 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Chestnut Hill | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Map of Chestnut Hill | |
  Chestnut Hill  Chestnut Hill  Chestnut Hill | |
| Coordinates:42°19′50″N71°9′58″W / 42.33056°N 71.16611°W /42.33056; -71.16611 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| Counties | Middlesex,Norfolk,Suffolk |
| ZIP Code | 02467 |
Chestnut Hill is a wealthyNew England village located six miles (10 km) west of downtownBoston,Massachusetts, United States. It is best known for being home toBoston College and a section of theBoston Marathon route. Like allMassachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporatedmunicipal entity. It is located partially inBrookline inNorfolk County, partially in the city of Boston inSuffolk County, and partially in the city ofNewton inMiddlesex County. Chestnut Hill's borders are defined by the 02467ZIP Code.[1] The name refers to several small hills that overlook the 135-acre (546,000 m2)Chestnut Hill Reservoir rather than one particular hill.
The boundary between Newton andBrighton was originally more or less straight northwest–southeast, following today's boundary at the east edge of theNewton Commonwealth Golf Course, and the west boundary of theMBTA rail yards. It followed what is today St. Thomas More Road and Chestnut Hill Driveway through swampland that is today the western edge of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, and then rejoined today's city limit that runs essentially with the portion of Beacon Street that forms the western boundary of the Reservoir, and continues southeast to today's triple point between Boston, Brookline, and Newton near the intersection of Reservoir Road and Middlesex Road.[2]
In 1874, the Lawrence farm land that is today the Boston College lower campus (bounded by Commonwealth Avenue, the slope dividing Boston College upper campus from lower campus, Beacon St., Chestnut Hill Driveway, and St. Thomas More Rd.) was ceded from Newton to Boston, so that Boston could add a western basin to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. This area was excavated to become the Lawrence Basin of the Reservoir, paired with the surviving Bradlee Basin,[3] to receive water from theSudbury Aqueduct. Beacon St. was rerouted around the southern and western edges of the Bradlee Basin. The two halves of the Reservoir were separated to preserve theCochituate Aqueduct, which ran under a causeway separating the two halves of the reservoir, now roughly St. Thomas More Rd. and Chestnut Hill Driveway, and a short stretch of Beacon Street.
While most of Chestnut Hill remainedfarmland well into the early 20th century, the area around the reservoir was developed in 1870 by landscape architectFrederick Law Olmsted, designer ofCentral Park inNew York City and of theEmerald Necklace in Boston andBrookline.
Because of the significance of its landscape and architecture, theNational Register of Historic Places designatedparts of Chestnut Hill ashistoric districts in 1980s.[4] Examples ofColonial,Italianate,Shingle,Tudor Revival, andVictorian architectural styles are evident in the village's country estates and mansions. The Boston College campus is itself an early example ofCollegiate Gothic architecture.
Hammond Pond Reservation, an extensive forest preserve and protected wetlands,[5] goes through Chestnut Hill andNewton where it is also known as Webster Woods.[6]
The Kennard Park and Conservation Area is a post-agricultural forest grown up on 19th century farmland. The mixed and conifer woodlands reveal colonial stone walls, a red maple swamp with century-old trees, and a sensitive fern marsh.[7]
The Chestnut Hill Reservation embraces 120 acres adjacent to the Boston College campus, including a 1.5 mile walking trail around a reservoir.[8] The Reservation was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted’s son and constructed in the late 1860s to give Boston clean drinking water and a rural park. Just outside the park proper, the Boston Waterworks with its three gatehouses at water’s edge and three majestic pump houses on Beacon Street is considered a masterpiece of 19th century engineering[by whom?] and landscape design.
The Heartbreak Hill Park, surrounding the Waban Hill reservoir, opened in 2015, and a major renovation was completed in 2020.[9]
Chestnut Hill is served by two branches of theGreen Line of theMBTA, Boston'slight rail system. Stations include:
The area is also served by the 51 and 60 MBTA buses.
Massachusetts Route 9 runs through the area from west to east and serves as the main retail corridor for Chestnut Hill and many surrounding communities.Hammond Pond Parkway connects the area from north to south as a four-lane road through conservation areas, bypassing the busy retail areas and residential neighborhoods.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(February 2023) |
The village is served by the Brookline Public Schools, Newton Public Schools, and Boston Public Schools, depending on the city or town in which a particular residence is located. The neighborhood also features several private schools includingBrimmer and May School (non-denominational, K–12),The Chestnut Hill School, andBeaver Country Day School.
Chestnut Hill is home to bothBoston College andPine Manor College (formerly).
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Municipalities and communities ofMiddlesex County, Massachusetts,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Towns |
| |
| CDPs | ||
| Other villages | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofNorfolk County, Massachusetts,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other villages | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofSuffolk County, Massachusetts,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Neighborhoods | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
_map%2c_1852.jpg){kind=link}