The Promontory:

Named for Pinebank, a mansion first built onsite in 1806, the promontory is an elevated headland that juts into the northern shore of Jamaica Pond. While its broad and open fields provide popular spaces for sports, concerts and other recreation, the home’s history is decidedly less straightforward.

The Mansion:

Three iterations of the Pinebank Mansion were built on the Promontory over the decades. Each was used as a residence for the prominent mercantile Perkins family, from which the nearby Perkins Street takes its name.

The first mansion was built in 1806 by James Perkins as a summer home.

The second was built in 1848 by James’ grandson, Edward, as a year-round replacement for the first. This iteration burned down in 1868.

The third and final mansion was built in 1868 by Ned’s cousin, architect John Hubbard Sturgis. Sturgis specialized in prominent estates, and utilized the redesign as an opportunity to pilot techniques he would later put to use for commissions including the first Boston Museum of Fine Arts building. The mansion was a fine and early example of the Queen Anne architectural style in the United States, and made use of intricate brick and stonework.

Architect Frederick Law Olmsted was struck by the beauty of Pinebank Mansion while designing the Emerald Necklace, and designated the structure for preservation and use within his plans. Of the many mansions and summer homes built by and for wealthy landowners around Jamaica Pond, Pinebank alone escaped destruction. It was acquired by the City of Boston in 1892.

While the mansion enjoyed a variety of uses over the decades, including as the headquarters of the Boston Parks and Recreation department, the Boston Children’s Museum, and more, recurring fires regularly trouble the structure and ultimately led to its demise. Major fires in 1976 and 1978 destroyed the building’s interior and severely damaged its roof. Though efforts and fundraisers were undertaken to preserve and restore the mansion, the burned-out husk of the building languished. Pinebank was demolished in 2007 and memorialized with granite slabs marking the structure’s foundation. Two proud sycamore trees onsite also help frame the building’s absence.

Even today, pieces of Pinebank remain onsite: portions of the structure’s debris were entombed beneath the memorial, to be used as reference materials in the event the home is ever rebuilt.