Gloucester DPW rehung art throughout City Hall following the 2023 fire & smoke damage. Frames were rewired.
In Kyrouz Auditorium, the Mayors Portrait Gallery installation was shuffled and reordered to incorporate portraits past and future with more to come. Two large Howard Curtis paintings recently donated to the city’s art collection are featured in the main hall.
The Mayor Portraits Gallery is extensive, nearly complete, and a work in progress. Mayor portraits are installed following service: A portrait of Mayor Romeo Theken will be added. A poster of the Mayor Barrett portrait will come, the third in a series of poster reproductions for the trio of Mayor portraits painted by Charles Allan Winter (quick, not from life, unprimed, and flaking). I recommended the portrait of Mayor Dyer (A.H. Bicknell, 1879) be brought upstairs in sequence with the others, and that Mayor Merchant be represented (he wasn’t), so it’s great to see those two included. I also recommended that the portrait of Mayor O’Maley be brought back from O’Maley school and one future day a portrait of Mayor Foster (rather than a plaque) and perhaps a larger portrait of Mayor Beatrice Corliss be commissioned.
As is common with Gloucester DPW, the staff admires the architectural details and history of the building. Here, Joe and Jim take in the ‘scenic overlook’ from the balcony. Jim talks about the Kyrouz ceiling lights: the original engineering mechanism that drops the fixtures so that the bulbs can be changed remains operational.
2023 custom scaffolding set up CLEANING CITY HALL CEILING AFTER THE BASEMENT FIRE/SMOKE DAMAGE
The ceiling is sparkling because workers could reach it from atop a specialty scaffolding platform (a la Michelangelo :)). Images: Kyrouz Auditorium, City Hall, 2023. Courtesy photos, Joe Lucido, Asst. Dir. DPW
Look up!
On the Dale Avenue entrance side of City Hall, above the fire & smoke incident, the stairwell walls and ceiling received attention, too. The facilities remediation project was smartly directed by DPW.
City Hall 1867 1869 1871
photo: 2013, C. Ryan
City Archives is open and as ever ready to help!
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Photo & video caption: Scenes from the Dedication Ceremony and reveal for the new permanent public art commission on Stacy Boulevard, ‘Fish Baskets’, 4 bronze planters by sculptor Chris Williams. Landscape design by Ann Gilardi Johnson. Support for the project was spearheaded by Generous Gardeners, Gloucester DPW, the City & State, Gloucester 400+, and generous donors. Ann Gilardi Johnson and Chris Williams have the long color design goal in mind. After several years, the four bronze planters will naturally oxidize as a protective coating forms, covering the surface with a green patina. They are intended to age and complement the iconic and cherished copper-green of Gloucester’s Fisherman at the Wheel.
Video Clips
The Reveal (for one of the 4 bronzes)
with Mayor Verga and Antoinetta Calabrese
Photo before the ceremony – Green Aprons come on down!
Senator Tarr Welcomes crowd
Chris Williams
Susan passes mic to artist Chris Williams –modest remarks – dedication ceremony 12/9/2023
Susan Kelly | Ann Gilardi Johnson
Thank You
Mayor Theken Thank You Susan Kelly, Generous Gardeners, Mike Hale
12/9/2023 BEFORE AT Sunrise | After reveal
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Bases readied for Stacy Boulevard Chris Williams public art & commission, four bronze planters, a 400+ Legacy Project, led by Generous Gardeners for Stacy Boulevard landscape design by Ann Gilardi Johnson. Save the date: Saturday December 9, 2023, 3pm
Working with DPW, Ann Gilardi Johnson and Generous Gardeners design enhancements have been incorporated all along the Boulevard. See the plans and read more about that scope in a prior GMG post from 2017 here. The new flower beds and curved bench design astride the Fisherman at the Wheel replaced bench pairs and barrels long present.
Before | prior (no landscaping/flower beds 2019, 2021)
Part 2. “NOTABLE”. “EXEMPLIFICATION”. “ARBITRATION”.
Three test patches are visible on the commemorative bronze plaque set into Tablet Rock. Along with surface patina aesthetic choices, test patches are left to cure or age to see their impact. When considering care and protection for public art, there is no singular approach. There is no other American commemorative tablet that’s so colossal, set into a glacial outcropping in this precise angle and manner, and susceptible to its surroundings and climate over this length of time. Hence the test patches.
Daedalus is a renowned sculpture conservation firm and will approach this work with respect.
