The Brookline Department of Public Works held a ceremony on September 20th to mark the installation of seven electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the Town-owned parking lot between Kent Street and Webster Place. (The parking lot is behind Starbucks, Caffe Nero, and other businesses. Webster Place is at the back of the lot in the newer photo.)
The parking lot was created in 1962, replacing the large house shown facing Kent Street in the older photo. Originally a single-family home built in the mid-19th century, the wood-frame structure went through several uses in its 100+ year existence. It was a boarding house from the 1870s or 1880s until the early 1920s. (Lydia Fenn was the proprietor in the early years.) The building served as the Brookline Elks lodge from 1928 to 1962, when it was torn down to make way for the parking lot.
(Older photo courtesy of the Public Library of Brookline; new photo courtesy of the Brookline Department of Public Works.)
Ken Liss is president of the Brookline Historical Society.