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24-619: The Mystic Water Works , also called the Mystic Pumping Station , is a historic water works at Alewife Brook Parkway and Capen Street in Somerville, Massachusetts . Built in 1862–65 by the city of Charlestown (since annexed to Boston ), it is a significant example of a mid-19th century waterworks facility. The building has been listed twice on the National Register of Historic Places . The first, in 1989,

48-457: A combined capability of moving 13 million gallons of water per day. The additions were built to provide space for addition pumps as the system was expanded to include Everett in 1870, and again in 1895. The facility was abandoned by the MDC in 1912, and its machinery scrapped. During World War I it housed offices, and in 1921 it was adapted for use as a machine shop. At the time of its listing on

72-415: A dedicated road for large trucks to service the shopping areas by passing below the overpass. As traffic has grown over the past century, the original aesthetics of the parkway's southernmost sections have been largely lost. It is now a section of the principal route between the northwestern suburbs and Boston on the other, and consequently carries a large volume of commuter traffic. The Alewife MBTA station

96-615: A highway in the present right-of-way at some point before 1937. A drive-in theater was built in 1950, replaced by the Fresh Pond Shopping Center in 1962. The current indoor movie theater next to the shopping center was added in 1964. Along the southern end, Alewife Brook Parkway underwent further changes beginning in the late 1980s, including a new four lane overpass spanning the Fitchburg Line , new dedicated shoulder turning-lanes for exiting and entering

120-657: A portion of this road, then known as the Great Road, on his "Midnight Ride", and William Dawes and Samuel Prescott also rode on portions of this road on their way to Concord . These travels were on the Cambridge side of the Charles River ; the Harvard Bridge was not constructed until the 1880s. Massachusetts Avenue was formed at the end of the nineteenth century from what were separate roads. In Boston

144-670: A short distance. Massachusetts Avenue passes below part of the Boston Medical Center complex near Harrison Street, before passing above routes 9 , 2 , and the Massachusetts Turnpike ( Interstate 90 ). It crosses the Charles River from the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston into the city of Cambridge via the Harvard Bridge , where it passes both U.S. Route 3 and MA-Route 3 , it then bisects

168-825: Is a lot of pedestrian traffic. A number of linear parks cut across various portions of Mass. Ave., including the Southwest Corridor Park , the Commonwealth Avenue portion of the Emerald Necklace , the Charles River Bike Path , the Cambridge Linear Park , Alewife Brook Reservation , and the Minuteman Bikeway . On the night of April 18–19, 1775, Paul Revere rode his horse down

192-552: Is a prominent feature on the parkway, and there are shopping centers, parking lots, and office and apartment buildings lining the parkway between Alewife station and the southern terminus. The entire route is in Middlesex County . Massachusetts Avenue (Boston) The street begins at Everett Square in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester and runs southeast-northwest through Boston, paralleling Interstate 93 for

216-570: Is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . It begins at Fresh Pond in Cambridge (linking to Fresh Pond Parkway via Concord Avenue), and heads north on the east bank of Alewife Brook , crossing into West Somerville and ending at the Mystic River on the Medford town line, where it becomes Mystic Valley Parkway . The entire length of Alewife Brook Parkway is designated as part of Massachusetts Route 16 (Route 16), while

240-574: Is part of the city of Somerville's listings, and was made under the name "Mystic Water Works". The second is part of an umbrella listing covering the entire historic water works system of Greater Boston, and was made in 1990, listed as the "Mystic Pumping Station". The Mystic Water Works is located on the south side of the Mystic Valley Parkway , just east of its junction with the Alewife Brook Parkway , and just east of

264-628: Is served with direct connections for a number of the MBTA 's bus and subway routes between Lexington and Boston. Direct bus connections on Mass Ave include 1 , 8 , 10 , 16 , 17 , 39 , 43 , 47 , 55 , 62 , 64 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 83 , 86 , 91 , 96 , 170 , 350 , 351 , CT2 , CT3 , a stop on the Silver Line bus, and LexPress. MBTA subway stations, from west to east, include Porter , Harvard , and Central along

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288-531: The Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston , established in 1893. It was originally planned by landscape architect Charles Eliot as one section of a web of pleasure roads designed for their aesthetics . Nearby Alewife Brook was straightened and channelized between 1909 and 1912, and construction of the parkway was completed by 1916. Landscaping was performed by the famed Olmsted Brothers firm. Route 2 connected to Alewife Brook Parkway as

