City and State: Brookline, Massachusetts
Listed: 1977
Type of district: National Register historic district, Massachusetts State historic district, local historic district
Main Intersection: Irving and High Streets
Pill Hill National Register Historic District Report
Pill Hill National Register Historic District Map
The Pill Hill Historic District, a late 19th century residential development, gets its name from the large number of medical professionals who have called the hill home from 1880 until the present. Pill Hill has always been an upper middle class, professional community. The original residents were drawn to the area because of its strategic location along the commuter railroad line, which offered the advantages of a pastoral setting in close proximity to Boston.
The district is distinguished by its large number of buildings, surrounding landscaping and high quality architecture. Many of the structures were designed by prominent Boston architects including Peabody and Sterns, Kilham and Hopkins, Ware and Van Brunt, William Ralph Emerson, Shaw and Hunnewell, and Arthur Little. Robert Peabody and Walter Kilham, Jr. each built homes for themselves in the Pill Hill district. The area is still a sought after suburban community for professionals today. It remains the picturesque reflection of its 19th century creators: a setting of graceful architecture and landscape.