The road was laid out between 1818 and 1821 during the construction of the Boston & Roxbury Mill Dam across Boston's Back Bay.[3] It led from the western end of the dam at Sewall's Point (now Kenmore Square) to the Punch Bowl Tavern on Washington Street in Brookline. The road was known by various names, including the Punch Bowl Road, the Mill Dam Road, and Western Avenue. (Mill Dam Road and Western Avenue were also used for the road that crossed the dam (now Beacon Street) and for its extension west to Brighton. "Brookline Branch" was sometimes used to distinguish this road from the others.[4]) The name Brookline Avenue was officially adopted in 1868.[5]