312-645: The National Register it was still in this use by the MDC. It was eventually acquired by the city of Somerville. In 2016, the city of Somerville began conversion of the property into affordable senior housing units, with the exterior to be restored and some interior features retained. The renovation was completed in November 2017. Alewife Brook Parkway Alewife Brook Parkway is a short parkway in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts . It

336-611: The campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , passes through Central Square , and curves around two sides of Harvard Yard at Harvard Square . After Harvard Square it turns sharply northward, passes Harvard Law School , then passes through Porter Square , where it bears northwestward. It continues through North Cambridge , Arlington , and Lexington , where it enters the Minuteman National Historical Park . The road, by

360-614: The city of Charlestown as part of its initiative to dam the Mystic Lakes to provide it with water. Somerville was also allowed to tap into the lines, and the building thus became part of Somerville's first municipal water supply. When Charlestown became part of Boston in 1874 the building was taken over by that city's water authority, later known as the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC). When first built, it housed two steam-powered engines with

384-486: The eastern rotary. The road is designated Massachusetts Routes 2 (northbound) and 16 (eastbound), and US Route 3 (northbound). The parkway runs roughly north, skirting just east of the Alewife T station to a large intersection (formerly a rotary), where the limited access highway carrying Route 2 to the west begins. The parkway runs north from this intersection, paralleling just east of the course of Alewife Brook, which forms

408-457: The left, and reaches its northern terminus at a small rotary near where Alewife Brook empties into the Mystic River . There it meets Mystic Valley Parkway , which runs from Arlington just to the west to Medford to the northeast. The Route 16 designation continues northeast. The parkway's total length is just over two miles (about three kilometers). The parkway, with the surrounding Alewife Brook Reservation (115 acres (47 ha)), forms part of

432-399: The mouth of Alewife Brook where it empties into the Mystic River . It is a large 1-1/2 story building, built out of load-bearing brick in a Romanesque Revival style with a mansard roof. Its original main block is nine bays wide, with a two bay addition made in 1870 to the east, and a five bay addition to the west in 1895, both stylistically similar to the original. The building was built by

456-710: The part to the east of Central Square retains the original name). From Harvard Square to the Arlington line at Alewife Brook it follows what had been North Avenue since 1838, and prior to that the Road to Menotomy. In Arlington it follows the former Arlington Avenue, and in Lexington it follows the former Main Street south of the Battle Green and the former Monument Street north of the Battle Green. Massachusetts Avenue

480-498: The road was previously called East Chester Park south of Chester Square and West Chester Park to the north (Chester Square is in the South End and is now called Chester Park). Across the river in Cambridge the road follows part of what was once Front Street near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then follows the former Main Street to Harvard Square (Main Street originally ran between Kendall and Harvard Squares, and

504-442: The same name, continues northwest and west, through many different cities and towns. It largely parallels or joins Route 2 and Route 2A , all the way into central Massachusetts, with a few gaps at towns that have different names for the central road. For much of its length, Massachusetts Avenue is a center of commercial activity, especially through the larger towns. Apartments, shops, and restaurants fill both sides of it, and there

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528-543: The shopping centers, enlarged roundabouts with obstructive center trees removed, new raised grassy medians down the center of the parkway, and new trees, light poles, and bike lanes integrated into the sidewalks. Some of the other amenities integrated in the new design included accessible ramps and stairs on the northbound side of the bridge leading to the Rindge Towers, new sidewalk access to Alewife station , Alewife Linear Park , bike trail adjacent to Jerry's Pond, and

552-559: The southernmost sections are also designated as part of Route 2 and U.S. Route 3 (US 3). It is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation responsible for bridge maintenance. The southern terminus of the parkway is the westernmost of the two Fresh Pond rotaries, with Concord Avenue connecting the parkway to Fresh Pond Parkway at

576-453: The western boundary of Cambridge with Arlington. The first major intersection is with Massachusetts Avenue , which carries Massachusetts Route 2A eastward toward Porter Square , and Routes 2A and 3 westward into Arlington. The parkway continues to parallel Alewife Brook as it heads north into Somerville. After crossing Broadway, the parkway passes through a rotary-like interchange with Powder House Boulevard. It then passes Dilboy Stadium, on

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