Cultural Landscape Report for Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston

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CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT FOR CHARLESTOWN NAVY YARD BOUNDARY WALL AND GATES In November 1819, Superintendent Hull proposed a wall to enclose the most valuable parts of the yard, reminding the Board of Naval Commissioners that the wooden fences had been standing for eight years and would soon require replacement. Several Irish laborers were hired to repair existing fences after the Board failed to respond to Hull’s request, limiting improvements to immediate construction needs. In 1823, Bainbridge directed laborers to construct a spruce-post picket fence paralleling the Salem Turnpike. Shortly thereafter the land side of the yard became clearly defined, when the wood fences were replaced with a granite wall from Water Street to and then along the Salem Turnpike (Chelsea Street) to the Mystic River. Construction of the wall began in 1824 and was to both deter trespassers (and naval deserters) and protect the yard from fire spreading into it from adjoining areas. 41 With the approval of the owners of the Salem Turnpike, the Navy straightened the northern boundary of the yard and completed the boundary wall in October 1826. Designed by Alexander Parris, the wall curved into the corners of the Commandant’s House, allowing access to the outside without passing through the yard and incorporated portions of the brick wall enclosing the Marine Barracks’ stable. 42 In early 1825, the Board of Naval Commissioners approved plans and estimates submitted by Alexander Parris for gates and iron fencing for the granite boundary wall. The designs included a floor plan for the granite Carriage House or Stable (Building 21) incorporated along its northern elevation into the wall. Parris designed the Stable’s hip roof to be flush with the top of the granite wall to make it invisible from the turnpike. A high stone fence, extending from the stable to the corner of the Commandant’s House, divided the stable yard from the garden and provided a “covered way from the House to the Privy.” In July of 1825, the Board ordered Binney to include an additional set of gates through the wall, to provide access to the commanding officer’s wing of the Marine Barracks. Delays in leveling the hill before the Commandant’s House postponed installation of the ironwork and gates until January 1826. The commissioners authorized the paving of a five-foot walkway outside of the yard, beginning on a line parallel with the road “leading to Mr. Tufft’s and extending east to the gate entering the Marine quarters.” Commandant William Crane reported the stone wall, with the exception of a twelve-foot passageway, was completed in October 1826. 43 Around this time, Major Wainwright of the Marines notified Crane that he planned to erect a high brick wall on the east side of the Stable (Building 21) to extend from the Marine Barracks to the wall along the road in order to improve security. 44 Specifications for the boundary wall foundation trench required, “well filled with clinkers and cinders three feet deep from the surface of the ground & three feet thick,” and for a substantial granite wall around 2,400 feet long, nine feet high (exclusive of the capping), and twenty inches thick at the capping. Foundations paralleling the commandant’s garden were to be raised to the level of the turnpike, with those in the low, wet section of the yard reinforced with piling or cobbing. A culvert, two bricks in thickness, was designed to drain water from under the wall, in the “low area.” 45 These specifications clearly communicated the Navy’s intent to demarcate the yard’s boundaries and to effect both a physical and visual separation of the public property from contiguous civilian parcels. 46 41 The “great fire” on 25 August 1835 left the yard relatively unscathed. Bearss, 782. 42 Carlson, 18; Bearss, Charlestown Navy Yard, 1800-1842, 1:450-469; Lalande L. Keeshan, Historic Structure Report, Navy Yard Granite Wall, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston National Historical Park, Boston, Massachusetts (draft; Boston: Boston National Historical Park, 1981), TIC 457/D6081 43 Bearss, 466-68, 471-72. 44 Bearss, 475-78. 45 Bearss, 460-62. 46 As the internal and external boundaries of the yard’s existing residential complex took on a certain fixity with completion of brick and stone walls, a second campus was under development in the lower yard. In April 1825, the Navy formally took ownership of the Marine Hospital from the Department of the Treasury. The Board approved Binney’s proposal for demolition of the old building and page 30
