Harvard University Statement on Jabez Lewis House
Harvard University Statement on Jabez Lewis House, 1090 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is the oldest public arboretum in North America and one of the world’s leading centers for the study of plants. A unique blend of beloved public landscape and respected research institution, the Arboretum provides and supports world-class research, horticulture and education programs that foster the understanding, appreciation and preservation of trees.
Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and the Arboretum’s first director, Charles Sprague Sargent, the Arnold Arboretum is a National Historic Landmark and one of the best preserved Olmsted designs in the nation. Harvard provides exemplary care and stewardship of the landscape and horticultural collections and maintains the landscape – a jewel in Boston’s Emerald Necklace– as a public landscape for the citizens of Boston and the world. More than 200,000 visitors enjoy the Arboretum each year.
The Jabez Lewis House at 1090 Centre Street was originally the home of Jabez Lewis and his relatives, until 1882 when the Adams Nervine Asylum acquired the property. From 1885 to 1917 the Arboretum leased the house and an acre of land to accommodate its first plant propagator, Jackson Dawson, and his family with the land used for plant propagation. The Arboretum subsequently purchased the house with five acres of land between 1924 and 1927, and the house was used as a residence for Arboretum staff members until 1990 with the land used for nurseries, greenhouses and other service uses for the Arboretum. The building was last used for temporary office space during the Hunnewell Building renovation in 1993. The modest house is one of the few remaining Federal-era houses that formerly lined Centre Street in what was then West Roxbury and is now Jamaica Plain, and Harvard recognizes its historic value.
The house sits on a Harvard-owned parcel of land used to support the horticultural operations of the Arboretum and fulfill the responsibility of the Arboretum to protect and maintain the historic, Olmsted/Sargent-designed landscape that is the primary focus of the Arboretum’s National Historic Landmark designation. While Harvard recognizes and understands the Boston Landmarks Commission’s interest in preserving the house, this desire must be balanced with the broader historic preservation goal of maintaining and protecting the Arboretum’s historic landscape. In considering the parcel at 1090 Centre Street, Harvard seeks to balance two public interests – the preservation and maintenance of the Arboretum’s historic Olmsted/Sargent landscape and preservation of the historic house. It is committed to finding an appropriate solution to the long-term stewardship of both resources.