Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, Massachusetts

Located slightly northwest of Harvard's Arnold Arboretum and within a residential area is Larz Anderson Park. A relatively small park compared to others in the area, but within this park contains a grand carriage house built during the Victorian era and housed within is the oldest automotive collection in the United States dating back to before the 20th century. The park and the auto museum are named after French born American diplomat Larz Anderson. He had a long diplomatic career serving as secretary to the United Kingdom, Italy, and later ambassador to Belgium and Japan. He also served briefly in the Spanish-American War and had family members that fought in the American Revolution and Civil War. In 1896, he met Isabel Weld Perkins from Boston who in 1881 had inherited around $5 million from her grandfather, shipping magnate William Fletcher Weld after his death. Anderson and Perkins were married in 1897, and one of the properties they owned was a large carriage house in Brookline built in 1889. To celebrate his long diplomatic career, Anderson enjoyed living lavishly and in particular enjoyed spending money on cars and carriages. From 1899 until his death in 1937, the couple o…

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