Brookline Village is one of the major commercial and retail centers of the town of

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

. Located just north of

Massachusetts Route 9 Route 9 is a major east–west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with U.S. Route 20 (US 20), Route 2, and Interstate 90, Route 9 is one of the major east–west routes of Massachusetts. The western terminus is near the center of the cit ...

and west of the Muddy River, it is the historic center of the town and includes its major civic buildings, including town hall and the public library. The commercial spine of the village, extending along Washington Street from Route 9 to the library, is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as the Brookline Village Commercial District.

History

Brookline Village was the first significant site, known as Muddy River, of colonial settlement in what is now Brookline, due to the crossing of the Muddy River, which provided overland access between

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

(then little more than a village at what is now

Harvard Square Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The term "Harvard Square" is also used to delineate the busin ...

). The village grew from this beginning to become Brookline's first major economic center. In the 19th century commercial activity was concentrated on Boylston, Washington, and Harvard Streets, and grew with the construction of what is now Brookline Avenue, and the arrival of the rail line that now serves the MBTA. Brookline Village was once known as Punch Bowl Village, named after the Punch Bowl Tavern, and for a time was part of

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for n ...

.Drake, Francis Samuel
''The Town of Roxbury: Its Memorable Persons and Places, Its History and Antiquities, with Numerous Illustrations of Its Old Landmarks and Noted Personages''
Boston : Municipal Print. Office, 1908. Cf
p.346
/ref>

Public transportation

Brookline Village is served by the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

's Green Line D-train at the

Brookline Village Brookline Village is one of the major commercial and retail centers of the town of Brookline, Massachusetts. Located just north of Massachusetts Route 9 and west of the Muddy River, it is the historic center of the town and includes its major c ...

station, with service to downtown

. The area is also served by the MBTA's bus service. Brookline Village, Brookline, MA MBTA D-Train stop

References

Historic districts in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Brookline, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Brookline, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts {{NorfolkCountyMA-NRHP-stub

History

Public transportation

See also

References