Brookline Preservation Commission Local Historic District Report
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Brookline Preservation Commission
Local Historic District Report
Address: 228 Pleasant Street
District: Crowninsheild LHD
Applicant: Chadi Kawkabani
Date Built: 1915
Architect: Joseph J. Driscoll
Builder: J.S. Greenwood
Statement of Significance:
The home at 228 Pleasant Street was built in 1915 for Joseph P. Kenny by architect Joseph J Driscoll and builder J.S.
Greenwood. According to Brookline Directory listings, Kenny never occupied the home, using it instead as a rental
property. The vast majority of buildings in the Crowninshield LHD are single-family residences built in the
early 20th century in an eclectic mix of Colonial Revival, Mission and Craftsman styles. The area is unified by
a cohesive streetscape, common setbacks, similar building scale and massing, 2 ½ story building heights,
pitched roofs and a harmonious palette of building materials. The home at 228 Pleasant St belongs to a group
of homes in the neighborhood that feature cubical massing, stucco siding and hip tiled roofs, an eclectic mix of
Craftsman and Spanish Colonial Revival styles. The 2 ½ story home rises from a stone foundation to a tiled hip
roof with wide eaves, exposed rafters and small hipped roof dormers on the façade and rear elevations. The
second floor slightly overhangs the first at the façade, resting on two symmetrical bay windows flanking the
center entry and decorative brackets at the corners. Large square, tapered columns frame the raised front entry
and first floor porch on the north elevation.
Previous alterations to the house include repairs to the gutters and porch made by owner Mr. Reidy in 1949.
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228 Pleasant Street
Local Historic District Report – January 2021
Proposed Alterations:
The Applicant is proposing to complete the final details of a renovation project, proposing exterior fixtures and
fences. Completing this project will involve the following changes to the exterior of the existing house:
Install a 42” high IPE fence extending approximately 19’ from the rear corner of the Adams Street
façade on the property line, then jogging in 20’ to frame a car park area and continuing to the rear
property line. The section of fence at the rear of the car park is 72” high. The fence also steps down at
the rear lot line to 48” where it borders the neighbor’s fence. The fence has two proposed gates, one
from the car park area and one entering from the Adams Street sidewalk. These gates are 32”wide by
42” high, constructed of IPE in the style of the rest of the fence. An additional 72” section of fence will
extend along the edge of the driveway from the rear corner of the window well to the front corner of the
neighbor’s garage. The fences are constructed of horizontal IPE boards with ½” -1 ½ ” gaps between.
Install black Pandora exterior lights as follows:
o 2 on left and right of the front door.
o 2 on the rear elevation by the basement and kitchen doors.
o 3 on the Adams street façade: one in the center of the 2nd floor to light the new deck and two on
the right and left sides of the first floor porch.
o 2 on the right and left corners of the fence facing the proposed car park area.
Applicable Guidelines:
The Preservation Commission’s Design Guidelines for Local Historic Districts state that:
General Guidelines
Traditional building materials should be used for existing buildings.
Fences & Walls
New fences and walls should not prevent or restrict views of a building from a public way. Tall solid
fences and walls should not be constructed as noise or headlight barriers. The design of fences should
be appropriate in scale and architectural style to the building, its site and the surrounding properties.
New front fences and the front yard portion of side fences should be open in character so as not to create
visual barriers.
New fences and walls running along property lines with street frontage, as well as any section of a side
yard lot line fence or wall that is forward of (i) the applicant’s house or outbuilding or (ii) adjacent
house or outbuilding, should not exceed 42” in height. Other new fences and walls should not exceed
72” in height. Fences running from the side of a building to a side yard fence should not be more than
42” high if a higher fence would obscure significant features on the side of the building.
Preliminary Findings:
The current application is the third to come before the Commission for this project; the applicant has received previous
approval for the remaining work on the house.
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228 Pleasant Street
Local Historic District Report – January 2021
The current application first came before the Commission at the November 11th, 2020 hearing. Due to the number of
items in the application, Commissioners voted on each item independently. The proposed aluminum gutters were not
approved but the applicant agreed to use fiberglass gutters; the Commission voted to approve 4x5 fiberglass gutters for the
first floor porch. The security system with cameras was also approved, after the applicant agreed to relocate some of the
cameras to less visible locations. The proposed AC condensers with screening were approved as submitted. Remaining
items on the application were continued; the Commission formed a subcommittee to work out the details. The
subcommittee was empowered with respect to the doors and vents and these items were approved with minor revisions to
vent placement. The fence and lighting must return to the full Commission for decision. In the subcommittee, the fence
proposal was revised to meet the design guidelines requirements for height. There were concerns raised about whether the
fence design was “open in character” as the guidelines require for side yard fences with street frontage. The subcommittee
was supportive of the lighting as submitted and there were no changes to the proposed lights.
Ariel view of 228 Pleasant Street, looking east.
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228 Pleasant Street
Local Historic District Report – January 2021
Ariel view of 228 Pleasant Street, looking north.
Ariel view of 228 Pleasant Street, looking west.
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228 Pleasant Street
Local Historic District Report – January 2021
Ariel view of 228 Pleasant Street, looking south.
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228 Pleasant Street
Local Historic District Report – January 2021
Pleasant Street façade (east).
Pleasant Street façade and south elevation, view from Pleasant Street.
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228 Pleasant Street
Local Historic District Report – January 2021
Adams Street façade (north) and west elevation (rear of property), view from Adams Street.
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228 Pleasant Street
Local Historic District Report – January 2021
Pleasant Street
façade, & rear
elevations,
proposed locations
of lights
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228 Pleasant Street
Local Historic District Report – January 2021
Adam’s Street façade, proposed locations of lights
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228 Pleasant Street
Local Historic District Report – January 2021
Proposed wall sconce
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228 Pleasant Street
Local Historic District Report – January 2021Fence Plan
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228 Pleasant Street
Local Historic District Report – January 2021You can also read
