Session Locations · Brookline, MA
Larz Anderson Park Family Photographer
The largest park in Brookline, and the only one built as a private estate — a lagoon, a stone rotunda, and the best view of Boston in the town.
This was somebody’s garden. Isabel Weld Perkins and Larz Anderson bought the Weld family estate in 1899, had Charles A. Platt lay out the grounds, and left the whole thing to Brookline in 1948. What that gives you now is a public park with private-estate bones: a water garden with a temple on its shore, stone landings at the edge of the lagoon, and a hilltop the Friends of the park call the best view of Boston in Brookline. It is also a Brookline park, which means a photo session here needs a permit. This page covers all of it.
Larz Anderson Park at a glance
Everything you need before booking a session here.
- Where we meet
- Newton StreetLarz Anderson Park · Brookline, MA 02445
- From the studio
- About 50 minutesChelmsford to Brookline, traffic depending
- Permit
- RequiredBrookline park rules list filming and photoshoots as needing a permit
- Who issues it
- Recreation DepartmentNot Parks and Open Spaces — film and photo permissions sit with Recreation
- Admission
- FreeLargest park in Brookline · on-site parking, no charge
- Hours
- Dawn to duskUnless otherwise permitted · lit facilities later
- Dogs
- LeashedOff leash only in the Green Dog area, with a registered tag
- Best light
- Final 90 minutesThe hill holds sun after the lagoon has gone into shade
Why this location
A public park with private bones.
Most town parks were laid out to be used. This one was laid out to be looked at, by people who could afford to have the view arranged for them. Charles A. Platt did the work — trees and small pieces of architecture placed so the eye is led rather than left to wander — and a hundred and twenty years later that is still what makes it photograph so well. There is nowhere in the park where the background is accidental. We choose which parts of it your session moves through during your Design Consultation, built around the light and around the ages in your group.
The Lagoon
Still water, a fountain, weeping willows and stone landings built right to the edge. The most photographed corner of the park and the one that changes most between May and November.
The Temple of Love
A domed rotunda on the shore of the old water garden, with its own flight of stone steps. Real architecture in the middle of a public park, and the frame people recognize as Brookline without being told.
The Top of the Hill
Open lawn where the twenty-five room house used to stand, and the view of Boston that the Friends of the park call unsurpassed by any other site in Brookline. It also holds evening sun a good while after the lagoon has gone flat.
The Maple Paths
Paved walks under mature maples, with benches, and by the end of October a floor of red and orange deep enough for a toddler to disappear into. The easiest ground here with small children.
The work
Sessions photographed at Larz Anderson.
Families, maternity and high school seniors, in May when the park is green and in November when the maples have come down. Every frame below was made in this park. Nothing here is stock and nothing is another park dressed up to look like this one.
Families
The lagoon · the lawns · the maple paths
Maternity
Two sessions · the lagoon and the lawns · late autumn
High school seniors
The colonnade · the lagoon · the fountain
Four sessions, three seasons, one park. Every frame was made at Larz Anderson.
A little history
The garden of a house that is no longer there.
The Weld family assembled this land as a country estate between 1841 and 1881 and called it Weld. In 1899 Isabel Weld Perkins — a Weld granddaughter — and her husband Larz Anderson, later a United States ambassador, bought it from a relative and set about improving it. Charles A. Platt laid out the gardens; the grounds were written up in Town & Country in March 1904. There were Chinese and Japanese gardens, a water garden with koi, a polo field, topiary and an outdoor theater.
The twenty-five room house that looked down on Boston is gone. What survived is the shape of the place: the lagoon, the stone steps, and the Temple of Love standing where the water garden was. Isabel Anderson left the estate to Brookline when she died in 1948, on the condition it be used for education and recreation, and the park was listed on the National Register in 1985. You are photographing in somebody’s garden. It just belongs to everyone now.
- The largest park in Brookline
- Bought by the Andersons in 1899
- Left to the town in 1948
- National Register, 1985
Planning your session
Six things worth knowing before the day.
Brookline asks for a permit, and it is not the Parks department
The town’s park rules list filming and photoshoots among the things that need a permit. What catches people out is where to ask: Parks and Open Spaces does not issue them, and film and photo permissions are handled by the Recreation Department. It gets sorted before the date is confirmed rather than on the day.
The park itself costs nothing
Free to enter, free to park, dawn to dusk. There is real parking on site, which for a session this close to Boston is worth more than it sounds — nobody is circling, and nobody is walking half a mile from a garage in good shoes.
