Pill Hill, Brookline, Massachusetts
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Pill Hill, also known as "High Street Hill," is a neighborhood 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 ...
, United States, and part of
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...
.


History

Pill Hill became part of Brookline in 1844, when it was annexed from Boston. Noted
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
Samuel Philbrick lived in Brookline at 182 Walnut Street during the mid-19th century. His home eventually became a stop for the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
. Like other Pill Hills in the United States, Pill Hill in Brookline was nicknamed for the large numbers of doctors in the neighborhood. That was likely due to its proximity to hospitals in the
Longwood Medical and Academic Area The Longwood Medical and Academic Area (also known as Longwood Medical Area, LMA, or simply Longwood) is a medical campus in Boston, Massachusetts. Flanking Longwood Avenue, LMA is adjacent to the Fenway–Kenmore, Audubon Circle, and Mission H ...
of
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 ...
. "High Street Hill" is the older and more formal name for the neighborhood. The neighborhood has been 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 Pill Hill Historic District. Pill Hill is one of seven Local Historic Districts in Brookline.


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 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 ...
to its north and the historically working-class neighborhood known as The Point ("Whiskey Point") to its south. Pill Hill also lies adjacent to
Olmsted Park Olmsted Park is a linear park in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts, and a part of Boston's Emerald Necklace of connected parks and parkways. Originally named Leverett Park, in 1900 it was renamed to honor its designer, Frederick Law Olmsted. ...
and Leverett Pond to its east (part of Greater Boston's
Emerald Necklace The Emerald Necklace consists of a chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and gets its name from the way the planned chain appears ...
park system); parkland which in turn borders the
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 ...
neighborhoods of
Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...
and Mission Hill. The neighborhood is also near Route 9, a major Massachusetts highway.


Climate

Brookline falls under the
USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
6b Plant
Hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
.


Demographics

The most commonly reported ethnicities/ancestries in Pill Hill are
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
(20.7%), various
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
ancestries (14.6%),
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
(6.7%),
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
(6.5%), and
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
(6.1%). Additionally, 2.4% of those living in Pill Hill have
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
ancestry. 17.9% of Pill Hill residents are foreign born.


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 Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
, and French.


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 Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...
.


Sites

*Philbrick Square, a park designed by
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
in the 1880s, is located in Pill Hill. *The historic
Free Hospital for Women Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...
has been located in Pill Hill since 1895. *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.


Public transportation


Light rail and subway

Pill Hill's close proximity to Brookline Village, allows for easy access to 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
Brookline Village (MBTA station) Brookline Village station is a light rail station on the MBTA Green Line D branch, located in the Brookline Village neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts, United States. It was originally a commuter rail station on the Boston and Albany ...
. Additionally, Pill Hill is in close proximity to the Green Line E-train line in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, notably the
Riverway Riverway, also referred to as "the Riverway," is a parkway in Boston, Massachusetts. The parkway is a link in the Emerald Necklace system of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s. Starting at the Landmark Center end o ...
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.


Education


Public schools

The local public school is the William H. Lincoln School.


Notable residents

*Samuel Philbrick,
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
, lived in Pill Hill in the mid-19th century


Photo gallery

File:BrooklineMA PillHillPhilbrickCommon.jpg, Philbrick Square. File:Free Hospital for Women, Brookline, MA.JPG, Free Hospital for WomenA. File:Hotel Adelaide, Brookline.jpg, Hotel Adelaide.


References

{{Reflist Brookline, Massachusetts Neighborhoods in Massachusetts Geography of Norfolk County, Massachusetts