Metropolitan District Commission Pumping House

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Metropolitan District Commission Pumping House
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LocationWoodland Rd., Stoneham, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°27′21″N71°5′27″W / 42.45583°N 71.09083°W / 42.45583; -71.09083 Coordinates: 42°27′21″N71°5′27″W / 42.45583°N 71.09083°W / 42.45583; -71.09083
Arealess than one acre
Built1906
ArchitectShepley, Rutan, & Coolidge
Architectural styleRenaissance Revival
Part of Middlesex Fells Reservoirs Historic District (#89002249)
MPS Stoneham MRA
NRHP reference # 84002747 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 13, 1984
Designated CPJanuary 18, 1990

The Metropolitan District Commission Pumping House is a historic water pumping station, adjacent to Spot Pond in the Middlesex Fells Reservation, on Woodland Road in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Built in 1901 by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), it is one of Stoneham's finest examples of Renaissance Revival architecture. The building (along with an adjacent gatehouse) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, [1] and included in the Middlesex Fells Reservoirs Historic District in 1990. [2]

Pumping station facilities including pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another

Pumping stations are facilities including pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure systems, such as the supply of water to canals, the drainage of low-lying land, and the removal of sewage to processing sites. A pumping station is, by definition, an integral part of a pumped-storage hydroelectricity installation.

Spot Pond lake of the United States of America

Spot Pond is a lake in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The pond is within the Middlesex Fells Reservation, a Massachusetts state park.

Middlesex Fells Reservation recreation area in Massachusetts, United States

Middlesex Fells Reservation, often referred to simply as the Fells, is a public recreation area covering more than 2,200 acres (890 ha) in Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham, and Winchester, Massachusetts. The state park surrounds two inactive reservoirs, Spot Pond and the Fells Reservoir, and the three active reservoirs supplying the town of Winchester. Spot Pond and the Fells Reservoir are part of the Wachusett water system, one of six primary water systems that feed metropolitan Boston's waterworks. The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston.

Contents

Description and history

Spot Pond was designated as the public water supply for Melrose, Malden, and Medford in 1870, with a dam at its southern end enlarging a natural body of water. In the 1890s it was made a centerpiece of the Middlesex Fells Reservation, and about 1900 its water supply function was taken over by the MDC. This Romanesque Revival building was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge and completed in 1901, as part of a general expansion of water service in the area, and was placed on the former summer estate of Charles Copeland. It is built of yellow brick with limestone trim. It has quoined corners, and features rusticated arched windows. It was extended with a side ell in 1923. In 1975 the building was extensively damaged by fire. Its tile roof and clerestory were lost, replaced by the present asphalt shingle hip roof. [2]

Melrose, Massachusetts City in Massachusetts, United States

Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population as per the 2010 United States Census is 26,983. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston and is situated in the center of the triangle created by Interstates 93, 95 and U.S. Route 1.

Malden, Massachusetts City in Massachusetts, United States

Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2010 United States Census, the population was at 59,450 people. In 2009, Malden was named the "Best Place to Raise Your Kids" in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Medford, Massachusetts City in Massachusetts, United States

Medford is a city 3.2 miles northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus along the Medford and Somerville border.

When built, the building housed three steam-powered engines capable of pumping 90 million gallons per day; one of these machines was moved here from the Mystic Pumping Station in Somerville. These engines were replaced between the late 1920s and 1950s with large diesel engines. Spot Pond has been relegated to emergency service by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, successor to the MDC. The pumping station now delivers water to area communities from a covered tank elsewhere in the reservation.

Somerville, Massachusetts City in Massachusetts, United States

Somerville is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of 2010, the United States Census lists the city with a total population of 75,754 people, making it the most densely populated municipality in New England. As of 2010, it was the 16th most densely populated incorporated municipality in the country. Somerville was established as a town in 1842, when it was separated from Charlestown. In 2006, the city was named the best-run city in Massachusetts by the Boston Globe. In 1972, in 2009, and again in 2015, the city received the All-America City Award. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus along the Somerville and Medford border.

