Luxury Homes

Luxury Home of the Week: A Brookline beauty Larz Anderson owned

This Goddard Avenue Dutch Cape was one of three guest houses constructed outside the diplomat's estate.

By Megan O'Brien

November 8, 2023

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As if details like its ornate clock gable and handsome wood paneling weren’t enough to make this Brookline luxury home a standout, it also comes with a slice of local history. 

The property at 285 Goddard Ave. in Brookline entered the market for $4,299,000 last week. Listed by Collin Bray of Century 21 Cityside, the home was originally built for diplomat Larz Anderson and his wife, Isabel, as one of three guest houses outside their estate. Larz died in 1937. Isabel passed in 1948.

The homes were sold to Boston University after the diplomat’s death, during which the home featured here became a conference center before eventually returning to use as a private residence. 

Infused with Cape Dutch architecture, the home has 13 rooms, including six bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and two half bathrooms. It measures 4,932 square feet on 0.58 of an acre.

Past the foyer on the main level, there’s a living room with a tiled hearth through double doors on the left and an office with built-ins on the right. Straight ahead, a dining room with picture frame molding leads to the open layout encompassing the kitchen and family room. 

The kitchen features cabinets, a backsplash, and counters that are all custom, as well as an island with a sink and seating for four, while the family room includes built-ins, a picture window, and a glass door leading to a deck.

An attached two-car garage rounds out this level. 

All six bedrooms are on the second floor, as is the study. The home underwent renovations in 2022 that included new windows, a patio, an expanded driveway, and a new heating and cooling system.