Money was raised to address the plaque and patination (some had preference for a brown finish) Gloucester Daily Times, 2016, and then that project was paused. As far as I know, funds were not returned nor redirected for restoration of the city’s art deemed in distress. At the time William Taylor addressed the verdigris:
“As an antique dealer for decades who dealt many times with bronzes and patinas I completely agree that the tablet should not be restored. While I applaud…well-meaning and generous inclinations not only does natural oxidization form a protective surface it looks appropriate and should not be fiddled with. Restoration is too expensive and absolutely not necessary. Cleaning it would remove many decades of well acquired history.
The enormous 20th Century plaque on Tablet Rock in Stage Fort Park commemorating the first permanent European settlement, the “Founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1623”, was dedicated in August 1907. James R. Pringle was designated to write the inscription. The execution of the design and bas relief border was by Eric Pape.
“The nautical scheme of decorative framework and embellishment was the composite suggestion” of various committees dating as far back as the 1880s.
Founders plaque – tablet rock photo C. Ryan 2016
Image block documenting how Tablet Rock looked pre bronze tablet through today: before the plaque, 1901 (branded Battery K still visible); 1907 dedication, Library of Congress (Hammond with his daughter Natalie Hammond); 1970s; 1974 (graffiti beneath); 2016; 2019. Note the rectangular area beneath the plaque was lightened at the time of installation. The border carving degraded. The dark streaks accelerated after 2020 (note the verdigris patina 2016, 2019, etc)
If you stop to think about how many projects Gloucester’s DPW is pulled into that they may not have spearheaded but must deliver and complete, all the while doing their essentials, it’s no wonder other Public Works look at what Gloucester’s DPW provide and think they do a model job.
For permanent infrastructural projects (see Stacy Boulevard series) it’s evident that form and beauty are taken into consideration as much as possible.
There’s a lot more green in the GHS Flood Control Project 2023 since the last photographs I posted a month ago. More plantings and landscaping coming will add even more appeal. New trees were laid this week.
“Construction went smoothly. With permanent infrastructure it’s tricky to balance form over function. Form is so, so important! To me. To the City. To the residents. I always try to strike a balance.”
Mike Hale, Dir. DPW, Gloucester, MA
Diagonals and lines are incorporated into the landscape elements and the zig zag, tapered wall itself which is wide enough–by design for its purpose–and that someone climbing, sitting, or walking on top is not hurt. Final rounds of hydro seeding should be finished by Friday. Crews are working on “small stuff and finishing touches”. Removal of equipment like the mini excavator are scheduled for Monday.
At this stage in the project, the grassy walk is wide and welcoming and the Annsiquam humming with activity. Two geese sauntered past unbothered. Maintaining public space and green additions are evident. The old preschool at the highschool’s playground equipment is enhanced and feels upgraded to a waterfront walk and park that’s as fun to visit as Cripple Cove. With 1000 less enrolled at GPS there’s ample room at GHS for relocating the preschool and school administration from Blackburn back into the highschool. There might even be room for the Pond Road or other city offices. They can make use of an enhanced amenity. When this community space opens there’s a full circle longer walk option around the school: from Dun Fudgin/Emerson, back of school, bit of Centennial to the riverwalk.
The public can resume access to the riverwalk along the ‘squam between the Cut and Dun fudgin’ next week. There are three ways to walk on: 1)to the right of the bridge tender from Stacy Boulevard, 2)from the high school (by the softball field), and 3)Dun Fudgin’. The bridge tender is city property; they lease it from the city. If you check out the progress before Tuesday, you can see the temporary fences and locked gates which will be removed.
photo caption: Temporary fencing. Gates ajar Tuesday. This photograph shows the intentional natural planting for an earlier GHS flood mitigation project. Could sustainable planting partial strip like this continue along the back of the new wall (where the public is not meant to walk)? see next photo
Aerial View from Edward Hopper
image: Edward Hopper House on ‘Squam River, 1926. The Hopper drawing was gifted to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1948. I thought about Hopper’s use of abbreviated ‘Squam and this vista for this post.
FAST STATS for the GHS Flood Control 2023
**Managed and partially funded by City of Gloucester, DPW**
Managed: City of Gloucester DPW
Engineers: GZA GEO Environmental, Amesbury
Contractor: Charter Contracting Boston
Status: nearly across the finish line. Progress: as of June 21, 2023 completion ETA is Monday June 26, 2023. Gates open Tues. Project start (historic): pre 1900 Modern project start: on the ground January 2023
Funding Awarded by:
from State: TBD Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs; FEMA; Mass Emergency Management Agency
from City: TBD partially funded plus in kind by DPW
Funding in place as of: TBD
Gloucester grants over the years in this vicinity include: emergency work on Blynman collapse; earlier GHS storm water project; Newell Stadium New Balance Field special surface;
Bid Open and contract amount:3.244M Contract completion: 2023 Locations: Along ‘Squam length between cut bridge and dun fudgin Priority: 1,439 linear feet of flood wall necessity, for safety and continued investment along an area the city has developed since the landfill late 1800s, and longer related to the Cut. Infrastructure project with quality of life benefits for residents and visitors. Rather than traditional loud pneumatic pile driving, special drive sheets were fabricated to offset the noise (essentially vibratory) Temporary work site chain link fence: Required. The chain link fence is installed by the contractor to protect the work zone and define it better. Will be removed as soon as possible.
