USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Sketches of Boston, past and present, and of some places in its vicinity > Part 14
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The commerce of the Canadas, after our railroads are completed, is doubtless to be carried on through the United States, under recent acts of Congress designed for this purpose, allowing goods and merchandise in transitu to pass through the country free of duty. The advantages of Bos- ton in the competition for this trade are so manifest that their importance will be readily appreciated. Cargoes from Liverpool, in sailing vessels from the Canadas, may be delivered, via Boston, in thirty days, and twelve days by steamships, and subject only to the freight on shipboard and rail- road ; and the productions of the Canadas and Great West, may be shipped by the way of Boston at the same expense, and free from all charges of transhipment, &c. A fair proportion of this immense business will here- after flow over our several lines of railroad to the deep water wharves in Boston Harbor, for shipment.
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151
THEATRES IN BOSTON.
THEATRES IN BOSTON.
THE Theatres of Boston are limited in number, and rather ordinary in appearance. They are as follows : - 1. The National Theatre, corner of Portland and Travers streets. 2. The Boston Theatre, formerly known as the Odeon, in Federal street. 3. The Howard Athenaeum, in Howard street. The Museum, in Tremont street, is also open for theatrical per- formances.
THE NATIONAL THEATRE.
This theatre, planned and erected by Mr. William Washburn, is 120 by 75 feet, exclusive of the saloons, refreshment-rooms, &c., which are con .. tained in an adjoining building, 20 by 60 feet, fronting on Travers street, and communicating with the lobbies. The leading architectural features are Doric, presenting broad pilasters with slight projections on the front, which support an unbroken entablature and a pediment, 18 feet high at each end. The roof is covered with slate and zinc, and is surmounted by an octagonal lantern, 12 feet in diameter and 18 feet high, having a win- dow on each of its sides. The structure is covered on the exterior walls with cement, in imitation of granite, which gives an uniform and beauti- ful appearance. The interior comprises a pit with 500 seats, three tiers of boxes, with 335 seats each, and a gallery with 200 seats. The saloons, lob- bies, refreshment-rooms, &c., are spacious, convenient, and well ventilated by large windows on the two streets, and in rear. The boxes have five rows of seats each, and are accessible from both streets, affording, in case of fire or other cause of alarm, ready egress from the house. The main roof is supported by 18 hard-pine pillars, 36 feet high and 10 inches square,
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152
THEATRES IN BOSTON.
which also support a portion of the boxes, and divide them from the lob- bies. The remaining boxes are supported by two octagonal pillars of the same material, 9 inches in diameter. The main ceiling is a single arch, of 55 feet span, rising within 9 feet of the ridge. The gallery is entirely above the level cornice of the building, having an arched ceiling which rises five feet higher than the main ceiling, and is ventilated by a large round window placed in the centre of the tympanum. The procenium presents an opening 40 feet wide and 33 feet high. It is composed of pi- lasters, having ornamented capitals and bases, which support a beautifully enriched arch, crowned with the American eagle. The depth of the stage is 61 feet. The circle of boxes is so arranged, that in every part of the house a full view is had of the stage. The decorations are in good taste. The lower tier of boxes is adorned with paintings of the battles of the United States Navy ; the second tier bears the arms of the States, and the upper parts have appropriate scenes from the Iliads.
The prices of tickets are for boxes, $1; dress circle, 50 cents; family circle and pit, 25 cents ; gallery, 12} cents.
THE BOSTON THEATRE
Is situated on the corner of Federal and Franklin streets. This build- ing, when first erected, was 140 feet long, 61 wide, and 40 feet in height. In 1824, an addition was made to the west end of the building, of about 12 feet, with corresponding improvements in the interior. It was first opened February 3, 1791, with the tragedy of Gustavas Vasa Erickson, the deliv- erer of Sweden, under the management of Mr. Charles Stewart Powell.
Mr. Williamson having failed as manager of the Federal street Theatre, it was taken by Messrs. Barrett and Harper, in 1797. During the season this Theatre was destroyed by fire, on the afternoon of February 2, 1798. Messrs. Barrett and Harper applied for the use of the Haymarket Theatre, and were refused.
The theatre having been rebuilt, was opened under the management of Mr. Hodgkinson, October 29, 1798. The pieces performed were a prelude, called "The First Night's Apology, or all in a Bustle," "Wives as they Were," and the " Purse."
The Boston Theatre opened in 1823, under the management of Mr. Charles Young, for the proprietors. This season proved a most unfortu- nate speculation. The opposition was carried on between this and the Tre- mont Theatre with great spirit and great loss. Stars were engaged not merely on their own terms, but frequently at much more than their mod- esty would permit them to ask. Second-rate performers, both male and fe- male, had their hundred dollars per night !
