Jamaica Estates: Tudor Trails & Notable Lives

About This Tour

In 1907 a company set out to develop about 500 acres of hilly land in northern Jamaica as a planned English-style suburb. The plan favored curving streets that followed the ridge, preserved trees, detached houses on large lots and a landscaped mall running down the main street. More than a century later the architecture is still the main draw: Tudor Revival houses with steep gables and half-timbering, along with Colonial, Craftsman, Cape Cod and Mediterranean homes. This short walk goes from a stone gatehouse to the place where a 1930s parkway cut the neighborhood in two. Along the way you will learn how to read the houses, hear about the building rules that shaped them, and pass homes linked to a Hall of Fame coach, a hip-hop pioneer, a blind jazz pianist and a future president. Several stops are private homes, so view them from the sidewalk and be respectful of the people who live there. You can choose a short, medium or long route and pause and resume whenever you like. There is no driving; everything is reached on foot.

Tour Highlights

Tour Route & Stops