HIGH RES PLANS
High Res plans here
Wastewater Treatment Facility
Directly across the river, construction for another wall encircling the city’s wastewater treatment facility is nearly finished. That project includes deployable gates for overflow.
The city’s investments in infrastructure is not new nor its evergreen commitment to improvements.
Fiscal year 2023 the City’s proposed budget is 133.9M. The DPW budget is about 32.1M million. For comparison, the school budget is about 50M*, 60% more. If we want more services or faster, money is another piece of the form vs. function balancing act.
*50M base number excludes: facilities rental for preschool/admin at Blackburn, etc.; school choice out tuition costs; Essex Tech expenditure; new school project; and special budget supplemental request/loan orders (e.g. school portion of 2.15M IT)
MORE Greenhead trap boxes
DPW did not install the greenhead boxes in Gloucester. In the photos above you can see greenhead boxes added to the salt marsh here as well as the new ones behind Good Harbor Beach. The Commonwealth’s Northeast MA Mosquito Control installed 58 traps. Last year it was 20. There’s a history of mosquito AND greenhead control combined action plans by the state which I wrote about here when I saw the new Good Harbor ones. I will add to that list an article by Ethan Forman who wrote about Essex and Wingaersheek and the city considering reenrolling. See Gloucester Daily Times here. That article mentions board of health asking city council for greenlight for the greenheads (each box about $90 a piece and a 3 year contract).
I will try to find a map or list of site locations. In the recent past I remember them in the marsh behind Lobsta Land. Apparently there were a fleet of them in the 1980s. Do you remember seeing them in more places at that time or were you involved back then? I’d love to learn about any tallies and sites and compare with 2023.
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With thanks to Mike Hale, Dir. Public Works; Matt Coutu, Civil Engineer with New England Civil Engineering thru DPW; and Police Sergeant Conners.
At this time in July, Gloucester Public Works is generally midway into a construction season. Not this year. The rain has caused a “knotted web of deficiencies,” impacting routine work such as patching and pothole repair, outside painting, line & crosswalk painting, and summer paving which is “weeks and weeks behind”. Mowing wet grass or while it’s raining isn’t a good idea. And when the sun comes out the grass takes off. So that’s a visible delay. Still, DPW is plugging away at smaller projects around town, at the waste water plant, and pumping station projects. Most Utility work is on schedule.
Even before all this rain, the 2021 schedule demanded flexibility. DPW projects are unseen in the best of times, and can go unrecognized. Gloucester DPW worked through the pandemic. People forget that they were essential services. Prioritizing projects has been key (think critical events as in hazards or special events downtown). Also pacing and flexibility:
“The past 18 months have been taxing on these guys. Mistaken belief still out there that everyone had quarantine off. They need vacation this year. Didn’t get it last year. I’m mindful of burnout. So at times we’ll be short. Could be a specialty, supervisory, labor or machine operator job. They’re all important. The edges may be where you start assembling puzzle pieces, but you’re still going to need the outside and center pieces to be complete.”
Mike Hale, Dir. Public Works, July 2021 addressing holes if any in DPW operation
Essential workers, dangerous jobs – lest we forget | TRENCH BOXES — akin to mine shaft collapse prevention — for utilities and road work
Bertoni neighborhood water & sewer project 2021
Gas, sewer, and water lines have all been removed, redirected and replaced. Clay tile pipe (sewer) is notorious for ground water intrusion, and cast iron (water) for tuberculation*– New PVC will increase run time and water quality.
I had to ask. *TUBERCULATION: “Accumulation of minerals inside pipe decreases volume and impacts water quality.”
DPW is pumped about the new pump!
The former configuration ran beneath Rt. 128. Now that it’s been re-directed and running to a newer location off Poplar/DPW campus, there will be a significant savings both for the life of the pump and electricity.
“The Gloucester Ave. sewer pump station, during wet weather and high ground water, would run in excess of 12 hours per day, some days even longer. Running time for the newer one has been cut down to 6 hours a day.”