153
BOSTON WATER-WORKS.
THE FOUNTAIN ON BOSTON COMMON.
BOSTON WATER -WORKS.
No improvement of greater magnitude or importance has ever been undertaken by the city than the Water-Works. Boston, though origi- nally selected as a place of residence for its abundance of pure water, for many years has not contained within itself an adequate supply. As early as Feb. 27, 1795, the Boston Aqueduct Company was incorporated for the purpose of introducing into the city the water of Jamaica Pond, in Rox- bury. This pond, at its highest elevation, is 49 feet above tide-water, and is capable of a maximum daily supply of about 50,000 gallons. In 1815, the company had laid about 5 miles of 8 and 4 inch iron pipe, and 10 miles of wooden pipe, conveying the water to nearly 3,000 houses. This was inadequate to meet the wants of the city.
At the taking of the census in 1815, a careful examination to ascertain the supply of water in Boston was made, with the following results : -
Classes of Houses.
Owned by
Not owned
Total
Occupant. by Occupant.
Inhabited houses, .
3,201
7,169
10,370
Houses having wells,
1,986
3,301
5.257
Wells whose water is drinkable,
1,635
2,639
1.321
Wells affording a supply, .
1,750
2.435
4.235
Wells whose water will wash with soap,
75
139
211
Houses having cisterns, .
1,634
2,311
4.415
Houses which take aqueduct water,
973
2.237
3,210
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154
BOSTON WATER-WORKS.
Classes of Houses.
Owned by
Not owned
Total.
Occupant. by Occupant.
Houses supplied with soft water,
1,731
3,202
4,933
Houses having no wells,
1,215
3,868
5,033
Wells whose water is not drinkable, .
301
662
963
Wells which do not afford a supply,
236
816
1,052
Wells whose water will not wash with soap, 1,911
3,162
5,073
Houses without drinkable well water,
1,516
4,530
6,016
Houses having no cisterns, .
1,567
4,358
5,925
Houses which do not take aqueduct water,
2,228
4,932
7,160
Houses not supplied with soft water, .
1,470
3,967
5,437
Various Commissions had been constituted by the city, at different times between 1825 and 1811, to examine the waters in the neighborhood, for the purpose of selecting one which could properly be introduced into the city. None was, however, definitely agreed upon. In August, 1844, Messrs. Patrick T. Jackson, Nathan Hale, and James F. Baldwin were appointed Commissioners " to report the best mode and expense of bring. ing the waters of Long Pond into the city "; and they reported on the 9th of November following. At the next session of the Legislature, an act was passed giving authority to the city to construct the works, but on submitting it to the people, the act was not accepted. In 1815, another Commission, consisting of John B. Jervis, of New York, and Walter R. Johnson, of Philadelphia, was appointed to report the best sources and mode of supply. Their report was made November 18, 1813, and recom- mended Long Pond. An act, granting the necessary powers, with author- ity to create a city debt of $3,000,000, was passed by the Legislature, March 30, 1816, and accepted by the legal voters of the city, April 10, 1846 Other necessary preliminary measures were taken. Nathan Hale, James F. Baldwin, and Thomas B. Curtis were appointed on 4th May, 1346, Water Commissioners, and they entered immediately on the dis- charge of their duties. In consequence of the increased expenditures on the work, an additional act of the Legislature was passed May 1, 1849, authorizing an additional debt of $ 1,500.000.
Long Pond, or LAKE COCHITUATE, as it was named in 1816, lies in the towns of Framingham, Natick, and Wayland. The gatehouse of the aqueduct is in Wayland, near the Natick line. It contains 659 acres, and drains about 11.400 acres, and is in some places 70 to 80 feet in depth. It is divided into two sections by a dam at the wading place, on the highway across the lake from Framingham to Cochituate Village. The northerly section, connected with the aqueduct, contains about 200 acres; and the southerly section, which is held in reserve, to be drawn upon as wanted, contains about 459 aores. It will supply, according to the lowest estimate, 10,000,000 gallons of water daily.
Two Compensation Reservoirs, to supply the water rights on Concord
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155
BOSTON WATER-WORKS.
River, instead of Long Pond, have been constructed. The Whitehall res- ervoir in Hopkinton, containing 576 acres, and capable of yielding, for three months, 12,000,000 gallons of water each 21 hours; and the Fort Meadow Brook reservoir in Marlborough, containing 290 acres.
