West Roxbury Parkway is a historic parkway running from Washington Street in Boston, Massachusetts, where the Enneking Parkway runs south, to Horace James Circle in

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri * Brookline, New Hampshire * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookline, Vermont See ...

, where it meets the

Hammond Pond Parkway Hammond Pond Parkway is a historic parkway in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The road, built in 1932, extends from Hobart Road (at Beacon Street) in Newton to Horace James Circle in Brookline, where it joins the West Roxbury Parkway. It was desig ...

. The parkway serves as a connector between

Stony Brook Reservation Stony Brook Reservation is a woodland park in Boston and Dedham, Massachusetts, a unit of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston, part of the state park system of Massachusetts. It was established in 1894 as one of the five original rese ...

and

Hammond Pond Reservation Hammond Pond Reservation is a protected woodland park in Newton, Massachusetts. It features Hammond Pond, fishing and hiking trails as well as formations of sandstone conglomerate and Roxbury puddingstone which are popular for rock climbing. The r ...

(via Hammond Pond Parkway). West Roxbury Parkway was built between 1919 and 1929 and added to 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 artist ...

in 2006. The parkway is distinctive in the roadway system developed by the Metropolitan District Commission beginning around the turn of the 20th century in that it was built in collaboration with the City of Boston, and is maintained by the city. At the northern end of the Stony Brook Reservation, the parkway runs through

Bellevue Hill Park Bellevue Hill Park, owned and operated by the Cincinnati Park Board, is a city park in the neighborhood of Clifton Heights in Cincinnati, Ohio on Ohio Avenue. The park consists of , part of which is leased to the city by the University of Cinc ...

. The boundary roads of Bellevue Hill Park (Bellevue Hill Road, East Border Road, and West Border Road), which flank the parkway, are also listed as contributing properties to the West Roxbury Parkway. The West Roxbury Parkway also intersects with the

Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway The Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway (referred to locally as the VFW Parkway) is a historic parkway in Boston, Massachusetts. The southern terminus of the parkway is at Washington Street at the Dedham-West Roxbury border, from where it trave ...

History

Although land was taken for the construction of the parkway as early as 1894, construction did not begin on its southernmost section until 1919, when the section from Washington Street to Belgrade Avenue was built. It was extended to Centre Street in 1920, providing access via that road to the

Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in ...

, one of the city's objectives in the development of the parkway. The segment to Weld Street was completed in 1924, and the last section, to its terminus at Newton Street in Brookline, was completed in 1929. In 1924 construction of Bellevue Hill Road (originally called West Border Road) was completed. During the 1930s four rotaries were built on the parkway in order to improve traffic flow with the major cross streets: Centre Street, the VFW Parkway, Grove Street, and Newton Street in Brookline. The last of these is considered a part of the Hammond Pond Parkway, and does not contribute to this parkway's historic designation.

Major intersections

The entire route is in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, Suffolk County.

References

{{Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Parkways in Massachusetts Transportation in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Transportation in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Streets in Boston Brookline, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Boston National Register of Historic Places in Brookline, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts

History

Major intersections

See also

References