Charlestown Navy Yard, Pier 9, Between Piers 8 & 10, along Mystic River on Charlestown Waterfront at eastern edge of Navy Yard, Boston

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER MA-90-67. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Between Piers 8 and 10 along the Mystic River on the Charlestown waterfront at the eastern edge of Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. UTM Coordinates: Boston North, MA, Quad. Boston North, MA, Quad. Dates of Construction: extended demolished and rebuilt extended Engineer: Unknown; presumably U.S. Navy Department of Yards and Docks Builder: Shipyard laborers Present Ownership: Boston Redevelopment Authority, 1974-present

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER MA-90-67. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Wharfs and piers were critical to the Navy Yard's mission of shipbuilding and maintenance, and Pier 9 occupies the site of one of the early wharfs at Charlestown Navy Yard. Originally known as Shear Wharf No. 6, the pier was built between two shiphouses at the eastern end of the yard. Along with the other naval piers, it was extended in at which time the existing piers were renumbered to accommodate the anticipated construction of several new piers. Pier 9 was demolished and rebuilt on a new alignment in

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER MA-90-67. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Documentation of Pier 9 was initiated in accordance with a Memorandum of Agreement between the General Services Administration, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the Massachusetts Historical Commission (SHPO) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, as a mitigation measure for various undertakings at the former Navy Yard. This documentation was prepared between April and August for ENSR Consulting and Engineering for submission to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England Division, prior to initiation of remedial investigations under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program. It is anticipated that demolition will follow.

Documentation prepared by: McGinley Hart & Associates Architects and Preservation Planners 77 North Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts CHARLESTOWN NA VY YARD, PIER 9 HAER No. MA-90-67 (page 2)

Site Description

Pier 9 is located on the Charlestown waterfront in Boston's inner harbor. If exfends out into the Mystic River at the eastern perimeter of Charlestown Navy Yard. (See location plan.) Originally sited between two shiphouses, the location today is vacant and overgrown with vegetation. Although a substantial portion of the pier survives at the inboard end, the entire pier is badly deteriorated. Parts of the original granite block quay walls for the shipbuilding slips are still visible on either side of the inboard end of the pier. PIER 9

Description

Pier 9 is of wooden pile construction with timber stringers and plank decking. The pier's general dimensions are long on the west side, long on the east side, and 62' wide at the ends. These dimensions were increased from and in The deck is approximately 15 feet above mean low water. The pier had mechanical systems for electric lighting, compressed air, fresh and salt water systems, steam, an automatic sprinkler system, and tracks for both yard locomotives and cranes. Some of the piping systems and valves survive, as well as tracks which extend the length of the pier. Presently, Pier 9 is in very poor condition and dangerously deteriorated. A study of piers at the Navy Yard found many of the piles, stringers and deck planks to be rotted, missing or broken.

The stringers and deck have been removed from the outer end of the pier, leaving only timber piles protruding from the water. WHARFS AND PIERS AT CHARLESTOWN NA VY YARD Wharfs and piers were critical to the Navy Yard's mission of shipbuilding and maintenance, and the Charlestown location was chosen with potential pier and wharf facilities in mind. The peninsula known as "Moulton's Point," located between two rivers in the inner harbor, was:: considered an ideal site for docking ships. As early as requests were made for building a wharf or dock at Charlestown, but without any immediate threat of war, the government's attention and finances were focused on other problems of the young nation.

During the first decade after the yard's establishment, naval vessels were built, stored and repaired at private wharfs, but from the beginning, the drawbacks to this system were obvious. Not only did renting-wharf space cost the government a considerable sum of money, it was also a great inconvenience in the construction and repair of ships. CHARLESTOWN NAVY YARD, PIER 9 HAER No. MA-90-67 (page 3) In a cobb wharf was constructed to enclose the marsh at the center of the yard for "keeping the masts, yards, timbers, etc.,_in a state of preservation." 1 Boats could land at the wharf at half-tide, but the wharf's principal use was to form a dam for the timber basin where wood was kept.

This remained the only docking facility until when Navy Yard Commandant William Bainbridge proposed the construction of wharfs and other improvements at the yard. If a wharf could not be built, Bainbridge recommended breaking up the yard and selling the ground. 2 At his urging, on the eve of the War of the Secretary of the Navy approved the building of a wharf "where the longest of your public vessels may lay with safety afloat at all times. "3 The war spurred the Navy to begin development of their shipbuilding program and facilities. By the yard had two wharfs, one at either end of the waterfront. As the Navy grew and the fleet expanded, additional docking facilities were required at the shipyard.

