Forbes Hill Standpipe

The Forbes Hill Standpipe is a historic water tower structure located on Reservoir Road in Quincy, Massachusetts, USA. The tower was built in 1899-1902 to contain a 330,000 US gallons (1,200,000 l; 270,000 imp gal) steel water tank.[2] The site originally included an adjacent reservoir that supplied the Quincy with water from the Metropolitan Boston Water System. The standpipe was taken out of service in 1955 and the reservoir was filled in.[3]

Forbes Hill Standpipe
LocationReservoir Rd., Quincy, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°15′27.5″N 71°1′41.9″W
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1900
MPSWater Supply System of Metropolitan Boston MPS
NRHP reference No.89002252[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 18, 1990

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

History

The tower was constructed by the Metropolitan Water Board (now the MWRA), after the City of Quincy joined the system in 1897. Dexter Brackett was the supervising engineer for the project. It is built from local Quincy granite, and is 30 feet (9.1 m) in diameter and 64 feet (20 m) in height. Although now closed to the public, the crenelated tower roof is accessible via a spiral staircase located between the steel tank and inside tower walls. The standpipe and reservoir were fed from the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.[4] The adjacent rectangular reservoir measured 280 feet long by 100 feet wide at the bottom, with sloping concrete sides, and an average depth of 18 feet.[5]

The Forbes Hill reservoir provided a reserve capacity of 5,100,000 US gallons (19,000,000 l; 4,200,000 imp gal), as part of the southern high-service system that fed Quincy, Milton and parts of nearby Dorchester.[6] The Forbes Hill reservoir and standpipe were discontinued in the 1950s, after the construction of the Blue Hills Reservoir in the southern part of Quincy.[7]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Massachusetts Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board: Annual Report, Volume 14
  3. MACRIS database
  4. MACRIS database
  5. C M Saville, "The construction of a reservoir and standpipe on Forbed Hill, Quincy, Mass.", Journal of the New England Water Works Association, volume 16, page 177
  6. Annual Report, Volume 13 By Massachusetts. Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board
  7. Massachusetts Water Resources Authority BLUE HILLS COVERED STORAGE
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