Water towers, Easthampton

While I was exploring an abandoned textile mill in Easthamtpton, I found those two water towers by a rail-trail!

To be precise, three water towers: 

Hillcrest Cemetery (Grafton S. H. Cemetery), Shrewsbury 2-2

From Hillcrest Cemetery, Shrewsbury 1-2

So, why is there an abandoned tower in the state hospital cemetery property? There is an interesting discussion about the original purpose of the tower speculating it was: a Civil War era watching tower, Irish tower commemorating Irish immigrants held in the hospital, water tower for the hospital, etc.

Hillcrest Cemetery (Grafton S. H. Cemetery), Shrewsbury 1-2

From Grafton State Hospital, Grafton

After visiting the former Grafton State Hospital, I dropped by Hillcrest Cemetery where approximately 1,041 male and female patients held at Grafton State Hospital are buried. Their identities are only distinguished by the numbers on austere concrete blocks.

There is always a mystery in Massachusetts woods. A state hospital on the hillside and its hidden graveyard are some of those mysteries. Even the residents would not imagine there is a graveyard in their backyard, but the local teenagers find it anyway; they seem to be strangely fascinated by those numbered gravestones.

Hillcrest Cemetery has one of those Massachusetts mysteries, but there is a further puzzlement that nobody knows for sure.

Prospect Hill Tower, Somerville

Prospect Hill Tower (1903)

I don't know why, I've been to this tower and taken pictures thinking about posting it here...at least 3 times. My attempts were never fulfilled. I am not even sure why I have been so mentally blocked  about doing it. Along with Powderhouse, Prospect Hill Tower is easily one of the structures that represents the city of Somerville.

The Old Spite House, Marblehead

Old Spite House, Marblehead

Long time no see. Now, I'm back.

Looking through the list of places I made during the last few months, the first thing I wanted to cover was a house called the "Old Spite House" in Marblehead.

Irish Round Tower, Milford

Why are there so many stone towers in New England? Because Rock is abundant in the region? While I was in the Midwest for a few years, I didn't come across a single stone tower... Now my guess game starts here: when the European settlers cultivated the land they needed to clear chunks of rock. Creating a mound after mound of rock pile was way too boring and impractical. Instead of doing so, they piled rocks up for boundary hedges. That's practical, but it's not quite a fun yet.

Stone Tower, Lynn

I love Lynn Woods. Since I  "discovered" the place a year ago, I've been visiting there multiple times. People I meet on the trail are very friendly. Each time I greet them, they show me a genuine smile and throw some conversations. It has a good vibe, my kind of good vibe.

Bear Hill Tower, Stoneham

Bear Hill Tower

Few weeks ago, I went to Wright's Tower in Medford, the tower looking down the Medford section of I-93. The tower sitting on a hill at the Middlesex Fells Reservation was built as a part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects during the 30's to ease the unemployment. I personally call those towers as "job creation towers". Quite amount of job seemed to be created by stacking Massachusetts stone into towers.

Wright's Tower, Medford

It's the tower on top of the hill looking down Medford part of I-93. Each time I was on I-93 North around exit 33 -- often stuck in traffic jam with Boston honkers -- I always thought how great it would be looking down us the earth crawlers.

Wingaersheek Beach Mansion, Gloucester

I've never been to Wingaersheek Beach before. Well, it's an expensive beach during the season. We tend to go Plum Island instead. Finally I checked out the place during the off season. Well it's a good beach; it's shallow for a good distance from the shore, the sand is powder fine, and the water is clear. The waves are gentle and so quiet!

And there is a nice Spanish colonial, possibly Mission Style, red tile roof mansion on the shore.

the mansion of the right

The Mission Style architecture was in vogue during 1890 and 1920.  Like the railroad millionaire Benjamin P. Cheney Jr. built a summer home on Calf Island in 1902, there must have been a summer home boom in the early 20th century in North Shore and some Boston islands.

Annisquam Light

From the beach you can see Annisquam Light. The current lighthouse was built in 1897. A guidebook I have says I can walk to the lighthouse from the beach at a low tide. Well, it wasn't possible when I visited.