The range between high and low water-will be about 7} feet. At its highest elevation it will be about 12 feet above the bottom of the aque- duct at the outlet, and .135 feet above high-water at Boston. At its low- esi level the water will be 124.86 feet above high-water. The fall from the Lake to the Brookline reservoir is 4.26 feet, making the height of the res- ervoir at its lowest level, 120.60 feet above high-water-mark. The reser- voir will, however, retain the water safely 2} feet higher, or 123 feet above high-water, or 16 feet above the floor of the State House. The Fountain Basin on the Common is about 243 feet above high-water, or 96 feet below the minimum level of the Brookline reservoir, and a 3 inch jet has been raised thence 92 feet, or within 4 feet of its source, though that source is at a distance of 4} miles. In the lower parts of the city, the water, con- veyed through a hose of the ordinary size of 2} inches, attached to one of the hydrants, will throw a column of water, without the aid of a fire en- gine, by the force of the head on the pipe, to the height of 75 or 80 feet. The Fountain on the Common is supplied with the means of furnishing a great variety of jets, many of which are of great beauty, and attract gen- eral notice and admiration. One of these is given in the accompanying cut.
The distance from the Lake to Beacon Hill reservoir is as follows : -
From the Gatehouse at the Lake to the West bank of Charles
Feet. River, near Newton Lower Falls, 41,187
Thence to the West end of the Brookline reservoir, 36,051
Total, from the Lake to Brookline reservoir, . 77,238 *
From West end of Brookline reservoir to the Gatehouse at the East end, 2,000
Thence to Beacon Hill reservoir, 24,893
Total from West end of Brookline reservoir to Beacon Hill reser- voir, . .
26,898 +
From the Lake to Beacon Hill reservoir, .
. 104,136 1
The Brookline Reservoir is a beautiful structure, of irregular, elliptic shape. The land purchased, including the surrounding embankment, with the necessary margin for its protection, was 38 acres. The area of the surface of the water is about 22} acres. It is capable of containing about 100,000,000 gallons of water, a quantity sufficient for the city for a period of two weeks, should the supply by any accident be interrupted so long.
ยท Or 14.625 miles. t Or 5.094 miles. 1 Or 13.719 miles.
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156
BOSTON WATER-WORKS.
The Beacon Hill reservoir is a structure of massive stone masonry. Its exterior dimensions are, on Derne street 199 feet and 3 inches ; on Temple street 182 feet and 11 inches; on Hancock street 191 feet and 7 inches; and on the rear of Mount Vernon street 206 feet and 5 inches. Its height, from the foundation to the top of the coping, exclusive of the railing, is, ou Derne street 66 feet, and on the rear of Mount Vernon street 43 feet. The foundation or substructure which is to support the basin, or reservoir, of water, rests on arches of immense strength, 14} feet span. The lateral basin walls which are to retain the water are 12 feet within the faces of the exterior walls on the streets. They are raised from the bottom of the reservoir or basin to the height of 15 feet and 8 inches, including 20 inches of coping. The contents of the basin will be equal to 2,678,961 wine gal- lons, and its mean horizontal section equal to 23,014 square feet. The line or level, at this reservoir, corresponding to the maximum level of the water in the reservoir at Brookline, which is about 123 feet above marsh level, or high-water-mark, will run about 7 inches on the coping, or 14 feet and 7 inches above the bottom of the basin; and the minimum level of the Brookline reservoir will be 2} feet below this line. It must be ap- parent that whatever may be the height of water at Brookline, it must, when flowing, be at a lower level on Beacon hill. The difference in the height of water in the two reservoirs will vary with the supply and dis- charge.
On the northerly side of the reservoir are two granite tablets, on which are cut the following inscriptions : --
BOSTON WATER-WORKS.
BEGUN AUG : 1846. WATER INTRODUCED OCT: 1848. JOSIAH QUINCY, JR., MAYOR.
NATHAN HALE,
COMMISSIONERS, 3 JAMES F. BALDWIN, THOMAS B. CURTIS.
BOSTON WATER-WORKS.
THE RESERVOIR COMPLETED NOV., 1819,
JOHN P. BIGELOW, MAYOR.
V
W. S. WHITWELL, EAST DIV.
ENGINEERS, E. S. CHESBROUGH, WEST DIV. JOHN B. JERVIS, CONSULTING.
ISPO -SJTEM MOTIDE
157
BOSTON WATER-WORKS.
The South Boston reservoir is situated on Telegraph Hill, the old " Dor- chester Heights." It is entered by a 20 inch pipe from the main in Tre- mont, through Dover street, over the South Free Bridge. The water is about 16 feet deep, of the same height as Beacon Hill reservoir, and it will contain 7,000,000. gallons.
