Brookline's town offices moved out of Daniels Academy in February, after engineers found structural problems in the roof and the first floor. Since late May the Town Clerk, the Tax Collector and the Selectboard staff have worked out of the Brookline Business Center at 55 Route 13. This is the first holiday season in decades without town business going on at 1 Main Street, and on Sunday, December 6, the town's tree lighting is on the calendar anyway.

The building's daily work has moved to other parts of town. Its December traditions have stayed on the same short stretch of Main Street, held up by the buildings next door and across the road.

A 113-Year-Old Building Ran Out of Margin

On March 2, Team Engineering's lead engineer, John Turner, told the Selectboard that the 113-year-old Daniels Academy needed serious repairs. Hollis Brookline News reported that the two main problems were failing roof supports and failing joists and framing under the first floor, where the town offices and meeting room were. In early February, growing cracks in the auditorium walls had led the town to start the evaluation sooner than planned. The roof findings then sent the offices out of the building so Morin Construction could make temporary emergency repairs.

Twelve days later, at Brookline's 257th annual Town Meeting, the first item on the warrant was Article 5, a $1 million bond for Town Hall repairs. Hollis Brookline News reported that voters debated it for about three hours. They discussed repairs, the possibility of a new facility, funding without a bond, and where town employees would work. After a one-hour secret ballot, the bond failed, 63 yes to 154 no.

That meeting was held at Captain Samuel Douglass Academy, not in the old Town Hall auditorium. That fits a longer pattern: for decades, Daniels Academy's roles had already been moving out of the building one at a time.

The Building's Jobs Have Been Leaving for Decades

According to the Brookline Historical Society, Daniels Academy was a school until 1968. Its second-floor auditorium, with a raised stage and a large balcony, hosted Grange dances, one-act fundraisers and the Friends of the Library's annual play, which grew into the Way Off Broadway Players and the Kids Playhouse. Town Meeting used to happen upstairs and elections downstairs. Brookline's growth gradually pushed those roles into other buildings.

The pantry row shows the pattern most clearly. When the police moved out in 2014, the town staff expanded into the ground floor, and the Food Pantry moved in alongside them. Now the pantry operates across Main Street, in the lower level of Brookline Community Church. Its entrance is to the left of the building, up the ramp. It moved a few dozen yards and stayed on the same block.

What Is Happening Inside This Fall

The building is empty, but work is moving ahead. The Selectboard's October 12 agenda included a Town Hall update with a demolition proposal from Morin to approve and sign, and a discussion of reinstating a Facilities Committee. MeetingWatch's summary of that meeting reports that the board unanimously approved a $58,620 contract for partial demolition at Daniels Academy. It also approved up to $30,000 for Team Engineering to design floor-frame improvements, which covers a $23,000 base cost plus support services.

That matches the sequence Team Engineering presented to the town in March: vacate the building, take out the basement and first floor, design the floor and roof reinforcement, renovate, and then move back in. The partial demolition affects the building's interior. The building itself is staying.

Residents are still debating its long-term future. In a September 1 letter to Hollis Brookline News, Peter Webb called the building "inescapably the face of this small New Hampshire town." He noted that it still has an auditorium and stage on the top floor and asked whether the town should fix it or tear it down.

The Holiday Season Still Runs Through Main Street

For the holidays, the building matters mostly as a backdrop. Last year Brookline lit its Christmas tree on the lawn of Town Hall. Hollis Brookline News' account of the 2025 lighting shows how many neighboring buildings took part:

• The Town Band played holiday music as families arrived.
• The Women's Club ran an ornament workshop at the Fire Station, and the Brownies sang.
• The Friends of the Library held a bake sale.
• Brookline Community Church, across the street, held its annual Christmas Fair and sold soup and chili to go, take-home meals and cookie plates, along with a raffle.
• After the tree was lit, Santa visited with children at the Fire Station.

The 2025 lighting also honored Ann Sommers and Loring Webster as special citizens, a Brookline tradition the paper called one of the most anticipated moments of the evening. Last year's Women's Club listing said the lighting itself was organized by the Brookline Lions Club. That year the club also sold fresh churros and hot cocoa for its scholarship fund.

None of last year's activities took place inside Daniels Academy. The music was outside on the lawn, the crafts and Santa were at the Fire Station, and the food and the fair were at the church. Those are the buildings that will host the season again. The town calendar lists the Town Tree Lighting for Sunday, December 6, at 4:30 p.m. Last year, activities began around 4 p.m., so plan to arrive early, while there is still some light.

November Starts at the Pantry Door

Before the tree goes up, there is a food drive. The town calendar lists Scouting for Food flyer drop-off on Saturday, November 7, and pickup on Saturday, November 14. If a flyer lands on your doorstep this weekend, the bag goes out the following Saturday.

Donations end up at the pantry on Main Street. Its mission, as published, is "helping the communities of Brookline and Hollis achieve food security through a volunteer driven assistance program that brings neighbors together." Client hours are Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m., and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The town keeps a current needs list on the pantry's page, so you can check what the shelves are short on before you shop.

Thanksgiving week also closes the town offices on Route 13, on Thursday, November 26, and Friday, November 27. If you have business with the Town Clerk or Tax Collector, take care of it before then. Veterans Day, November 11, is also a closed day. The Town Clerk and Tax Collector entrance is on the lower level, on the left side of the building.

The Calendar From Here to Mid-December

The rest of the season is spread across a few more buildings, most of them close to the town center.

The library programs are listed on the Brookline Public Library calendar, and that is where to register for the Cookie Swap. The big band show on December 12 is part of the Andres Institute of Art's live music series. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. The institute's sculpture park has more than 10 miles of trails and is open daily from dawn to dusk, so you can walk there before the show.

December 19 Reaches All Three Cemeteries

The last big community event on the list goes beyond the town center. Hollis Brookline News lists the Second Annual Wreaths Across Brookline for Saturday, December 19, at noon, beginning at Pine Grove Cemetery on Pepperell Road. Volunteers will place wreaths on veterans' graves in all three town cemeteries: Pine Grove, Lakeside and North Cemetery. Help is also needed to unload the delivery truck before the ceremony and to remove the wreaths after the holidays. You can sponsor a wreath through the Brookline sponsorship page, and volunteer questions go to [email protected].

The wreath crews will spread across town. Two weeks earlier, the tree will be lit on Main Street, between a fire station, a church that now houses the food pantry, and a 113-year-old building with its first floor stripped out for repairs.

Brookline's town center is changing slowly, and the people who live near it notice each step. If you have questions about how the Daniels Academy decisions could affect the homes around Main Street, or you just want to talk through what is changing in town, Purple Finch Properties is glad to help. When you're ready for a number, start with a free home valuation.