Watertown Arsenal Historic District

About this property

The Watertown Arsenal was a major American arsenal located on the northern shore of the Charles River in Watertown, Massachusetts. The site is now registered on the ASCE's List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks and on the US National Register of Historic Places, and it is home to a park, restaurants, mixed use office space, and formerly served as the national headquarters for athenahealth. The arsenal was established in 1816, on 40 acres (16 ha) of land, by the United States Army for the receipt, storage, and issuance of ordnance. In this role, it replaced the earlier Charlestown Arsenal. The arsenal's earliest plan incorporated 12 buildings aligned along a north–south axis overlooking the river. Alexander Parris, later designer of Quincy Market, was architect. Buildings included a military store and arsenal, as well as shops and housing for officers and men. All were made of brick with slate roofs in the Federal style, and a high wall enclosed the compound. By 1819 all buildings were completed and occupied. The arsenal's site, duties, and buildings grew gradually until the American Civil War, enlarging beyond the original quadrangle. During the war it greatly expanded to produce field and coastal gun carriages, and the war's impetus led to the quick construction of a large machine shop and smith shop built as contemporary factories, as well as a number of smaller buildings. During the Civil War, a new commander's quarters was commissioned by then-Capt. Thomas J. Rodman, inventor of the Rodman gun. The lavish, 12,700 sq ft (1,180 m2), quarters would ultimately become one of the largest commander's quarters on any US military installation. This mansion is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The expense ($63,478.65) was considered wasteful and excessive and drew a stern rebuke from Congress, which then promoted Rodman to brigadier general and sent him to command Rock Island Arsenal on the frontier in Illinois, where he built an even larger commander's quarters. Activities and new construction at the Watertown Arsenal continued to gradually expand until the early 1890s. Activities changed decisively in 1892 when Congress authorized modernization to gun carriage manufacturing. At this point the arsenal became a manufacturing complex rather than storage depot. A number of major buildings were constructed, which over time began to reflect typical industrial facilities rather than the earlier arsenal styles. In 1897 an additional 44 acres (180,000 m2) were purchased, and a hospital built. Scientific management as designed by arsenal commander Charles Brewster Wheeler was implemented between 1908 and 1915. It was considered by the War Department as successful in saving money over the alternatives; but it was so hated by the work force that the Congress eventually overturned its use.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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