Developed as a streetcar suburb in the late nineteenth century, today the neighborhood contains many Victorian houses, and about 460 acres (190 ha) of mixed residential and commercial zoning, as well as Forestdale Cemetery, Saint Jerome Cemetery, Rohan Park, and Holyoke Medical Center.

[8][9] Indeed as a member of the board of public works, Allyn was described as an advocate of the city beautiful movement and it was noted each house he developed had enough yard-space for gardens.

[7] Often his family donated or sold trimmings to neighbors who had bought those houses, contributing to a culture of rose gardens once ubiquitous in that part of the city.

[7] For many years his wife would host an informal neighborhood social group at the gardens known as the Oakdale Society which, among other causes, raised money through luncheons and tea for children's welfare and health.

[12][13] Less conspicuously placed is "Pinehurst", a large estate surrounded by a stand of conifers, which was constructed by James H. Newton in 1909, then-president of the Chemical Paper Company, one of the last independent paper-mills of the city at that time.