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is a public authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that provides wholesale drinking water and sewage services to certain municipalities and industrial users in the state, primarily in the Boston area.

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Stoneham, Massachusetts Wikimedia list article

This is a list of properties and historic districts in Stoneham, Massachusetts, that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Wikimedia list article

This is a listing of places in Middlesex County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. With more than 1,300 listings, the county has more listings than any other county in the United States.

Related Research Articles

National Register of Historic Places listings in Massachusetts Wikimedia list article

This is a list of properties and districts in Massachusetts listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are over 4,200 listings in the state, representing about 5% of all NRHP listings nationwide and the second-most of any U.S. state, behind only New York. Listings appear in all 14 Massachusetts counties.

Lynn Fells Parkway

Lynn Fells Parkway is a parkway in Greater Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The road runs from the end of Fellsway East in Stoneham, eastward through Melrose, and ends in Saugus at US Route 1. The parkway serves as a connector between the Middlesex Fells Reservation and Breakheart Reservation.

Chestnut Hill Reservoir Historic District

The Chestnut Hill Reservoir Historic District is a historic district encompassing the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and the surrounding water works facilities which were historically used to provide fresh water to Boston, Massachusetts, and surrounding towns. The district is nearly coextensive with the Chestnut Hill Reservation, a state park managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR); those elements of the water works that are still required as an emergency backup are managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). The reservoir is located between Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, just east of the Boston College Main Campus Historic District and the Boston-Newton city line. Most of the water works facilities are also located in Boston; the terminal house of the Sudbury Aqueduct, which is part of this district, is located just over the line in Newton.

Neponset Valley Parkway

The Neponset Valley Parkway is a historic parkway in southern Boston and Milton, Massachusetts, United States. It is a connecting parkway in the Greater Boston area's network, providing a connection between the Blue Hills Reservation, Neponset River Reservation, and the Stony Brook Reservation. The parkway was constructed between 1898 and 1929 with design assistance from Charles Eliot and the Olmsted Brothers. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Fresh Pond Parkway highway in Massachusetts

Fresh Pond Parkway is an historic park and parkway, found in the westernmost neighborhoods of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The parkway was built in 1899 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Weston Aqueduct

The Weston Aqueduct is an aqueduct operated by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. Now part of the MWRA backup systems, it was designed to deliver water from the Sudbury Reservoir in Framingham to the Weston Reservoir in Weston. The 13.5-mile (21.7 km) aqueduct begins at the Sudbury Dam, and passes through the towns of Southborough, Framingham, Wayland, and Weston. In 1990 the route, buildings and bridges of the aqueduct were added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Weston Aqueduct Linear District.

Falmouth Pumping Station

The Falmouth Pumping Station is a historic water pumping station on Pumping Station Road in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The complex consists of an 1898 Queen Anne pumping station designed by Ernest N. Boyden, a low-lift pump and water treatment building built in 1993, a chlorination tank also built in 1993, and a house and garage added in 1932. The plant was built in response to rising demand for vacation properties and fire suppression, and continues to fulfill those functions today. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Fells Connector Parkways historic district in the United States

The Fells Connector Parkways are a group of historic parkways in the cities of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts, suburbs north of the city of Boston. The three parkways, The Fellsway, Fellsway West, and Fellsway East serve to provide access from the lower portion of the Mystic River Reservation to the Middlesex Fells Reservation. The latter two parkways continue northward, providing access to the interior of the Fells and providing a further connection to the Lynn Fells Parkway. Significant portions of these parkways south of the Fells, which were among the first connecting parkways designed to be part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston by Charles Eliot, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Middlesex Fells Reservation Parkways

The Middlesex Fells Reservation Parkways are the roadways within and bordering on the Middlesex Fells Reservation, a state park in the northern suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. The park includes portions of the towns of Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham, and Winchester. The roads inside the park and around its perimeter have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other portions of some of the roads are covered by more than one listing in the national register; see Fellsway Connector Parkways and Middlesex Fells Reservoirs Historic District.

