OWNERSHIP
CONDITIONS
CONTEXT
HISTORY
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES


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OWNERSHIP:
Adams Arboretum Condominiums are owned individually.

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CONDITIONS:
This is an eight-building condominium complex with a backyard that overlooks and borders the Arboretum. The buildings are in the French Mansard style, similar in appearance, and in a setting of trees and benches. Restoration and upkeep for these buildings is ongoing. The fence along this part of Centre Street is wooden, solid, and more than six feet high. The fence completely blocks the view into the area for pedestrians and drivers.

There is sloping forested area behind the condos with trails that converge at a gate that allows access to the Arboretum. Because of the fence, the forested surroundings, and the land uses on either side, this area has a safe, well-cared for atmosphere. There is a chainlink fence between the residential property and the Arboretum. A gate offers access into the park.

The site is 8.7 acres. The buildings are now the Adams Arboretum Condos and as of March 2002, they were assessed at between approximately $240,000 and $310,000 each.

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CONTEXT:
This vast backyard of the condominium complex serves as a "backyard buffer" to the Arboretum. The high wall that protects and isolates the condo complex also protects and isolates the Arnold Arboretum. This is perhaps the least formal entrance into the Arnold Arboretum, and is intended exclusively for residents of Adams Arboretum Condominiums.

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HISTORY:
The J. Gardiner Weld House was originally a residential estate built in 1875 in the French Mansard style. In 1880, it was converted to the Adams Nervine Hospital. The hospital was funded by sugar merchant Seth Adams. It catered to patients with nervous disorders and aimed to incorporate the theories of "moral treatment" of people with nervous disorders (Boston Landmark Commission Report, 1977). The hospital was abandoned in 1976.

The "Adams Nervine House" was presented as a possible Boston Landmark in 1977 when the Arnold Arboretum was in the process of making plans to demolish the buildings and make them into a parking lot and a new entrance to the Arboretum. It was subsequently named Boston Landmark #0276.

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ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES:
The condominium complex serves as a buffer between the city and the Arnold Arboretum. The complex mediates the noise, runoff, and air pollution that would otherwise negatively affect the Arnold Arboretum.

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