Mike Hale
Looking Back – February 1947
The Gloucester 2.5 mile highway construction was delayed “indefinitely”, because the bids for the approach (to a new bridge across Annisquam River) came in too high. The lowest bid was $1,285,776 and the cost was fixed at $300-$500,000.
August 1950
“…Much to the joy of thousands of beleaguered year-round and Summer residents, it was announced that the gap in the new high level bridge over Annisquam River was closed at 9a.m. by Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
The great significance was that it meant that it will not be too long before auto traffic will be flowing over this this improved entrance and exit to Gloucester, eliminating the two mile long traffic jams that have brought despair to motorists caught in the frequent openings of the low level Richard Blynman Bridge over the same river.
A sense of joy and relief was also experienced by the two Bethlehem officials in charge of the superstructure contract–Construction Engineers John P. McGonigle and Charles L. “Lonnie” Stroble. For as the 52-foot long, 44 ton piece of steel known as the central arch rib, south side, was lowered into place, their worry was whether or not it would fit. It did. 100 percent… The entire bridge is 860 feet long…
The superstructure contract, let by the State Department of Public Works to Bethlehem Steel is for $1,232,479.90.”
Boston Globe, Aug. 1950
1958 – RT. 128 Construction
Boston Globe focus on Rt. 128 by K. S. Bartlett features Gloucester, Ma.
“Approximately $1 million a mile for 65 miles of the great three-quarter circle from Gloucester on the North Shore to the high speed interchange in Braintree where it will meet the Southeast Expressway coming south from Boston. Cost of the 65 miles, all competed or now under construction, is a bit less than $65 million. That covers land damages, engineering, planning and construction costs since Route 128’s start back in 1936.”
“Rt. 128 has earned name, “Avenue of Modern Industry”: Million Dollar a Mile Gold Road” by K.S. Bartlett, Boston Globe
photo descriptions:
“Contractors building the 1.7 miles of the Gloucester extension found huge rocks dropped by visiting glaciers tens of thousands of years ago. More than half a million tons of rock (many kinds and varieties of hardness and weight) plus earth and plain dirt have been taken out to make your driving easier. Her you’re looking at one of the tough spots during the last weeks of construction.”
“Want a bit of New England’s famed chowder? You’re at the right place. The Gloucester extension of Route 128 ends at Eastern Avenue in Gloucester and just around the corner is Fish-Pier at the head of the Inner Harbor.”
The approach to the bridge they dubbed “Rail Cut Hill”.
Some of the homes date from this time. Department of Public Works, Gloucester, MA. Higher resolution PDF here – or lower resolution images below
ca. 1950 (scan from original)
1953
1954
2021 Bertoni neighborhood
Approximately 3 months project nearing completion (thanks to digging into standard clay rather than granite ledge). This week, the crews have reached the storm water drain reconfiguration stage.
View from Bertoni Rd. to RT. 128. Old clay sewer line deliberately closed 2021. Bertoni Rd. is a dead end street that originally connected to Gloucester Avenue (on the other side of the highway)
Salt Island Road | Brier (Briar) Neck neighborhood
In contrast, Salt Island Road, Brier/Briar Neck neighborhood took six months for similar work because of granite ledge and compact density.
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Mike Hale, Director of DPW, and Jeff Destino, VP at O’Maley, reviewed top to-do list items at O’Maley back in January 2020, before Covid-19 hit. They also consulted with the principal and teachers, mentioning Ms. Crosby as one point of contact. The third floor (7th grade wing) was deemed “the most tired”. DPW slated work for February and April vacations with more lined up for the summer. When the pandemic closures ensued, many of these projects were ready to roll. Essential improvements and remodel efforts inside O’Maley include a wide assortment of interventions and upgrades by the DPW team: floor cleaning/refinishing/buffing (perpetual! a la Golden Gate Bridge painting); fresh coat of paint in various classrooms (in consultation with the teachers); wall repairs; 8 bathroom renovations; custom murals with hand painting by Jason Burroughs; built-in benches and high top counter; remodel of the resource officer’s room; renovation of one of the teacher lounges; and new classroom clocks.
About those classroom clocks. Ralph B. O’Maley (O’Maley) school was built ca.1972 and first class welcomed in ’74. The original classroom clocks were synced (hardwired and controlled from the main office) and no longer operational and hadn’t been for some time. They were kept up until they couldn’t be; after so much time the manufacturer was long gone. Bids for repairing the classroom clock system were astronomical. Instead, DPW replaced them with new clocks, automatically synced and operated via a wireless station in the Commons.
(update: *phase one is 50 replacement clocks- 30 more to be added if these do all they should)
The hodgepodge assortment of abandoned seats and folding tables in the teachers’ break room were replaced with quality and safe amenities.
