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 Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area o ...

. Built in 1862–65 by the city of Charlestown (since annexed to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

), 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 National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. 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".

Description and history

The Mystic Water Works is located on the south side of the Mystic Valley Parkway, just east of its junction with the Alewife Brook Parkway, and just east of the mouth of Alewife Brook where it empties into the

Mystic River The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts, in the United States. In Massachusett, means "large estuary," alluding to t ...

. It is a large 1-1/2 story building, built out of load-bearing brick in a Romanesque Revival style with a mansard roof. Its original main block is nine bays wide, with a two bay addition made in 1870 to the east, and a five bay addition to the west in 1895, both stylistically similar to the original. The building was built by the city of Charlestown as part of its initiative to

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

the

Mystic Lakes The Mystic Lakes, consisting of Upper Mystic Lake and Lower Mystic Lake, are closely linked bodies of water in the northwestern suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. The lakes lie at an elevation of 1 meter above sea level, within the towns of Winch ...

to provide it with water. Somerville was also allowed to tap into the lines, and the building thus became part of Somerville's first municipal water supply. When Charlestown became part of

in 1874 the building was taken over by that city's water authority, later known as the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC). When first built, it housed two steam-powered engines with a combined capability of moving 13 million gallons of water per day. The additions were built to provide space for addition pumps as the system was expanded to include Everett in 1870, and again in 1895. The facility was abandoned by the MDC in 1912, and its machinery scrapped. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it housed offices, and in 1921 it was adapted for use as a machine shop. At the time of its listing on the National Register it was still in this use by the MDC. It was eventually acquired by the city of Somerville. In 2016, the city of Somerville began conversion of the property into affordable senior housing units, with the exterior to be restored and some interior features retained. The renovation was completed in November 2017.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Water supply infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Somerville, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Somerville, Massachusetts Former pumping stations 1863 establishments in Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References