The water is conveyed from the Lake to the Brookline reservoir in an aqueduct, excepting 965 feet across the valley of Charles River, where are two parallel iron pipes of 30 inches in diameter. There are two tun- nels, one in Newton of 2,4104 feet, and another in Brookline of 1,123} feet. The former passes through a hill 86 feet below the surface, at its highest elevation. The aqueduct is built principally of brick masonry, in an oval, egg shape, 6 feet 4 inches in height by 5 feet in width, and has a grad- ual fall for the whole distance, including the pipe section, of 34. inches to the mile, nearly. With this fall, and a depth of 3 feet 10 inches of water, when the conduit is two thirds full, it is estimated to convey 11,000,000 gallons per day. From the Brookline reservoir it is conveyed to the city in two main 36 inch iron pipes.
In May, 1851, the Cochituate Water Board purchased the property of the Jamaica Pond Aqueduct Company (excepting a small lot of land) for the sum of $ 45,000. This transfer of property and interest was made by a corporate act of the latter to and confirmed by the individual transfer of shares held. This purchase was recommended by the Water Com- missioners in December, 1816, at a cost not exceeding $ 80,000. The re- ceipts of the Jamaica Pond Company have been of late years $ 38,000 per annum and the net revenue $ 22,000.
The following shows the power by which the "Cochituate Water Board " recently purchased the property and franchise of the Jamaica Pond Aqueduct Corporation :
"The Cochituate Water Board shall have and exercise all the powers vested in the City Council by an act of the Legislature of Massachusetts, passed on the thirtieth day of March in the year eighteen hundred and forty-six, entitled an act for supplying the city of Boston with pure wa- ter." - Ordinance of the city.
The following is the section of the Act of the Legislature, referred to in the above ordinance.
" The said city of Boston is hereby authorized to purchase and hold all the property, estates, rights, and privileges, of the Aqueduct Corporation, incorporated by an Act passed February 27th, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, and by any convenient mode may connect the same with their other works."
In order to supply every portion of the city with the Cochituate water, pipes have been laid from the Fitchburg Railroad depot (Haverhill Street) to East Boston. This has been accomplished by placing pipes under the Warren Bridge leading to Charlestown, across Charles River, and under
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153
BOSTON WATERWORKS.
Chelsea bridge across Mystic River. Then led into other pipes leading through Charlestown and Chelsea, and thence to the reservoir at East Bos- ton.
From the Annual Report of the Water Board, dated December 10, 1850, we learn that the receipts of the Water Department, for water rates, from January 4 to December 4, 1850 (eleven months), were $ 97,943.14; and from other sources, $7,171.20. And the number of water takers had in. creased to 13,463. During the same period the expenditures of the Water Board were $ 47,095.
The total length of distribution pipe laid in that period, was as fol- lows : -
In Boston proper, 260 feet.
In South Boston, 1 mile, 1,702 feet.
In East Boston (including main pipe from Haymar-
ket Square),
. 12 miles, 1,146 feet.
Total, . 13 miles, 3,108 feet.
The total length laid from the commencement of the works, till Decem- ber, 1850, in all parts of the city, in Brookline, Roxbury, Charlestown, and Chelsea, was 96 miles, 4,301 feet; excluding the service pipes, of which there were 15,143 in number.
The entire cost of an the works, except the East Boston branch, has been, $ 4,105,166 And the branch to East Boston, 316,000
Total cost,
$ 4,451,166
The number of fire hydrants now established is,
In the City proper,
791 | In Roxbury, . 5
" South Boston, 151 " Charlestown, 11
" East Boston, . 35 " Chelsea, 8
" Brookline,
1
Total, 1,005
The main pipe for the supply of East Boston is 20 inches in diameter, and commences at Haymarket Square. It crosses Charles River on the lower side of the Warren Bridge, partly on independent pile work, passing the draw by means of an inverted syphon which leaves sufficient space for the largest class of vessels that can pass this bridge. Thence it passes through the Square and Chelsea street in Charlestown, and thence across Mystic River, on independent pile work, by the upper side of Chelsea Bridge. In passing this stream, two inverted syphons were placed oppo- site the draws in Chelsea Bridge, one near the Charlestown shore, and the other near the Chelsea shore. The latter leaves a clear space of 50 feet, which is considerably more than the width of the draw opposite. The en- largement was made on account of the possibility of a larger class of ves-
159
BOSTON WATERWORKS.
sels being built at Medford than has been constructed there heretofore. The main then passes along the Salem Turnpike, and through Williams and Marginal streets in Chelsea, and about 400 feet beyond the grounds of the United States Marine Hospital it turns and crosses Chelsea Creek to the reservoir on Eagle Hill. The channel of this creek is passed by a flexible pipe, instead of a pile bridge and syphon near the East Boston Free Bridge, as it was originally contemplated.