Two large bathrooms on the ground floor and six small bathrooms on the third floor were renovated. The bathrooms looked rough and dated. Swapping out elements with smart design choices have made a huge difference. New non-porous epoxy flooring in stock colors, fixtures, ceiling tiles, and brushed aluminum wall squares (to clean up and conceal fifty years of mismatched accessory drill holes) work wonders.
Similarly, spot design choices in long halls appeared to complete punch items lingering from the original build. For instance, random walls of cinder blocks– where banks of lockers were planned for and never needed–are now sheet rocked and finished. Others were repaired and painted. The odd, old wood base runners and lifts (again related to locker banks) were removed. Built in custom benches in one hall and a counter for another clean up long corridors and are functional for these spaces in ways they hadn’t been before. Paint color, good quality “brag” boards, and painted quotes were selected by teachers and students. Jason Burroughs hand painted the custom selected phrases.
Custom built-ins
Wall murals hand lettering by Jason Burroughs
Classrooms – Cleaned up walls and fresh coats of paint (colors selected by teachers)
Teacher’s desk rather than folding table (bonus- match case goods already there)
Acquisition of case-goods in some classrooms was necessary. For instance, this teacher’s desk is no longer a folding table.
Mike Hale describes the recent DPW O’Maley interior projects as small yet necessary and beneficial to staff and students alike. He added,
“Coming in at roughly $100,000/ $10,000**, all in all they’re worthy, and relatively short money on the return.”
-Mike Hale
Note from author- typo- $100,000 for this work (includes less than $10,000 for clocks).
As one branch of the city’s essential services, Gloucester DPW is busy serving the city during this pandemic. Sanitation, disinfecting and water management are critical public health priorities. Regarding construction and infrastructure work, the Governor gave specific instructions that limit construction projects with safe and rigorous controls so as not to expose anyone uneccessarily to bigger groups. Big DPW jobs may involve layers of interactions among larger crews, city staff, police and partners which is inherently at odds with any social distancing mandate. At the city level, Mayor Romeo Theken and local administration are following the Governor’s advisory on construction to a “T”. It would be unsafe if every town did something differently. “The Mayor is adamant about the use of PPE,” stressed Mike Hale, the Director of Public Works. “She’s spot on with daily notifications and advisory on essential and supplemental guidelines. And she shares directly any Federal and State communications.”
Gloucester DPW has
reduced crew size and staggered staffing level to limit potential exposure
“We have plans a,b,c,d,e as far as staffing goes. Look, the Gloucester DPW staff is fantastic! They want to be here. They’re willing to work; they feel it’s their public duty. The ability to work right now is essential for the staff and the city. DPW work is hard to catch up on under normal circumstances. And we had caught up on so much. We won’t fall back.” – Mike Hale
modified ride sharing (from groups of guys in a truck to 1 or 2 per individual vehicle)
prioritized smaller jobs and/or
specific jobs where bigger crews can be spread out more and the project is still manageable under covid-19 constraints
assigned work that can start and finish without disruption (for example if a building is re-opened it’s good to go)
dispatched crews inside schools cleaning, deep cleaning (management of school disinfecting started the Saturday following the Friday school closing), and traditional maintenance work (i.e. old doors that need replacing)
At Gloucester’s O’Maley middle school campus, DPW is making good progress on a courtyard improvement phase they’ve long planned. Three raised planter wells were removed and three lower planting beds with 16 new trees are coming.
“Lots and lots of concrete panels are being replaced.”
The scraggly boarder gardens around various walls facing the street will be attended to; DPW is teaming with Generous gardeners for the flower beds. The anchor will be relocated within a flower bed along the building.
IN PROGRESS
(photos above)
Wow– even at this stage, the project mitigates the outdated elements that felt harsh. Looks fresh, and it’s easy to envision the future plans so full of life!
BEFORE
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Blanched and illuminated area beneath the founder’s plaque was tagged with graffiti which will be ably removed by the city DPW. Scroll below to historic photographs for context and comparison.
Days earlier it wasn’t. For comparison, here’s how the giant rock appeared May 1, 2019. Had it been on that day…
1974
Though uncommon, graffiti has been removed from this same spot before. Here’s a 1974 photograph from the Gloucester Daily Times catching a family reading the founder’s plaque. Graffiti was visible and without mention.
1907
John Hays Hammond, Sr (1855-1936) holding hands with daughter Natalie (looking back to the camera) after the unveiling. Hammond’s involvement made this tribute happen (CR id research). Natalie hays Hammond (1904-1985) had the honor of pulling back the cord for the big reveal. 1907 photograph collection Library of Congress
Gloucester’s wrap around picturesque landscape was preserved as a public park in 1898. In 1907, the monumental natural glacial outcropping was decorated with an inset of bronze plaque and stone relief commemorating the first fishermen from England laying claim in 1623. Eric Pape was commissioned for its design.