I decided to get as close as to the mansion. Leaving Brian at the beach entrance, I walked through tide pools and  rocks, thinking what is the current purpose of the building. Private residence, country club, hotel, etc. Either way, it must be belonging to the exclusive class.

After (relatively) close examination, my initial guess was a yacht club. It's off season and all the yachts was covered with fabric like Christo's installation art. Is anybody in the house?

The windows are partially boarded. Even such a gentle beach, the winter wind and wave aren't a polite thing. When the season comes, they'll be removed, right? But why aren't some rooms boarded? I guess some rooms are used by the seasonal maintenance personnel...Oh, this reminds me of the somewhat frozen, literally genius Jack Torrance.

I headed back to the entrance. I could see a long figure staring at me in a bored manner, shivering with cold.

"Hi, I'm back", I said.

"I was guessing you would come to me with 77 steps."

"......"

"But it was 80."

"......" 

Locate Wingaersheek Beach @ Google Map

Fort Revere, Hull

(Pictures taken: Aug. 2010)

Winter is still going on. I realized I've been taking nothing but pictures with the sun. People tell you escaping from the reality is bad, but who cares; and now for something completely different...Something from summer 2010.

Situated at the tip point of the Hull Peninsula, Fort Revere sits on the area called Telegraph Hill. The fort was built sometimes around in 1775. Prior to this, a warning beacon had elected for the foreign attacks.

Brewster Islands

Click pictures to enlarge

From the fort, you can see Breswer Islands. Located on the outer Boston Harbor, the Boston Light on Little Brewster Island was elected in 1716 as the first lighthouse in North America.

Boston Light, Little Brewster Island

Like WPA towers in Boston area, the fort might have functioned as a watch out station for the German U-boats during WWII. Fort Revere was dismantled in 1947 and now functions as a public park and unofficial gallery for the local delinquents armed with spray paints.

Locate Fort Revere @ Google Map

Discovering the Boston Harbor Islands by Christopher Klein

 Kid, promise with grandpa. Don't smoke and spray paint marijuana.

Powder House, Somerville

I've seen this old mill for many times, but something is different today, I thought. The American flag on the top of the tower was at half mast. It usually takes seconds to pick up the reason. This time it was sadly obvious why. Looking at the flag, I was worrying about my Japanese friend and her kids in Arizona.

Powder House is the quintessential Somerville; look at the seal of the city. The structure was originally built as a windmill in 1703-4. What would it look like with the windmill sails? I always thought it is called "Powder" House because it used to be a flour mill. But it seems to to be a different kind of powder. The mill was sold to the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1747 and used as the gunpowder magazine. General Gage seized the mill in 1774, leading to the Battle of Lexington and Concord a year after. Now the inside of the magazine is empty, functioning as the symbol of Somerville and the early history of the United States.

A heavy snowfall hit the area few days ago. Tree branches couldn't hold the amount of the snow accumulated, and finally snapped out. I've seen something like this after a tornado storm in the Midwest.

Looking at the closed gate

The American flag at half mast on the gunpowder magazine surrounded by violently snapped tree branches... While taking pictures, I couldn't help being puzzled by the strange layers of symbols. My mind began to spin: the flag is at half mast because the gun shots in Tuscon brought the death of six people. From Japanese eyes, a gun -- the tool cannot function without what used to be stored inside -- was the object that brought the violence. But some folks argue that more guns would have prevented the tragedy.

I thought what I saw in the snowfield somewhat represented how the guns have been playing the mythic role in this country, weighting on its masculine strength as the tool for the pursuit of freedom. But how can we solve the initial lack of medical support to the assailant, questions regarding freedom of speech, etc.?

The sun was already setting. It was bitterly cold and windy, and a young hawk was staggering in the sky. My mind was swirling like the winged fellow. Ok, I think too much, again. I should go home soon, it's too cold.

Locate Powder House @ Google Map

Washington Tower @ Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge

Looking at Bigelow Chapel from the tower

Named after the first president, Washington Tower is situated at a hill on Mt Auburn Cemetery. This not-creepy-at-all cemetery was founded in 1831, and the 62ft (19m) tall tower was completed in 1854, taking two years of stacking the Quincy granite. 

