FORM F- STRUCTURE Assessor'snumber

Massachusetts Historical Commission

USGSQuad Area(s) Fonn Numbers

nearest H>**»»-«>W»V»i r»- natural feature. Label streets includin the inve

Recorded By Edward W. Gordon

Organization WinthropCDO+Historical Commission

Dale (month/year) September, 1993

? 6 3

Town Winthrop, M A

Place(neighborhood or village) Cottage Hill

Address or Location^

Name

Faun Bar Avenue

Ownership Q Public • Private

Type of Structure (check one)

• bridge • powderhouse

• canal • carousel

• dam • boat or ship

• fort • street

• gate • tower

• kiln • wall

• lighthouse • windmill

• pound • tunnel

• other (specify) water tower

Date of Construction September, 1993

Source Frost Library files

Architect, Engineer or Designer Whitman and

Howard ,engi nee rs

Materials welded metal and stucco covered entry

Alterations (with dates) very intact

Condition fair

Moved rif no • yes Date

Acreage less than one acre

Setting Dramatically sied atop Cottage Hill overlook

-ing the ocean and looming over residential area.

"""""V""" ~ . u n u y n u w H . .

c STRUCTURE FORM

DESIGN ASSESSMENT _ see continuation sheet Describe important design features and evaluate in terms of other similar structures within the community. This is a 100 foot water tower which presides over a 102 foot high hill. It is a great cylindrical welded metal drum painted red , white and blue with a small stucco covered gable roof entry structure contiguous with its west, street-facing side.This entry structure features a front door which is surmounted by a Tudoresque label or drip molding. It is topped by an iron cat walk with railings. A placque to the right of the Faun Bar Road entrance reads: 1909 Town of Winthrop Water Commissioners, Wesley Tyler, Charles W. Howard, William A. Carstense. Engineers: Whitman and Howard.

HISTORICAL N A R R A T I V E _ see continuation sheet

Explain the history of the structure, and how it relates to the development of the community. /This water tower was built in 1909 as a storage facillity containing one million gallons of water.The total weight of the tank and the water is 5000 tons.The iron plates at the top of the tower are 1/4 of an inch thick while those at

/ the bottom are 1 1/16 inches.The water in the tank was fed by gravity from Spot Pond Stoneham's Metropolitan Reservoir Reservation.There was and still maybe a meter in the Town Hall which gives the water level.Years ago some one would climb to the top of the tower and measure the water level with a tape measure. The tower seems to have been abandoned. For many years this tower was emptied, cleaned and painted at regular intervals. It was painted with a special paint used for water towers.The Cottage Hill water tower is a major Winthrop landmark and should be preserved as a significant early 20th century utilitarian structure.Recent overtures by a brewery to paint the label of a popular beer on the water tower should be avoided at all costs.

B IBL IOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES _ see continuation sheet Maps/Atlases-1906,1914 Frost Public Library Files-Write up on water-tower by Winthrop Historical Association Members-Feb.2.1962

r—1 Recommended for listing in National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a ^ completed National Register Criteria Statement form.

Massachusetts Historical Commission 80 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116

Community Property Address

Winthrop. MA Faun Bar Avenue Area(s) Form No

903

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CRITERIA STATEMENT F O R M

Check all that apply:

FX] Individually eligible ] Eligible only in a historic district

] Contributing to a potential historic district | Potential historic district

Criteria 0 A • B C • D

Criteria Considerations: _ A _ B _ C • D _ E _ F _ G

Statement of Significance by __________ ___ ________— The criteria that are checked in the above sections must be justified here.

FAUN BAR AVENUE, OPPOSITE PROSPECT AVENUE, WINTHROP WATER TOWER, COTTAGE HILL,1909. Considered eligible as major Winthrop and Massachusetts Bay area landmark. 102' tower atop a 100' hill overlooking ocean. Historical Associations with early period of Massachusetts District Commission. Water for this cylindrical metal drum once piped in from Spot Pond, Stoneham. This storage facility is no longer in use. This structure satisfies criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places on a local level.

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Original yellow form: Eligibility file Copies: Inventory form

Town file(w/corresp.) Maoris NR Director Community: Winthrop

M H C OPINION: ELIGIBILITY FOR NATIONAL REGISTER

Date Received: September 8, 2005 Date Due: October 8, 2005 Date Reviewed: December 22, 2005

Type: X Individual

Name: Cottage Hill Water Tower

Address: Faun Bar Avenue, Winthrop

Requested by: EBI Consulting

Action: Honor ITC

Agency:

INDIVIDUAL PROPERTIES

X Eligible , Eligible, also in district Eligible only in district Ineligible More information needed

District (Attach map indicating boundaries)

Inventory Form: WTH.903

_Grant XJL & C _Other:

Staff in charge of Review: RM

DISTRICTS

Eligible Ineligible More information needed

CRITERIA:

LEVEL:

X A

X Local

B X C

State

D

National

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE by Janine da Silva

The Cottage Hill Water Tower, built in 1909 by the Town of Winthrop Water Commissioners, served as a storage facility for one million gallons of water. The water in the tank was fed by gravity from Spot Pond, Stoneham Metropolitan Reservoir Reservation. Designed by Whitman and Howard, engineers, the water tower weighed 5000 tons when filled with water. The water tower is a 100+ foot cylindrical welded metal drum painted red, white and blue with a small stucco covered gable entry structure contiguous with the west street-facing side and sits upon a 100+ foot hill. An iron catwalk with railings tops the water tower. A plaque to the right of the Faun Bar Road entrance reads: 1909 Town of Winthrop Water Commissioners, Wesley Tyler, Charles W. Howard, William A. Carstense. Engineers: Whitman and Howard. While no longer in use, the Cottage Hill Water Tower is a major Winthrop landmark, visible to planes flying into Logan International Airport; and also has historical associations with the early history of the Massachusetts District Commission. The structure continues to retain integrity of materials, setting, design, workmanship, feeling, and association, thus meeting the National Register Criteria A and C at the local level.