English cottage in Jamaica Plain was lovingly restored
In the Woodbourne Historic District in Jamaica Plain is a charming English cottage at 90 Florian St. that has been lovingly restored and cared for.
Diane Pienta of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has listed this three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath home for $419,000.
The Woodbourne Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, and its planned development was far ahead of its time.
In the 1970s some Massachusetts towns changed their zoning bylaws to allow cluster zoning, and in the 1980s, Seaside, Fla., reflected the New Urbanism with homes clustered to allow owners to walk to work.
Smart growth is the new buzzword, encouraging residential development along public transportation routes.
But they are not new concepts.
In 1911 the Boston Dwelling House Company was formed to build and sell reasonably priced homes in a development that was planned to make best and most attractive use of the land.
The principals bought 30 acres within walking distance of the Forest Hills station and asked Fredrick Law Olmsted Jr. to develop a plan for the project.
His plan would have made the homes too expensive, so Robert Anderson Pope of New York City, an expert in model cities, was hired for the job.
Pope’s plan had smaller lot sizes, “orienting the houses so that no house would obstruct the view from the main rooms of another.”
The paneled dining room has a built-in china cabinet and a crystal-like chandelier.
Lots in the neighborhood were left vacant as common land for all to enjoy.
An early sales brochure described the area as “within 15 minutes of the business center of Boston on a five-cent ride.”
The five-cent ride is long gone, but the 15-minute commute is still possible.
And the homes that were expected to be within the price range of railroad motormen actually cost almost twice the original estimate and were sold to dentists and schoolteachers instead.
Those 30 acres had belonged to William Minot Sr. and were part of the original Weld land, as was Arnold Arboretum.
Minot built a summer estate there that his daughter called Woodbourne after the estate in Sir Walter Scott’s book, “Guy Mannering.”
Florian Street was one of the first in the neighborhood to be developed.
The living room features a beautiful wood-burning fireplace with a brick surround and wood mantel.
Kilham & Hopkins, architects who had both graduated from MIT, designed the homes in the Arts and Crafts style.
The attitude toward home landscaping at that time was that flowering shrubs were too large for house lots, and perennials should be used instead.
Low-cut privet hedges were planted along the sidewalk to separate the homes from the street.
Ninety Florian is on a corner lot. On one side the privet hedge has grown tall and hides the grassy front lawn.
On the other side a short hedge of dwarf boxwood allows the stucco and wood cottage to be admired from the street.
A new front porch with new foundation and roof were built in 2003, the same year that new shutters were added and the wood trim of the home was replaced or repaired.
The kitchen has white appliances and white cabinets, and the floor has alternating black and white squares.
Also in 2003 the gutters and downspouts were repaired or replaced, the front lawn was regraded and reseeded, and the exterior was repainted.
Inside is a generous foyer with a coat closet, a stairway to the bedroom level, a door to the basement stairs, and doors to the living room and the kitchen.
The living room is light and bright with two oversized one-over-one windows.
A focal point is a beautiful wood-burning fireplace with brick surround and wood-paneled mantelpiece.
A wide doorway opens to the paneled dining room with built-in china cabinet and hutch.
A crystal-like chandelier hangs in the middle of the room, and two large windows center the exterior walls.
Both rooms have hardwood floors and white walls, giving a sense of light and airiness.
The kitchen is through the next door. It is also painted white, with white cabinets and white appliances.
The floor features large squares in alternating black and white. A short hallway that leads to the back door passes a large pantry.
A powder room is through another door in the kitchen.
Upstairs there are three generous bedrooms and a full bath. All of the rooms have windows that give pleasing views of the grounds and the neighborhood.
All of the windows in the home were replaced with one-over-one Thermopane windows about 1998, approximately the same time that new wiring and a new roof were added.
The hardwood floors were refinished in 1999. A high-efficiency gas furnace was installed in 2000, and central air conditioning was added in 2004.
The chimney was repointed and a copper cap installed in 2006. The chimney was cleaned and inspected in 2008. The interior of the home was repainted in 2006.
The grounds of the home are also charming. A bed of tulips lines one side of the front walk.
The other side has herbs, including lavender, chocolate mint, chives, French tarragon, thyme, golden oregano and peppermint.
In the back are perennial beds that include two varieties of white peony, white David phlox, shasta daisies, yellow coneflower, black-eyed Susan, blue and white delphiniums, foxgloves and columbine.
There are also daylilies, hosta, lily of the valley, iris, roses and lupine. Shrubs include a lilac and China boy and China girl holly.
There is also a vegetable garden already planted with lettuce and tomatoes.
DETAILS
Address: 90 Florian St., Jamaica Plain
BR/BA: Three bedrooms, one-and-a-half baths
Age: 1912; recent updates
Price: $419,000
Size: 1,017+/- square feet
Taxes: $1,930 (with residential exemption
Features of home: Architect-designed English cottage with beautiful grounds, part of National Historic District; bright living room with wood-burning fireplace; paneled dining room with built-in china cabinet; hardwood floors; front porch suitable for sitting; basement laundry area; off-street parking for two cars.
Close by: Shopping and restaurants of Jamaica Plain; Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, Short walk to Forest Hills MBTA commuter rail and Orange Line station; 15-minute commute by train to Boston; several MBTA bus routes.
Contact: Diane Pienta, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, 713 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. Phones: 617-522-4600, (office) or 617-796-8619 (voice mail). Web site: www.NewEnglandMoves.com.
This property may be seen by appointment.
