Nomination for Granite Keystone Bridge

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries - complete applicable sections 1. Name For HCRS use only received JUL 2 8 1981 date entered AUG 27 198 historic GRANITE KEYSTONE BRIDGE and/or common GRANITE BRIDGE 2. Location street & number Granite Street (Poute 127) at the "Cut" - not for publication city, town Rockport - vicinity of congressional district Sixth state Massachusetts 3.

Classification Category Ownership - district public - building(s) - private X structure both _site Public Acquisition object in process being considered code 025 county Essex code 009 Status X - occupied - unoccupied .work in progress Accessible - yes: réstricted X yes: unrestricted _ no Present Use - agriculture commercial educational .entertainment government industrial - military museum park - private residence religious scientific X _transportation other: 4. Owner of Property -name street & number Commonweaith of Massachusetts, Department of Public Works 100 Nashua Street city, town Boston - vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Essex County Registry of Deeds, South District street & number 32 Federal Street city, town Salem 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys History of Historic Assets of title the Commonwealth state Massachusetts has this property been determined elegible? - yes X -no date 1974 - federal X state _ county - local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission Boston city, town state Massachusetts 7. Description Granite Keystone Bridge Condition excellent X good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one X unaltered altered Check one X original site _ moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Granite Keystone Bridge, the bound between Rockport and the village of Pigeon Cove, is a part of Route 127 to Annisquam and Gloucester. Built in 1872, the bridge is constructed of dressed and coursed granite blocks taken from the adjacent quarry. Beneath the bridge is a short roadway connecting that quarry with the Granite Pier on the ocean side of Route 127. The single arch of the Granite Bridge spans 65 feet and is 32 feet wide.

Several contemporary newspaper accounts remarked on the massive construction and appearance of The "Rockport Gleaner" of September, 1872 reported that: "The seven huge trusses of the Granite Company's stone bridge at Pigeon Cove have been put in position, and already the courses of heavy blocks of stone (native granite from the nearby quarry) are gradually creeping upward at each end to unite in the centre forming the strongest and most graceful structure known to architecture." The Cape Ann Advertiser of October 4, 1872, had this to say: "A Nice Piece of Workman- ship. The stone bridge over the Granite Company's tunnel is nearly completed, the last key-stones of the arch having been adjusted last Saturday. The arch presents a very fine appearance, and when it shall hang unsupported, will piease the eye with its curve of beauty and strength.

It is the widest span of stone arch ever constructed by its experienced builder, Mr. [Jonathan] Pratt, and one of the largest in the State, being a span of sixty-five feet. A stereoscopic picture is to be taken of it, from the entrance to the cut, which will be quite an addition to the already large stock of Cape Ann views." 8.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 1800-1899 1900- Areas of SignificanceCheck and justify below _ archeology-prehistoric community planning archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics architecture education art X engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications X industry invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy politics/government . religion science _ sculpture _ social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1872 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder/Architect Jonathan Pratt of Quincy, Massachusetts The Granite Keystone Bridge possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship. It is a notable reminder of Rockport's early, industrial base and a locally significant accomplishment of late-nineteenth century civil engineering, and thus meets criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the town of Rockport was widely known for its granite quarries. Cut granite from Rockport was used in buildings, public structures, and street paving in cities all along the country's eastern and southern coasts. The Flat Ledge Quarry, behind the Granite Bridge, was one of the largest areas exploited by the local granite industry; it was worked by owner William Torrey as early as grerate nssetry, t a 1830.

The granite was hauled by oxen down hill to the Knowlton pier at the corner of Beach Street for shipment. Later, the Rockport Granite Company built the Western Wharf and the long pile (now known as Granite Pier) on the ocean side of Granite Street opposite the quarry. Here vessels of all sizes -- from sloops, scows, and lighters to three-and- four-masted schooners--were able to moor immediately adjacent to the piles of stone gathered for transport. On the wharves were sheds in which the stone was cut and prepared, and nearby were the stone crusher and the boiler which furnished steam for the hoisting engine. During the 1860's business had increased to such an extent that the Rockport Granite Company needed to prepare a quick means of conveying granite from the quarry to the piers.

Around 1868 the "cut" under the highway (the main route from Rockport to Pigeon Cove) was started, and in the Spring of 1872 the road was turned to the west and the old roadbed cut away. About August 1, 1872, the stone-arch bridge over the "Cut" was begun under the direction of Mr. Jonathan Pratt of Quincy, "an experienced expert in stone arches and bridge building." By the end of September, the last key-stones of the arch were in place, and the bridge appeared as "a graceful and pleasing structure," with a span of 65 feet, "one of the largest in the State." The final touches were applied during the last week of October, the entire process taking only eleven weeks from start to finish.