There is much exciting work in progress along Stacy Boulevard including welcome tributes to women. Incremental aesthetic improvements, public access, ease of movement, and celebration of culture require many hands and deliver a huge impact. Here is a brief description of the special current projects and some people involved.
Two revitalized and enhanced gardens beyond the tennis courts will emphasize generations of care
“Remarkable support comes from volunteer expertise like award winning designer Ann Geraldi Johnson and Susan Kelly and the Generous Gardeners who have stepped up as the city’s groundskeepers on the boulevard.” Mike Hale, Director of Public Works
The Elizabeth Gordon Smith (Betty Smith) garden was cleared and the small Picture garden past the boulevard tennis courts was unearthed. Because Gloucester garden groups pre-date 1900, it’s especially moving to see the work in progess shoring up inspiring legacy connections. Incredible volunteers past and present serve the city’s Department of Public Works (DPW). Stacy Boulevard & Stage Fort Park advocates like Betty Smith, Louise Loud & the Gloucester Civic & Garden Council tended and protected Gloucester’s natural beauty — the very same grounds that are so lovingly served now by dynamos like Ann Gilardi Johnson and Susan Kelly & the Generous Gardeners. Plaques for Lucy Brown Davis, tribute by her sister Catalina Davis, and for Lucy P. Rogers ” president of the Gloucester’s Woman’s Club 1927-29″ are nearby.
photos: Betty Smith garden IN PROGRESS February (overgrowth and clearing underway–poison ivy was found) vs. March and can’t wait to experience the AFTER!
February 2019
March 24, 2019 more progress two gardens revitalized- Paul Manship Triton fantastic enhanced boulder base clearing
Gloucester, Mass., March 2019. Pubic art – Walker Hancock Triton
March 2019 work continuing across Stacy Boulevard – read details HERE about these projects– Hancock Sculpture, Betty Smith Gardens & Tennis Courts to the East, and Blynman Bridge & railings to the West- additional stunning work and investment thanks to Gloucester MA Department of Public Works, Ann Gilardi Johnson, Generous Gardeners, CPA, Department of Transportation (DOT), and more. Stacy Boulevard Part 8
March 24, 2019 photos of Walker Hancock Triton and grounds prep before/in process.
Gloucester, Mass., March 2019. Pubic art – Walker Hancock Triton
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Another Gloucester DPW project began last week along RT 127, near Wolf Hill, at Days Pond. The fence and wall have been damaged over the years from simple wear and tear, and even automobile accidents. “A recent one took it from more than just an eyesore to potentially dangerous,” Mike Hale explained. The wall is being replaced and raised. The crew will be there a couple of weeks this December to complete all that is doable in winter, and return in the spring to finish the job. Since the crew began the pond has frozen over and thawed. Note the stone work.
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Beautiful build by Gloucester DPW to Good Harbor Beach is seeing steady use. The new pedestrian bridge spanning the marsh little river makes it easy to linger over a sweeping November vista to Good Harbor Beach and back.
clone tag: -1675895261771600638
Prior posts on Good Morning Gloucester about the marsh walkway under construction.
Information labels were applied to City Hall walls with an epoxy that is ill advised near art. In early spring a label for this Ken Gore painting migrated to its surface and pulled away a small patch of paint. Elizabeth Mehlin, an expert painting restorer in Ipswich, Massachusetts, repaired the accidental damage. She was able to tease out pulverized pieces of the paint stuck to remnant epoxy and match the loss so beautifully the fix is indiscernible. The painting is large and heavy. I suspect that its original custom frame was likely carved by multi media artist and Montserrat teacher, Alfred Czerepak (1928 – 1986). Gloucester’s Department of Public Works are such great stewards of the city’s art and history!
Before repair – and remnant epoxy
To the rescue as usual. Fantastic Deparment of Public Works – Mike Hale, Bobby Gross, Phil Curcuru, Mike Tarantino – the return of the repaired Gore painting
KENNETH (KEN) GORE (American, b.Oct 2 1911 Elvira, Illinois -1990 d. Gloucester) Ken Gore visited Gloucester for the first time in 1948 and settled into a home and studio within a year. Eventually he purchased 186 East Main Street where he resided and maintained a studio and gallery. (Today it’s Lynzariums, aka the Plant Shack, across from Beacon Marine Basin in East Gloucester.) Gore was a student and art professor at the Detroit Meisinger Art School. He served as president of both Rockport and North Shore Art Associations and for the Cape Ann Festival of the Arts. He performed regularly with the Cape Ann Symphony. He taught regularly. Apparently his personality was as joyous and musical as his painting: his art students and friends considered him “one of the nicest mans they’d ever met.” I’ve heard that his plein air road trips and truck “studio” were quite a sight. I would love to see a picture of him on location by his truck. I do love seeing Jeff Weaver and his signature truck around town.
