October 8th - October 14th

October 14, 1845

October 14, 1845 - Second Town Hall dedicated
October 8, 1915 - Civil War statue dedicated
October 8, 1926 - Notable paintings left to town
October 13, 1965 - New Town Hall dedicated

October 14, 1845
Second Town Hall dedicated
Brookline's second Town Hall -- the first in today's municipal center of town -- was dedicated on Holden Street. The Rev. John Pierce, minister at Brookline's oldest church (First Parish), gave the dedication speech.

Pierce, who first came to Brookline as minister in 1797, described the building as "this new, commodious, and beautiful Town Hall." At the same time, he foresaw its future replacement as the town grew and changed.

"The progressive improvements of modern times render it not improbable that, when this beauteous fabric shall grow old, and decay, it may give place to an edifice, which shall as far exceed this, as the present is superior to the rude structures of former times."

The building (shown at the top of this post) was, indeed, replaced by a new, much larger Town Hall, in 1873. The old building was then used as the police station. It was torn down in 1904 when an addition to the Pierce Grammar School (now the Historic Building) was built.

The location of the second Town Hall is indicated by the blue star on these maps from 1874 and 1907 and the current aerial view. In 1874 it was serving as the police station. By 1907 it had been torn down and replaced by the addition to the 1855 Pierce Grammar School building. (Click image for a larger view)

October 8, 1915
Civil War statue dedicated
Brookline's second Civil War memorial -- you can read more about the first one here -- was dedicated on the lawn next to the Brookline Village library in ceremonies that featured Massachusetts Governor David Walsh and other local and state officials.

The memorial, a statue by noted sculptor Edward Clark Potter on top of a granite base, featured a Union bugler mounted on his horse.

Potter is known particularly for his equestrian statues, including figures of George Washington in Paris (with a replica in Chicago), Ulysses S. Grant in Philadelphia, and Union General Joseph Hooker in front of the State House in Boston. He also sculpted the lions, dubbed Patience and Fortitude, at the New York Public Library on 42nd Street.

October 8, 1926
Notable paintings left to town
Desmond FitzGerald, whose house stood at the corner of Washington and Cypress Streets, was a hydraulic engineer who designed the waterworks at the Chestnut Hill reservoir. (A video of an actor portraying him can be seen at the Waterworks Museum.) 

He was also a noted art collector who built a gallery, adjacent to his home, to house his collection. (The gallery building has been the Church of Christ since 1942.) Upon his death in 1926, several paintings were left to the town.

Interior of Desmond FitzGerald's art gallery, now the Church of Christ. The skylight, bringing natural light to the display of art, was later replaced by a new roof.

Several of the paintings FitzGerald left to the town are on display in different rooms on the first floor of the library, while others -- watercolors more sensitive to sunlight -- are in storage. Read more about FitzGerald, his art collection, and his gallery in this handout prepared for a Historical Society program held in the space several years ago.

October 13, 1965
New Town Hall dedicated

Brookline's fourth Town Hall, the third in Brookline Village, was officially dedicated. Boston Mayor John Collins, arriving late, gave the dedication speech.

October 13, 1965 (Public Library of Brookline photo)

"The carefully planned details of the dedication were delayed a total of 30 minutes," reported a clearly annoyed Brookline Chronicle Citizen, "while town officials and guests awaited the arrival of the guest speaker." Collins, noted the paper, jokingly called Brookline "a lovely enclave to which we would like to lay claim."

Town officials had moved into the building the previous fall, but the dedication was postponed until landscaping was completed.