This change was made with the concurrence of the Water Committee, and it is believed will result in a saving of $ 30,000 in the first cost of the work, besides shortening the length of the main 1 1-5 miles, and conse. quently making a material increase in its capacity to discharge water into the East Boston Reservoir. This reservoir is 30 feet deep, and will hold when filled to a level 3 feet below its top, 5,591,816 wine gallons.
To the main pipe there has been attached 11 fire hydrants in Charles- town, and 8 in Chelsea. These are to be used only on the occurrence of fires, and not for any other purposes.
During the year two general examinations of the interior of the aqueduct have been made. On the upper portion of the line a great many small leaks into the aqueduct exist. Those have been there, with but little ex- ception, from the commencement, and it was impossible to keep them out at first, without very great expense, and serious delay in the completion of the work. As similar springs were known to exist in some portions of the Croton Aqueduct, without injuring the stability of that structure, it was believed that they would be equally harmless here; and the result of our experience thus far confirms this belief. Occasionally a spring is known to bring in sand or other material, from the outside of the conduit. When- ever this occurs, it is deemed important to stop the spring ; but in no case, so far, has there been any difficulty ; and those places which at first caused some anxiety on this account, have ceased to do so.
Several portions of the aqueduct were built on puddled embankments. Though a very economical mode of construction, it was looked upon as somewhat of an experiment. But the result shows that where these em- bankments were made of sand and gravel, the aqueduct has already come to a firm bearing, and has given very little trouble with regard to repairs. Where the aqueduct was built upon puddled clay the result has not been so satisfactory ; but even with these it has not been necessary to make any repairs during the year, except in one place ; and then the amount expend- ed was very small.
The external structures along the line of the works are all in good order. The excessive rains of the past season have washed the embank ments very little. Owing to the lateness of the season at which the Beacon Hill reser- voir was finished last year, it was not advisable to point the joints of the masonry then. This caused some leakage, which, though trifling in amount, gave an unsightly appearance to portions of the structure.
160
NEW CITY JAIL.
NEW CITY JAIL.
THE expediency of erecting a new Jail has been considered in Boston by every City Council for the last twelve years; and complaints have often been made against the city by different grand juries, for not providing bet- ter accommodations than are afforded by the Leverett Street Jail. Various projects, sites, and plans have been brought forward, but none was def. nitely agreed upon until December, 1848, when the plan of the one now in the process of erection was adopted.
This building is located on a street to be a continuation of Charles street northerly, between it and Grove street, on land reclaimed from the ocean, about 100 feet north of Cambridge street, between that street, and the Medical College and the General Hospital on the north, and about as far from Cambridge street as the New Eye and Ear Infirmary is south of it, so that all four of these public buildings are in the same part of the city. They will be seen on the whole length of Cambridge Bridge, in ap- proaching the city from the west. Coming in from Cambridge, the Eye and Ear Infirmary, a brick building, will appear on the right of the east. ern extremity of the bridge ; the new Jail on the left, a centre with wings of split granite, facing the west ; farther north the Medical College, a brick building, and farther north still, the noble building, the General Hos- pital, a centre with wings, facing the south, all of them open to the wa- ter, and to the pure air coming across it.
The jail is " cruciform " in plan, consisting of a centre octagonal build- ing, having four wings radiating from the centre. The west wing will measure 55 feet in width, and 61 feet in length, and of uniform height with the three other wings; it will be four stories in height, the lower one of which will contain the family kitchen and scullery of the jailer; the
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NEW CITY JAIL.
161
second story have the jailor's office, officers' rooms, and jailor's family parlors ; the third story will be devoted entirely to the sleeping rooms of the jailor's family and officers, and the fourth story will be appropriated for the hospital and chapel.
The centre octagonal building will measure 70 feet square, and 85 feet in height above the surface of the ground. It will be but two stories in height, the lower one of which will contain the great kitchen, scullery, bakery, and laundry, and will be on a uniform level with the lower story of cells in each of the three wings which contain the same. The upper story will be finished as one " great central guard and inspection room," reaching from the ceiling of the first story up to the roof of the building ; this room will measure 70 feet square, and will contain the galleries and staircases connecting with the galleries around the outside of the cells in the three wings.
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