighborhood Design Overlay District. The Green Street manufacturingarea is characterized by a concentration of late 19thcentury masonry manufacturing andhotel buildings which were built near the location of the old Jamaica Plain Depot in theStony Brook Valley.

3. Hvde Square Neighborhood Design Overlay District. The Hyde Square area features anumber of triple decker residential buildings built in the 1890s by Roxbury and JamaicaPlain architects. Built in the Queen Anne style of architecture, these buildings arenotable for their unusually high quality of design.

4. Monument Square Neighborhood Design Overlay District. The Monument Squarearea is the historic center of Jamaica Plain. The area contains many significant examplesof high quality residential and public architecture.

5. Sumner Hill Neighborhood Design Overlav District. Sumner Hill has a variety of highquality architectural styles among its residential buildings. Houses in this district were

built along curvilinear streets which were designed to enhance the topography of the areaand create a more picturesque neighborhood form.

6. Walnut/Sigourney Neighborhood Design Overlay District. The Walnut/Sigourneyarea has a significant number of 19th century Victorian residences that were designed onlarge lots in order to take advantage of the c1o:seproximity to Franklin Park. Thesebuildings are notable because of the high design quality.

7. Williams Street Neighborhood Design Overlay District. Williams Street has aneclectic mix of high design quality triple deckers and Victorian residences nestledbetween Franklin Park and the Parkside Conservation Protection Subdistrict. Thesehouses were designed to take advantage of the topography of the area and create a morepicturesque urban form. :,

There is little doubt that the Jamaica Hills subsection of Jamaica Plain meets, and wewould argue, exceeds the criteria for the establishment of a Neighborhood DesignOverlay District.

If we examine the criteria used to establish the design overlay districts, (as stated in theSection 55-28), in comparison to the character: of the Jamaica Hills we find compellingreasons for the creation of a Neighborhood Design Overlay District.

The historic character of the neighborhood can be found in the houses along thenorthwest side of Centre Street that were built 'and owned by the Lowders family and onthe southwest side of Centre Street owned by the Lewis and Winchester familes. Asnoted in the BLC survey of 1983 these houses at 991, 1011, 1085 and 1090 Centre date tothe late 1700s and are "rare surviving examples of the Federal Style (in some cases withGreek Revival and Mansard attributes). With few exceptions these are the onlyremaining homes in Jamaica Plain that exist fri>mthe 18th century.

When we turn to important examples of 19th century architecture the neighborhood holdsforth stunning examples. At 63 May Street is the Italianate Style home of the illustriousMay Family. It was once part of a 63 acre estate where fruit trees abounded and suppliedthe City of Boston.

At 990 Centre Street we find the buildings that were the Adams-Nervine Assylum.Already listed in the National Historic Register; they were built in in the late 1800s ashomes for the J. Gardner Weld family and the Adams family. They are wonderfulexamples of Mansard/Queen Anne Colonial Revival architecture.

Climbing to the top of Moss Hill road we find the Nichols-Bowditch home, built in 1885it is a wonderful example of Italianate architecture.

The historic buildings that still exist in the Jamaica Hills are certainly not the only reason

for design protection. There are many pathways and walking routes that wind their waythrough this neighborhood and connect it to Jamaica Pond and the Arnold Arboretum.The view from the very top of the hills is not to be bettered by another vista within ourCity limits. This neighborhood is truly a beautiful jewel that is a link in the EmeraldNecklace. We must act before that jewel becomes a missing link.21.

If we were to be so presumptuous as to write create a description of a NeighborhoodDesign Overlay District for Jamaica Hills, it might read as follows:

Jamaica Hills Neighborhood Design Overlay District. The Jamaica Hills area was one ofthe earliest settled sections of Jamaica Plain. The area features a significantconcentration of 18th century homes that offer rare examples of Federal Stylearchitecture. There are also significant examples of 18th century buildings of high qualityof the Italianate and Queen Anne Style.

Somehow this description fails to capture what those of us who reside in thisneighborhood feel when we walk our streets and great our neighbors. Perhaps it is bestleft to those who came before us and cared so deeply about this wonderful part of ourCity to express what we all feel.

We turn again to the words of Mary Orne Bowditch as she describes her return to herfamily's homes on Moss Hill Road, "I retraced the familiar path to Grandpapa's garden.It was like a maze growing about the sleeping beauty and symbolic of the life .ofpastgenerations~the paths overgrown and the unpruned shrubs flowering wildly, careless ofneglect. I wanted to pick armfuls of the lovely white blossoms, which no one but mewould ever see again, but something stopped me. I picked only a tiny bunch, which noteven the tree itself could miss. There was an unseen guardian. It was and will forever beGarndpapa's garden.

The "unseen guardian" still watches over this wonderful neighborhood, and we have ourduty to protect what still exists and reminds us of a time past The facts and time compelus to remember what has been lost, and to take steps to ensure that what remains is savedfor future generations.