Newtonville developed as a thriving suburban village during the second half of the nineteenth century. The decision to build Newton’s central high school in Newtonville in 1859 attracted many new residents.  By the time of the Civil War, the village was firmly established, with several distinct neighborhoods and a small commercial center serving the needs of its families. 

The Newtonville railroad station, “Hull’s Crossing,” was built in 1880. Train fare from Newtonville to Boston was an affordable 37 ½ cents. The new station helped to lure businessmen, professionals, and tradesmen, who commuted to Boston by rail and built family homes along Walnut Street and throughout the village.

Walnut Street evolved into one of Newton’s major North-South routes during the streetcar era from 1890-1930. Newtonville’s nineteenth-century business district was located entirely north of the Masonic Temple. Local enterprise expanded in the 1920s, and many of the one-story commercial buildings presently on Walnut Street date from that time.