Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex, Fire Control Observation Tower, Cliff Road, Humarock Peninsula Hanscom Air Force Base, Scituate

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MA-1357-A. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Cliff Road, Humarock Peninsula Hanscom Air Force Base Scituate Plymouth County Massachusetts The Fire Control Observation Tower is located within the Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex at latitude longitude which is the approximate center of the structure and was determined using Google Earth on April 25, There is no restriction on the release of this data to the public.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MA-1357-A. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Fire Control Observation Tower is sited at the north end of the Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex and is the taller of two fire control structures used for accurate targeting of enemy vessels in Massachusetts Bay, Cape Cod Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Designed by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Observation Tower is an intact example of a coastal defense building that was constructed based on standardized designs in preparation for World War II. Description: The Fire Control Observation Tower is shown as Building at Site 1-D on construction documents, on site plans, and in original drawings. The tower is approximately 350 north of Battery No. 900 north of the Fire Control Observation Station, and 63 west of the perimeter fence that encircles the annex parcel.

The square tower is a cast-in-place, reinforced concrete structure that is one bay deep, one bay wide, and is 85 -0 and five stories tall. The concrete floors and roof slab are 6 thick, and the concrete walls are 12 thick. 1 The foundation is 6 -0 below ground level and supported by concrete piers embedded in hand-tamped sand and gravel. The roof is flat. A centered exterior door opening on the first floor of the tower s east elevation is sealed with plywood and flanked by two rectangular openings that hold non-historic plexiglass and wood fixed sash. A concrete hood that extends 1 -6 beyond the wall surface shields the entrance and concrete threshold. Entrance to the building is through an additional metal door set in the west end of the north elevation.

It is accessed by a concrete threshold. 1 War Department, Army Corps of Engineers, Concrete Tower, Fourth Cliff, Scituate Mass. Elevations and Sections in 6 Sheets. (United States Engineers Office, Boston, MA), October FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX, FIRE CONTROL OBSERVATION TOWER HABS No. MA-1357-A (Page 2) A small rectangular lookout opening is centered within the second story of the east elevation, and two similar openings pierce the east end of the north and south elevations. These openings, and all small lookout openings on the building, were each fitted with a single shutter secured with a hook and eye fastener. 2 Neither the shutters nor the fasteners remain in place.

Continuous horizontal band openings in the east elevation of the third, fourth, and fifth levels partially wrap to the north and south elevations and were used for lookout and artillery targeting. The openings are sheltered by concrete window hoods, and are fitted with fixed plexiglass and wood sash that were installed in Small lookout openings measuring 18 by 24 are set within the south end of the west elevation at the third, fourth, and fifth levels. Traces of corrosion, elastic compound, and attachment points on the north, west, and south of the tower exterior provide an outline of the attached steel- frame, asbestos-sided false cottage that was affixed to the tower at the time of construction in The clear outline of cottage s roof peak is present on the west elevation of the tower.

The concrete foundation on which the cottage was set remains in place and is bordered with a pipe-railing. The building interior consists of five single-bay levels accessed by a wooden, open-tread stairwell that ascends south to north along the structure s west wall. Beadboard panels partially enclose the east elevation of the stairwell. A rectangular opening along the north wall of the first level marks the location of a coal stove used to heat the building. An 8 transite flue was originally in place, piercing all five floors, but was at some point replaced with the concrete flue stack remains visible and is centered within the north edge of the roofline. A 6 cast-iron pipe stand in the approximate center of levels three and four was used to support azimuth scopes within the tower.

An octagonal concrete instrument base, 8 tall and 3 -3 wide, is in centered on the floor of the tower s fifth level for support of a depression position finder, or which provided firing data for artillery. Traces of telephone wire and equipment remain in the tower. Each floor also holds conduit for electrical wiring. A wooden ladder provides access to a trapdoor set within the flat roof of the tower. History: Designs for the Fire Control Observation Tower and attached false cottage were complete by October 15, 3 The building was transferred to the Army on April 2, for and was rated as conspicuous at yards, with a height above concealment of 23 -5 and a height above protection as 44 -5 .