186 East Main Street, Gloucester, was former home, studio and gallery of artist Ken Gore
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“Hale said the Woburn-based firmof Heimlich Landscaping and constracting which installed the stands and track in 2013, is heading up the repair work wiht inkind design assistance from CDM Smith of Boston…
“It was safe, and it would have been safe. It just looked bad–it looked old when it was still new. But this administration wants to be sure to fix it. We want this to be good product, and a good long-term investment.”
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back of Good Harbor Beach, framed and open views across marsh from Thatcher Road, June 2018
Walk this way! Part 1- Pilings In, Guardrails Gone!
A new mini marsh promenade is underway along Thatcher Road from Gloucester’s Good Harbor Beach entrance all the way around to the foot bridge. Walkers will have safe access via sidewalks and a natural path.
Gloucester has been planning for an opportunity to extend safer pedestrian access along Thatcher Road for years. When National Grid scheduled replacing antiquated gas lines along the busiest and scenic stretch, Gloucester Public Works was ready to seize the opportunity with collaborative solutions sensitive to conservation. Sidewalk upgrades were built out at both ends and paused until National Grid completed its underground infrastructure work. Prior to paving, Thatcher Road will be widened slightly to accommodate a safe and scenic path. The city hoped to complete repairs and paving by autumn and is on track to meet that goal. This week crews were clearing brush. The rusty guardrail was removed and will be replaced with a new design. “It will all happen quickly now,” says Mike Hale, director of Public Works.
There’s an ideal and creative scenic overlook solution over the river that’s under construction off site. I can’t wait for the reveal! I have been documenting progress and will post various updates, fast stats and history as another impressive project moves along.
Gloucester’s great marsh walk will afford safer access for sweeping seasonal observation
winter, spring, summer, fall
One of my favorite Gloucester motifs, Gloucester oxbow, view from Thatcher Road
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City of Gloucester officials are working towards a Phase 3 for the Haskell Pond Dam reconstruction which I wrote about last week (Part 1). I included information about the original monumental build. In response, Bruce Roberts was kind enough to share these amazing photographs of the impressive crews at the Haskell Pond construction site 1901. Bonus: they were annotated by his grandfather in 1958. West Gloucester families may recognize a surname or two, maybe a family resemblance. Please help ID if you can.
Bruce Roberts explains: “My grandfather, Edward F. Roberts, identified the individuals back in 1958. There are some folks he didn’t recognize, since he would have been pretty young when these images were taken. The first picture has the most identified individuals. One thing that has always been remarkable to me in the second image is how much Chester Andrews, my g-grandfather, resembled my father, Eugene Roberts, at that age.”
HASKELL’S POND CONSTRUCTION ca.1901-02 – (Individuals ID’d by Edward Roberts in 1958)
Photo 1, Dec 1901 (in snow): “Wood Choppers at Haskell’s Pond, December 1901” Front Row, L-R: 1. Otis Lufkin, 2. Matt Poland, 3. Loren (sp?) Harris, 4. Melvin Wilkins, 5. Jim White
Back Row: 1.Asa Sargent, 2. unknown, 3. Ed Lufkin, 4. James Chadbourne, 5. Joseph Abbott, 6. unknown, 7. Joshua Roberts, 8 & 9. unknown
Last month I was fortunate to glimpse the impressive Haskell’s Pond Dam reconstruction orchestrated by Gloucester’s Department of Public Works (DPW). Protecting and managing water utilities can be easy to take for granted. “This not so sleepy dam by Rt. 128 continues to deliver almost 30% of the city’s water,” exclaimed Larry Durkin, City Environmental Engineer. He explained that years ago the DPW team began assessing the city’s water infrastructure and compliance requirements including what would happen during an event storm. Haskell’s Pond Dam needed attention: The reconstruction was projected to cost 2 million (based on the preliminary plans and the recent Babson Reservoir repair). Phase I and II were contracted out to SumCo Eco Contracting and the estimates were correct. The project cost two million and the work is largely completed thanks to grants and loans from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (EEA), and the Commonwealth’s Dam and Seawall Program. DPW Director, Mike Hale, and Larry Durkin concur: “They are fabulous to work with.” Discovery was anticipated. While drilling it was determined that the Haskell Pond Dam was indeed not structurally stable, and a MAJOR fix would be required to bring the dam into compliance. The DPW team is working with the state to fund the critical work of Phase 3.