The hill and the lagoon are on different clocks
The lagoon sits low and goes into shade early. The top of the hill holds evening sun for a good while after that. So a session here usually runs downhill to uphill, and the last frames of the night are made on the lawn where the house used to be.
Dogs are welcome, on a leash
Brookline requires dogs to be leashed in its parks, with off-leash allowed only in the marked Green Dog area and only for dogs registered to that program and wearing the tag. So bring the dog — just plan on the leash staying on, and tell me in advance so I build the route around it.
Late October is the one to book
The maples along the paths come down into drifts deep enough for a toddler to sit in, which is where half the best frames from this park come from. May is the other good one — everything green, the fountain running, and the willows over the water. High summer is the flattest month here.
It is a working town park, not a private garden
There are ball fields, a playground, a skating rink, a community garden and a museum in the old carriage house, and on a fine weekend all of it is busy. The lagoon and the temple are the quiet end. A weekday evening gives you both emptier ground and better light.
Questions about Larz Anderson
Before you book.
Do you need a permit for photos at Larz Anderson Park?
Yes. Brookline’s park rules and regulations list filming and photoshoots among the activities that require a permit. The part that trips people up is which department: Parks and Open Spaces does not issue permits — film and photo permissions are handled by the Recreation Department. It is arranged before your date is confirmed rather than on the day.
What does it cost to visit Larz Anderson Park?
Nothing. Admission is free, parking on site is free, and the park is open dawn to dusk unless otherwise permitted. It is the largest park in Brookline. The only cost attached to a session is the town permit.
Can we bring our dog?
Yes, leashed. Brookline requires dogs to be on leash in its parks; off-leash is allowed only in the marked Green Dog area, and only for dogs registered to that program and wearing a current Green Dog tag. Dogs are not allowed on playgrounds, courts or in the water. Tell me in advance and I plan the route with the dog in it.
When is the best time of year for photos at Larz Anderson?
Late October, when the maples along the paths come down into drifts. May is the other one — everything green, the fountain running, willows over the lagoon. The frames on this page were made in May and in November. High summer is the flattest this park gets, and midday under a clear sky is the one combination I would talk you out of.
What is the Temple of Love?
A domed stone rotunda standing on the shore of what was the Andersons’ water garden, with its own flight of steps. It is the single most recognizable thing in the park and it is in a lot of the frames on this page. It survived the demolition of the mansion, which is why a public park in Brookline has a folly in it.
Is it accessible for strollers, grandparents or a wheelchair?
Largely, yes — the main paths are paved and there is parking close to the lagoon, which is more than most of my locations offer. The park is a hill, though, so the walk between the lagoon and the top lawn is a real climb. If someone in your group needs level ground we build the whole session around the lagoon and the temple and skip the top. Tell me who I am planning around.
Is there really a view of Boston from the park?
Yes, from the top of the hill where the house stood — the Friends of the park describe it as unsurpassed by any other site in Brookline. It is a genuine skyline background without any of the downtown logistics, which is the main reason to book here rather than the Public Garden if the city is what you are after.
What is the investment for a session at Larz Anderson Park?
Portrait commissions begin at $1,450. Most families invest between $1,500 and $4,000 depending on the artwork selected. Every commission results in finished wall art or an album — digital-file-only packages are not offered. Request the full experience guide for pricing detail.
How far is Brookline from Chelmsford?
About fifty minutes, traffic depending. It is a straightforward run for families in Brookline, Newton, Needham, Dedham, Chestnut Hill, Jamaica Plain and Greater Boston generally.
Other session locations
Brookline is one of several.
Boston
The Public Garden, Newbury Street and Beacon Hill, ten minutes east. Brick and stone instead of lawn, and no permit needed for a portrait session.
Walpole, MABird Park
The other designed park on the list, half an hour south. Eighty-nine acres of meadow and stone bridges, laid out in 1925.
Concord, MAConcord & the North Bridge
Stone walls, the Buttrick Gardens and the river. Historic in a quieter register, and closer if you are north or west of the city.
Limited sessions each season
Two weeks in October, and the rest of the year is green.
The maples here come down in a narrow window and those evenings book first. May is the other one worth planning around. Serving families across Brookline, Newton, Needham, Dedham, Chestnut Hill, Jamaica Plain, Boston and Greater Boston, Massachusetts.