REQUEST FOR A MASTER PLAN SITE HISTORY 2. 1800-1828 Until 1827, improvements to the country’s navy yards had been made without adherence to a master plan. In March 1827, Congress directed the President to “cause the navy yards of the United States to be thoroughly examined, and plans to be prepared … for the improvement of the same.” A board of three senior naval officers was set up to carry out the project, and Massachusetts native Colonel Loammi Baldwin was named the board’s chief engineer for all naval yards to assist the board in their surveys, and in preparing the plans. 47 In Charlestown, Alexander Parris, the yard's assistant engineer and architect, would be responsible for implementation of the plan. 48 SUMMARY By 1828, development of the Charlestown facility remained fairly limited. The yard consisted of two clusters of structures separated by an expanse of open space, with a creek and the surrounding tidal marsh. The appearance of the yard at this time is partially conveyed in c. 1823-1830s graphics and period plans (Figures 2.7-8). The yard occupied a valuable parcel of waterfront property at the confluence of the Charles and Mystic Rivers and was surrounded by fine country estates bounded by picket fences. Within the yard, the Commandant’s House occupied the highest point of land. The yard contained pasture, several brick structures interspersed with temporary storage sheds, and workshops. Overall, the low wooden structures and two and three-story Federal style brick buildings were of a relatively modest scale, including the Marine Barracks (Quarters H-I-K) and the Navy Store (Building 5). Below, by the waterfront, a new stone-faced wharf and timber dock extended naval operations into the Charles River, though most of the yard was still bounded by tidal flats. Three wooden shiphouses towered over the low structures and sheds near the shore. Three earthen roads traversed the property from east to west. North of the Commandant’s house and outside of the yard’s new boundary wall, portions of the former “Lane to Brickyards” became part of the Salem Turnpike, later known as Chelsea Street. A smaller road within the yard was the extension of Henley Street that ran just below and south of the Commandant’s House and was known as the new road or Main Avenue. From this road, paths and cart roads led down to the wharf area. A third, less defined road extended east from the intersection of Wapping and Water Streets. Trees, including elms and fruit trees, and gardens beautified the upper eastern corner of the yard surrounding the Commandant’s House. Fast-growing Lombardy poplars, planted in 1816, now defined a walk from the Commandant’s House to the waterfront. The 200-300 elms planted in 1823 were still quite small. A boundary wall provided a sense of unity for the yard though buildings were in disparate clusters. Clearly, an overall plan was needed. construction of residential quarters using salvaged materials. During construction, Crane requested several additions to the building plans for the four residences, including two shared wells and oak pumps, four sheds, privies, and pantries, and fences to enclose each yard. The quarters were completed in August 1826. Bearss, 462-63. 47 Mary Jane Brady and Christopher J. Foster, Inc., Historic Structure Report, Dry Dock 1, Charlestown Navy Yard: Architectural Data, Boston National Historical Park, Massachusetts (draft; Denver: Denver Service Center, 1980), TIC 457/D6059, 47. 48 It is unclear whether Parris drafted the plan as his name does not appear on the drawings. Carlson, 19. page 31
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Page 83 and 84: 5. REVIVAL OF THE YARD AND WORLD WA
Page 85 and 86: SITE HISTORY 5. 1898-1934 The railr
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Figure 5.13: Dry Dock 2 under const
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Figure 5.17: North and east sides o
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SITE HISTORY 5. 1898-1934 Figure 5.
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Figure 5.23: The Commandant’s Hou
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Figure 5.27: Marine Barracks (Quart
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Figure 5.30: Digitally enhanced pla
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WATERFRONT SITE HISTORY 5. 1898-193
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SITE HISTORY 5. 1898-1934 In 1929,
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Figure 5.37: The former Chapel (Bui
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Figure 5.42: The Stable (Building 2
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Figure 5.47: The south facade of th
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SITE HISTORY 5. 1898-1934 Dock 2. T
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6. WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION AN
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SITE HISTORY 6. 1934-1945 side entr
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Figure 6.1: WPA repairs and improve
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Figure 6.5: A locomotive crane in 1
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Figure 6.9: The Commandant’s Hous
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Figure 6.13: WPA crews improving th
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Figure 6.16: Looking west down Henl
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SITE HISTORY 6. 1934-1945 page 119
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CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT FOR CHARL
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OLMSTED CENTER FOR LANDSCAPE PRESER
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Cultural Landscape Report for Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston

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