The Cape Ann Advertiser of October 25, 1872, commented: "It will stand unharmed by the ravages of time and centuries hence, when the enterprising traveler shall explore the ruins along this coast, he will pause and wonder at this symmetrical structure, and when it was built, and what unknown race constructed it." Tourism has long since replaced quarrying as the leading business in Rockport, heightening Preservation of this impressive structure -- complementing a few other, adaptively re-used buildings and structures of the Rockport Granite Company built nearby--is a major goal of National Register listing.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References Rockport Gieaner, September, 1872; October 4 and October 25. Massachusetts D.P.W. Office, Danvers, MA; Mr. Donald Horgan Town of Rockport D.P.W. Office; Mr. Donald Atkinson Rockport Granite Company Records - Sandy Bay Historical Society & Museum, Inc. 10. Geographical Data AUIL OT VERIEIED Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name - Rockport Less than one acre. UTM NOT VERIFICD Quadrangle scale 1:24000 UMT References A L119/ 3616 71610 Zone Easting CL1 LL 417/2/491010 Northing HILL E LILLL DLULLILLL FL LLILLL G LiLi Northing LLLLL LIILLL LILL Verbal boundary description and justification The Granite Keystone Bridge is located on Route 127, Granite Street, between Rockport and Pigeon Cove, linking the two villages at the John Swan Quarry on the left and Wharf Road down to the pier on the right. The nomination is confined to the bridge itself.

List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state code county code state code county 11. Form Prepared By name/title Wendy Frontiero, Preservation Pianner with Lura H. Phillips, Rockport Historical Commission code organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date May 11, 1981 street & number 294 Washington Street telephone 617-727-8470 city or town Boston state Massachusetts 12.

State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: _ national _ state X local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according tothe criteria and proceduresset forthrty the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature Talum LCuesloski 7/4/81 title date For HCRS use only hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register lelores Entered in tha Dyeu National Begister FoituneKeeper of the National Register Attest: Chief of Registration date 5/27/81 date GPO 938 835 DUE ft 8/26/5/- dnr-3 Name Cranite Keystne State, County Bridge Case Fed Nom or Request-Agency Working Number 1.28.81.264 Federal Register Date 2.2. %. Nomination -Bldg(s) - Determination of Eligiblity Within: Site Multiple Resource Area On Nomination Form -Object Structure - The matic Group Maps Photos Distriet Nomination prepared by: V State Staff Local Other Entered in tha Action: National Register Check if Appropriate: LACCEPT RETURN 827/81 State Request for Review Keeper's Decision to Review -REJECT - 2nd Return - I. Evaluation of Resource (cont.

on back if necessary) II. Evaluation of Nomination Good Adequate Poor Comments 1. Descriptive Statement Short Format - Yes 2. Significance Statement Short Format- Yes 3. Concepts/Integrity No - No - 4. Concepts/Criteria 5. Concepts/Boundaries 6. Contextual Evaluation General Comments (cont. on back if necessary): Reviewer/Date National Park Service See Attached - U.S. Department of the Interior Neg. No.. _Pack No.. File No.. Date. Photographer_ ANGELO RESTIVO OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH Comm. of Mass. Dept. of Public Works ROCKPORT, MA Granite Keystone Bridge Angelo Restivo, 1980 Negative with Mass. DPW, Danvers Looking north Photo 1 of 2 Essex County JUL 28 1981 AUG 27 1981 ROCKPORT, MA Granite Keystone Bridge Angelo Restivo, 1980 Negative with Mass. DPW, Danvers Looking east Photo 2 of 2 AUG 27 1981 Essex eunte Neg. No. // Pack No... File No. Date. ANGELO RESTIVO Pnotographer.

OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH Comm. of Mass. Dept. of Public Works ENTRIES IN, NEESNATTONAT STATE Date Entered AUG 27 1981 REGISTER Name Location Granite Keystone Bridge Common Burying Ground at Sandy Bank Salem Street Burying Ground Intermediate Building Baxter M111 Rockport Essex County Malden Middlesex County Medford Middlesex County Wellesley H111s Norfolk County West Yarmouth Barnstable County Also Notified Honorable Paul E. Isongas Honorable Edward M. Kennedy Honorable Nicholas Mavroules Honorable Edward J. Markey Honorable Margaret M. Heekler Honozable Gerry E. Studds Mid-Atlantic Region, NPS State Historic Preservation Officer Mrs. Patricia I. Weslowsk1 Executive Director Massachusetta Historical Commission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 NR Eady/bjr/9/1/81 For further information, please call the National Register at (202)343-6401. 272-3504