Until then, take time to enjoy its history. While checking out the 2018 progress, I pulled stories and stats from the Haskell’s Pond Dam original build In 1902. As with today, the dam work was regarded a model project. State assistance and contracted elements were required then, too. The numerous links among these two century projects are a fascinating delve and described below. The evolving breaking news in 1902 kicked off with a bang, surprising lawsuits (next stop for one could be Supreme Court), and deft leadership. Readers and history buffs will recognize names. (Tarr ancestors were involved; were yours?)
Scope for Phase 1 & 2: Construction of a new concrete spillway chute, concrete repairs, clearing of trees and unwanted vegetation and valve replacement at an earthen embankment dam within the City’s active water supply system, and more (A prior $175,000 grant from the state’s Dam and Seawall Program was awarded to support “engineering, permitting and the development of construction documents” which established scope for Phase 1)
Contractor: SumCo Eco Contracting, Status: largely completed Mayor: Mayor Romeo Theken DPW Director: Mike Hale City Environmental Engineer: Lawrence A. Durkin, P.E. Project start (historic): 1902 Modern project start: 2013-18; RFP for Phase I issued: March 15, 2017 Total project cost: estimated to be $7 million Funding Awarded to date: $1,925,000
from State:$1,925,000 – The City has done very well with Grants and Loans from the MA Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (EEA), and its Dam and Seawall Program, Mike Hale and Larry Durkin concur. “They are fabulous to work with.”
No
EEA
Grant
Loan
Comment
1
Design & permitting grant FY 2016
$175,000
Completed 6/30/16
2
Haskell Phase 1 Construction Grant FY 2017
$500,000
Closed 6/30/17 and City reimbursed
3
Haskell Phase 1 Construction Loan FY 2018
$500,000
Submission by DPW to EEA 7/26/18 for reimbursement
4
Haskell Phase 2 Construction Grant FY 2018 (Applied to Phase 1 change orders)
$500,000
Submission by DPW to EEA 7/26/18 for reimbursement
Submission by DPW to EEA 7/26/18 for reimbursement
6
Haskell Phase 2 Full FY 2019 Grant, to be applied to Phase 3
$500,000
to be realized if Phase 3 goes forward in FY 2019
7
EEA Total to date
$1,925,000
$500,000
Phase 3: Some future phase was anticipated, though obviously impossible to nail down until Phase 1 & 2 were completed. The reconstruction was based on discovery put into works five or more years ago as Durkin and DPW team assessed city’s watersheds. The dam has been deemed unstable and will require a major fix to be compliant. According to Durkin, the scope for Phase 3 will include “a secant concrete wall to be drilled and concrete along the dam crest for its entire length, cored in the bedrock beneath dam for structural stability and a concrete parapet wall tied into the secant wall that provides the necessary containment for the maximum storm as defined by the state” and some exicting ancillary projects I’ll write more about in a future update. Phase 3 is estimated to cost 5 million and DPW is working on grants with the state to ensure that it happens.
Location(s): West Gloucester Priority: Mayor Romeo Theken’s Office-City consider water highest priority – this one continues to provide 1/3 of the city’s water
Reviewing the ordeal that was constructing the dam– one hundred and six years ago –is a fascinating read, and helped me appreciate the major job it’s been in 2018. The original dam construction was contentious and hence the top news story of 1902 and years prior. While researching its beginnings, I was struck by just how many areas of concern and themes of city governance from 1902 remain relevant in 2018. Here’s a short list: the financial condition of the city (“revaluation”), suitable allocations, considering work on Rogers Street, water costs, heroic solo sails, possible steel bridge over Annisquam, Burnham Field play ground, pros and cons of tourism, disagreement over what is considered sound development, new theater on Main Street, announcing state grants, eminent domain, boundary lines, Gloucester Fresh, cut bridge in bad condition, aiming to keep work in town when possible, Stage Fort Park tributes, environmentally friendly innovations, sustainability, access and oodles of local politics- Office of Mayor and City Council, city staff, committees, and commissions.
The excerpts below pertain to Haskell’s pond dam from 1902 Gloucester Daily Times archives that I pulled from reels at Sawyer Free and transcribed for easy access. Plans and maps are courtesy of Mike Hale and the Department Public Work team. Links to high resolution versions are provided at the end of the post.
January 4, 1902 – MAYOR FRENCH LOSES: Aldermen Vote to Exonerate Water Commissioners
Good Morning Gloucester 