In the Secretary of the Navy's annual report for he stated: "Much inconvenience is experienced from the want of additional wharf room, the present wharves being insufficient to accommodate the public and private vessels visiting the yard; and the item for the wharf is therefore considered as highly necessary."4 By the yard boasted six "shear wharfs," three at either end of the yard. During the after some alterations, the wharfs were numbered 1 through 6. Present Piers 8 and 9 (originally Piers 5 and 6) were built in the area of Shiphouses H, I and J (later known as Shiphouses 1, 2, and 3). PIER 9

History

The original wharf at this location was constructed between two shiphouses at the eastern end of the yard. By the early the shear wharfs had been given numbers, and this wharf was designated "Shear Wharf No. 6." At the turn of the century, the wharfs were extended to the new Harbor Commissioner's line, and they were all re-numbered to accommodate the anticipated construction of several new piers. Shear Wharf No. 6 was redesignated Pier 9. Pier 9 was demolished and rebuilt on a new alignment in (See site plan, This pier was extended 100 feet in to the Harbor Commissioner's line approved in May It was extended again to its present length during World War II. Pier 9 served as a ship docking facility from the time of its construction in the until the Navy Yard was decommissioned in 1Edwin C.

Bearss, Charlestown Navy Yard, Historic Resources Study, Volume I (United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, Boston, Massachusetts, p. 34. 2Ibid., p. 3Betina A. Norton, The Boston Naval Shipyard, (Boston: The Bostonian Society, p. 12. 4 u. S. Department of the Navy, Report of the Secretary of the Navy, p. CHARLESTOWN NA VY YARD, PIER 9 HAER No. MA-90-67 (page 4) SIGNIFICANCE /Charlestown Navy Yard is nationally significant as one of the earliest naval shipyards in the United States, founded in shortly after the establishment of the U.S. Navy. Together with the navy yards at Norfolk, Virginia, and Brooklyn, New York, it was the most important facility of its kind in the United States through the end of the Civil War.

Decommissioned in the yard has retained many of its historic components, and is a significant site which illustrates aspects of the naval, industrial and technological history of the United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated National Historic Landmark. Wharfs and piers were critical to the Navy Yard's mission of shipbuilding and maintenance, and Pier 9 occupies the site of one of the early wharfs at Charlestown Navy Yard. Originally kn,own as Shear Wharf No. 6, the pier was built between two shiphouses at the eastern end of the yard. Along with the other naval piers, it was extended in at which time the existing piers were renumbered to accommodate the anticipated construction of several new piers.

Pier 9 was demolished and rebuilt on a new alignment in CHARLESTOWN NAVY YARD, PIER 9 HAER No. MA-90-67 (page 5)

Sources

Bearss, Edwin C. Charlestown Navy Yard, Historic Resources Study, Volumes I and II. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, Boston, Massachusetts, Black, Frederick R. Charlestown Navy Yard, Historic Resources Study, Volumes I and II. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Boston National Historical Park, Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Redevelopment Authority. Charlestown Navy Yard: Master Planfor the Yard's End, March Pier 9 Architectural Drawings. Boston National Historical Park Archives, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts. Pier 9 Design Project Files, uncatalogued archival materials. Boston National Historical Park Archives, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts.

Pier 9 Historic Photographs. Boston National Historical Park Archives, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts. Raber, Michael S. and Matthew W. Roth. Boston Naval Shipyard: A Plan for Cultural Resource Management in the Buy Parcel Area, study prepared for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, New Haven, Connecticut: Raber Associates. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Charlestown Navy Yard, February CHARLESTOWN NA VY YARD, PIER 9 HAER No. NlA-90-67 (page 6) 2 3 4 12 13 5 1 6 11 15 _ -- C - \ f Ct arle - tovv n. 14 16' S' - - -- _~ ., ' l - - -- I I '\ '; " - --ro ~$ /' \' CJ- \ I \ l 1~\ J } ?. I I , 1 ~ _1 , J c- \ ,L L , ~- __ _ , 1 /,h ls;"'--a, ~ ", I \ .u ,,.av , , ' <, > ~ ' -, , .. ; , .. ,,.

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