Mystic Water Works Historic building in Somerville, Massachusetts

The Mystic Water Works, also called the Mystic Pumping Station, is a historic water works at Alewife Brook Parkway and Capen Street in Somerville, Massachusetts. Built in 1862–65 by the city of Charlestown, it is a significant example of a mid-19th century waterworks facility. The building has been listed twice on the National Register of Historic Places. The first, in 1989, is part of the city of Somerville's listings, and was made under the name "Mystic Water Works". The second is part of an umbrella listing covering the entire historic water works system of Greater Boston, and was made in 1990, listed as the "Mystic Pumping Station".

Middlesex Fells Reservoirs Historic District

The Middlesex Fells Reservoirs Historic District is a historic district roughly bounded by Pond St., Woodland Rd., I-93, and MA 28 in Stoneham and Medford, Massachusetts. It encompasses a portion of the Middlesex Fells Reservation, a state park managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The principal features of the district are three reservoirs and their associated gate houses and pumping stations, which were developed by the Metropolitan District Commission starting in the late 19th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

First Congregational Church (Stoneham, Massachusetts) church in Stoneham, Massachusetts

The First Congregational Church is an historic church located at 1 Church Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Built in 1840, it is a fine local example of Greek Revival architecture, and is a landmark in the town center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 13, 1984. The church is affiliated with the United Church of Christ; the current pastor is the Rev. Meredith Allen.

Stoneham Railroad Depot

The Stoneham Railroad Depot is a historic train station at 36 Pine Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Built in 1895 by the Boston and Maine Railroad, it is one of two surviving train stations in the town, and the only one still at its original site. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It is now used for commercial purposes.

John Bottume House building in Massachusetts, United States

The John Bottume House is a historic house at 4 Woodland Road in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Built c. 1849, this stone house was one of several built along the shore Spot Pond by a Boston businessman as a retreat, and is the only one to survive. It is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and houses the visitors center for the Middlesex Fells Reservation. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Colonial Beacon Gas Station

The Colonial Beacon Gas Station is a historic gas station at 474 Main Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts. It was built c. 1922 by the Colonial Oil Company to be a flagship station in their chain of filling stations. The concrete and stucco building was designed by the Boston firm of Coolidge & Carlson. It has two main sections: an octagonal section that once served as a drive-through filling area, and a rectangular service area to its left. Corinthian columns originally supported the octagonal section; these have since been covered over or replaced. The octagonal section is topped by a round dome, at whose apex is a small pillared section that was once topped by a grillwork globe that housed a light. This light, when illuminated, became the beacon which gives the station its name. The service area and pumping bay have a band of starburst panels that run along the top of the flat roofed service area and around the base of the pumping area dome.

Stoneham Firestation building in Massachusetts, United States

The Stoneham Firestation is a historic fire station at Central and Emerson Streets in Stoneham, Massachusetts. The two-story red brick Renaissance Revival building was built in 1916, and continues to serve as the town's central fire station. Its most prominent feature is its four-story hose drying tower, which is reminiscent of Italian Renaissance-era towers. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and included as a contributing property to the Central Square Historic District in 1990.

Spot Pond Archeological District

The Spot Pond Archeological District is a historic archaeological site near Spot Pond in Stoneham, Massachusetts. It is located in the Virginia Woods section of the Middlesex Fells Reservation, a state park. The district encompasses sites along Spot Pond Brook that were mill sites dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. At its height, in the mid-19th century the Hayward Rubber Works was located in the area, giving it the name "Haywardville". One of the park's trails runs through the area, and a park pamphlet provide a self-guided tour joining the major remnants of the industries that once flourished there.

Refreshment Pavilion Historic building in Milton, Massachusetts

The Refreshment Pavilion is a historic refreshment stand at Houghton's Pond in the Milton portion of Blue Hills Reservation, a Massachusetts state park. Built in 1920, it is one of a series of architect-designed structures built in the park by the Metropolitan District Commission. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "MACRIS inventory record and NRHP nomination for Metropolitan District Commission Pumping House". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved January 27, 2014.