Brookline -- Weld
- General note
- Larz and Isabel Anderson created fashionable and personally inspiring gardens on a property they named "Weld" in honor of her grandfather, William Fletcher Weld. The gardens served as inspiration for Isabel's writings of children's stories. They also evoked the history of Larz and Isabel's family heritage. During their ownership, the garden plan was nearly square, with a built-up enclosure of terrace and balustrades on the sides. A pergola stood at the end. The lowest level of the garden contained the mall and flower beds. A grove of trees shut off the formal garden from the house. Semicircular cement seats are located at each end of the 380 foot allee. Isabel left Weld to the town of Brookline for public recreation and public education. Brookline renamed Weld "Larz Anderson Park." Sited as not suited for a public facility, the house was razed and the gardens were destroyed or abandoned. The stables now house the Museum of Transportation, founded in 1949 with the Andersons' motor car collection. In 1990, an effort was attempted to stabilize the few remaining structures. Bulldozing of the grounds now makes restoration difficult.
- Persons and firms associated with the garden include: William F. Weld (former owner of land); Larz and Isabel Weld Perkins Anderson (former owners, -1948); Town of Brookline (present owners, 1948-present); Edmund M. Wheelwright (architect of house, stable and garage, begun 1885); Charles A. Platt (architect of Italian garden, grove and bowling green,1901); Fox and Gale (architects of rose garden and tennis courts, 1902); Onchi San (gardener of Japanese garden, 1907); Little and Browne (architects of water garden and Chinese garden and additions to house, 1910-1916)
- Landscape architect
- Fox & Gale
- Former owner
- Anderson, Isabel Weld Perkins
- Weld, William F.
- Landscape architect
- Little & Browne, Architect
- Platt, Charles A. (Charles Adams), 1861-1933
- Creator
- Wheelwright, Edmund M.
- Former owner
- Anderson, Larz, 1866-1937
- Collection Creator
- McFarland, J. Horace (John Horace), 1859-1948
- American Rose Society
- Place
- Weld (Brookline, Massachusetts)
- United States of America -- Massachusetts -- Norfolk County -- Brookline
- Topic
- Gardens -- Massachusetts -- Brookline
- Landscape architect
- Fox & Gale
- Former owner
- Anderson, Isabel Weld Perkins
- Weld, William F.
- Landscape architect
- Little & Browne, Architect
- Platt, Charles A. (Charles Adams), 1861-1933
- Creator
- Wheelwright, Edmund M.
- Former owner
- Anderson, Larz, 1866-1937
- See more items in
- J. Horace McFarland Company collection
- J. Horace McFarland Company collection / Series 1: Garden Images / United States / Massachusetts
- Date
- 1903-1930
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.MCF, File MA030
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection Citation
- Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, J. Horace McFarland Company Collection.
- Collection Rights
- Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
- Bibliography
- Garden has been featured in American Estates and Gardens, "The Garden of 'Weld,' Brookline, Massachusetts," pp. 275-277. Garden has been featured in "The Garden of Weld," in House and Garden Vol. V. No. 3 (March 1904), pp. 105-113. Garden has been featured in Larz Anderson, The Garden of Weld, in Architectural Record Vol. XIII. (May 1903), pp. 433-451. Garden has been featured in Louis Valcoulon Le Moyne, Country Residences in Europe and America (New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1908). Garden has been featured in Arthur Herrington, "Weld Brookline," in Journal of the International Garden Club, Vol. III, No. 1 (March 1919) Garden has been featured in Richard G. Kenworthy, "Published Records of Italianate Gardens in America," in Journal of Garden History, Vol. X, No. 1 (January-March, 1990), p. 31. Garden has been featured in Richard G. Kenworthy, "Bringing the World to Brookline: the gardens of Larz and Isabel Anderson," in Journal of Garden History, Vol. XI, No. 4 (October-December 1991), pp. 224-241. Garden has been featured in Keith N. Morgan, Shaping an American Landscape: The Art and Architecture of Charles Platt (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1995), pp. 87-91.
- Scope and Contents note
- The folders include a work sheet and copies of articles.
- Collection Restrictions
- Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