The tower is the best place in Boston metropolitan area to see leaves changing color; it's free, nice, quiet, and damn close. Why reserve a hotel room in Vermont months 'n years ahead? (Well, because we can visit Ben & Jerry's factory.)  Here are the views from the tower over three month, recording how the leaves change color:

August 30

October 13

October 22

October 29

I hope someone with acrophobia or my friend who missed visiting Boston this autumn enjoy the view. Season's  greetings from me:

Happy Halloween!

Locate Washington Tower @ Google Map

High Rock Tower and Stone Cottage, Lynn

Added on May 17, 2011: Decision looms for Lynn's High Rock Stone Cottage.
The stone cottage is in a dire need to be rehabilitated or the worst could happen!

First, he chose a perfect location for his experiments. In Lynn, Massachusetts, there is an elevated piece of land believed to have special spiritual properties. Today, we might call it a “power center.”  -- from Passing Strange

High Rock Tower of 1905 and Stone Cottage

Lynn is a curious place; rock (the mineral one) seems to be the part of residents’ everyday life. Stacked rock wall there may be regarded as something equivalent to front yard lawn. Abundance probably is the reason, but there is some spiritual tone in those stacked rocks...

The King of Lynn Rock: Dungeon Rock

Wait, please keep reading. I’m not the only one obsessing about Lynn. The 19th century Spiritualists acclaimed the place as “nature’s warehouse of infinite magnetic force.” And the epicenter of this peculiar force is so-called High Rock section of the town. I learned about the place from a book “Passing Strange” by Joseph A. Cirto, and believe me,  this is one of the most bizarre stories I have ever heard…



Story:
John Murray Spear was a passionate, progressive, and talented Universalist minister.Heavily influenced by the Spiritualism Movement, he began obsessing about creating a new form of life, a machine one! He believed his creation would improve human life.

The blueprint was created during a séance session. In 1853, he and his cooperators began constructing the machine (he called it "Electrical Infant") at Jesse Hutchinson property at High Rock. Spiritualists believed they had seen angels at Hutchinson’s Stone Cottage (yes, this place is charged.) Rev. Spear believed the force of nature abundant in High Rock would aid infusing life into his creation.

Circa 1864, Hutchinson's original tower and Stone Cottage on far right

The description of the machine exceeds my imagination. I picture it would be like the creation of Moholy Nagy, but I don’t guarantee. Nine month later in 1854, the machine was complete awaiting for the final step: infusing life. Needless to say, a woman was chosen as a catalyst. A rather short ceremony began by Rev. Spear holding her hand. The result is curiously obscure and somewhat grotesque:

Already a mother by more traditional means, Mrs. Newton no doubt recognized a familiar indications right away. She began experiencing the symptoms of actual gestation accompanied with “some very singular characteristics,” which, perhaps happily, history fails to record. -- from Passing Strange

And, then...the spectators saw the thing moved! Next few weeks, Mrs. Newton diligently took care of the machine like her own baby...Wait, did “the thing” really move? Citro describes that even the most skeptical one admitted it moved, but “most attributed it to magnetic forces, oxidation, and wind.”

Looking from the tower

The tower sits of a huge porphyry rock

 So what eventually happened? The end was sudden and tragic; one day, a mob of angry men destroyed Spear’s creation. He would never attempt to create his "Electrical Infant" again...

*********
The current tower with an observatory on the hill was built in 1905. The Stone Cottage is still there, but seems to be unwilling to draw history goers' attention. And yes, I have to admit the hill was a dizzily surreal space. It was not creepy or unwelcoming, but once you step into the hill you feel this is a special place that not to be treated lightly.



After writing this and uploading pictures, it occurred to me that my faithful Nikon was acting up when I was taking pictures around the tower: bracketing didn’t work, autofocus seemed to have lost its concentration, help guidance pop up like an overbearing mother telling something irrelevant…Well, if the observatory, which needs delicate instruments, is on top of the tower, it must be me thinking too much, right?

Locate High Rock Tower @ Google Map

Passing Strange by Joseph A. Citro
Hi Rock, Location, History, and Legends
High Rock Park, Tower and Observatory