4 The method of concealment was recorded as 2 War Department, Army Corps of Engineers, October 3 War Department, Army Corps of Engineers, October 4 U.S. Army Engineer Division, New England Corps of Engineers. Document No. in Report of Completed Works Seacoast Fortifications, Harbor Defenses of Boston, Massachusetts. Corrected to On site at Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex of Hanscom Air Force Base, page 1. FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX, FIRE CONTROL OBSERVATION TOWER HABS No. MA-1357-A (Page 3) resembles surrounding buildings which presumably referred to the false cottage rather than the 5-story concrete tower. Few alterations have been made to the Fire Control Observation Tower.

Horizontal openings were filled with plexiglass and wood sash in The perimeter roadway that passes to the north of the tower was lost due to erosion of the north cliff face between and The false cottage was built for camouflage, and was used for storage. The metal structure included a functioning wood-panel door and operable six- pane, pivoting metal utility sash manufactured by the Detroit Steel Products Company, and a false chimney constructed of wood panels and painted to resemble brick. The entrance at the west end of the north elevation was obscured by the false cottage at the time of construction. Aerial imagery and documentation indicates that the cottage was removed between and 5

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MA-1357-A. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

A. Original Architectural Drawings Architectural plans and drawings for the site dating from to the present are held in the Engineering Division Offices, Hanscom Air Force Base, Bedford, MA. Drawings specific to the Fire Control Tower are listed below. War Department, Army Corps of Engineers, Concrete Tower, Fourth Cliff, Scituate Mass. Unfinished Cottage in 6 Sheets. Harbor Defenses of Boston, United States Engineer Office, Boston. 15 October -- Concrete Tower, Fourth Cliff, Scituate Mass. Elevations and Sections in 6 Sheets. Harbor Defenses of Boston, United States Engineer Office, Boston. 15 October --"Concrete Tower, Fourth Cliff, Scituate Mass. Floor Plans and Details in 6 Sheets. Harbor Defenses of Boston, United States Engineer Office, Boston.

15 October --"Concrete Tower, Fourth Cliff, Scituate, Mass. Harbor Defenses of Boston, United States Engineer Office, Boston. 7 Feb 5 National Environmental Title Research (NETR), historicaerials.net. Accessed May FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX, FIRE CONTROL OBSERVATION TOWER HABS No. MA-1357-A (Page 4) B. Bibliography 1. Primary and Unpublished Sources Kierstead, Matthew and Nancy Tinker, Fourth Cliff Battery, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Massachusetts Historical Commission SCI.A: Fourth Cliff Recreation Area, Massachusetts Historic Inventory Form. Boston: --- SCI.137: Fourth Cliff Fire Control Station, Massachusetts Historic Inventory Form.

Boston: --- SCI.903: Fourth Cliff Fire Control Tower, Massachusetts Historic Inventory Form. Boston: U.S. Army Engineer Division, New England Corps of Engineers. Document in Report of Completed Works Seacoast Fortifications, Harbor Defenses of Boston, Massachusetts. Corrected to On site at Fourth Cliff Recreational Annex of Hanscom Air Force Base. 2. Secondary and Published Sources Butler, Gerald W. Military Annals of Nahant, Massachusetts. Nahant, MA: Nahant Historical Society, Grigorieff, Paul. A Brief History of Coastal Defense, Coast Defense, Accessed April 3. Maps and Aerial Images Butler, Gerald W. Plan of Fourth Cliff, Scituate, June 6, National Environmental Title Research (NETR). Accessed April

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS MA-1357-A. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This Project was completed by AECOM on behalf of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as a component of the Fence to Fence Environmental Compliance Services contract to support the USAF at Joint Base McGuire- Dix-Lakehurst, NJ; Hanscom AFB, MA; New Boston NH; and Rome Labs, NY. Photography by Rob Tucher took place March 29 through April 4, fieldwork was conducted by AECOM at the same time. The initial report was presented for review to the USACE, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) Installation Support Services (ISS), and Hanscom Air Force Base personnel in May FOURTH CLIFF RECREATIONAL ANNEX, FIRE CONTROL OBSERVATION TOWER HABS No. MA-1357-A (Page 5) Figure 1. Fire Control Observation Tower and attached cottage as reflected in Harbor Defense documents.

North elevation, view south. 6 6 U.S. Army Engineer Division, Document No. p2.