Bounded by Tremont, Columbus, and Burke Streets and St. Cyprian's Place, the area contains a well-kept collection of architect designed buildings that survived late 20th-century urban redevelopment.

[1] The district is bounded on the north by Columbus Avenue and on the south by Tremont Street, and is about 3 acres (1.2 ha) in size.

The Lower Roxbury area was located south of the Boston and Providence Railroad tracks, and had pockets of marshy land whose development was delayed into the late 19th century.

This historic district was built up in one of these areas, between the railroad tracks and Tremont Street, one of the roads extended along the widened neck.

By the 1890s, the area between Ruggles Street and Massachusetts Avenue was lined with predominantly wood frame structures and one factory.