Article ID: CBB654179466

Conspicuous Iron and the Cochituate Aqueduct Gatehouses: The Earliest Extant American Wrought-Iron Roof and Roof Trusses, and the Earliest Extant Cast-Iron Staircases for Public Use (2012)

unapi

Boston's largely intact 1846–48 Cochituate aqueduct, designed by two pioneering engineers, John B. Jervis and Ellis Chesbrough, was the second municipal aqueduct in the United States. Its two principal gatehouses incorporate different wrought-iron roof truss systems which are the oldest extant in the U.S. Its Brookline gatehouse also has the oldest wrought-iron plate roof and oldest extant US cast-iron staircases intended for public use. These stairs, and more so, its "iron roof," were deemed noteworthy at the time but eventually forgotten. This article explores the historical context in which the use of iron roof and stair systems arose and suggests a possible link to the first referenced significant use of iron by Ammi B. Young, the influential Architect of the U.S. Treasury, who oversaw the design and construction of many conspicuous federal buildings incorporating iron throughout the country from 1852 to 1862. The article also identifies several earlier, no-longer extant US buildings with wrought-iron roof trusses or iron staircases not previously known or recognized in contemporary scholarship. In addition, it identifies the extant iron roof system of a custom house, completed just prior to Young's appointment, whose unusual roof design has not been previously considered or appreciated in the literature.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB654179466/

Similar Citations

Article Dan Trepal; (2009)
The Gun Foundry Recast (/isis/citation/CBB613420081/)

Article Edward S. Rutsch; Brian H. Morrell; (1992)
An Industrial Archeological Survey of the Long Pond Ironworks, West Milford Township, Passaic County, New Jersey (/isis/citation/CBB907317175/)

Article Ross F. Allen; James C. Dawson; Morris F. Glenn; Robert B. Gordon; David J. Killick; Richard W. Ward; (1990)
An Archeological Survey of Bloomery Forges in the Adirondacks (/isis/citation/CBB516191123/)

Article Robert B. Gordon; (1995)
Material Evidence of Ironmaking Techniques (/isis/citation/CBB166077602/)

Article Emory L. Kemp; (1993)
The Introduction of Cast and Wrought Iron in Bridge Building (/isis/citation/CBB212245887/)

Article David A. Simmons; (1993)
Bridges and Boilers: Americans Discover the Wrought-Iron Tubular Bowstring Bridge (/isis/citation/CBB953282605/)

Article Robert Gordon; Robert Knopf; (2002)
The Aldrich Change Bridge: Evaluation of the Strength of Historic Bridge Iron (/isis/citation/CBB031730455/)

Article Robert B. Gordon; Michael S. Raber; (1984)
An Early American Integrated Steelworks (/isis/citation/CBB038241502/)

Article Timothy James Scarlett; Michael Deegan; Renée Blackburn; (2009)
Two Seasons of Excavation at the 1865 Office Building at Scenic Hudson's West Point Foundry Preserve (/isis/citation/CBB555998492/)

Article Thomas Boothby; (2004)
Designing American Lenticular Truss Bridges 1878-1900 (/isis/citation/CBB217290463/)

Article Frances C. Robb; (1993)
Cast Aside: The First Cast-Iron Bridge in the United States (/isis/citation/CBB626251034/)

Article George H. Rappole; (1978)
The Old Croton Aqueduct (/isis/citation/CBB829738438/)

Article John S. Wilson; (1977)
Upper Factory Brook Sawmill: Middlefield, Massachusetts (/isis/citation/CBB516510720/)

Article Ted Penn; (1978)
A Comment on the Upper Factory Brook Sawmill (/isis/citation/CBB096970201/)

Article Robert W. Jackson; (2005)
Extant Approach Spans of the Dunleith and Dubuque Bridge (/isis/citation/CBB281968075/)

Article Charles A. Parrott; (2014)
The Weave Sheds of New Bedford and their Place in American Industrial Architecture (/isis/citation/CBB571734857/)

Article Richard Greenwood; (1998)
A Mechanic in the Garden: Landscape Design in Industrial Rhode Island (/isis/citation/CBB582776918/)

Authors & Contributors
Gordon, Robert B.
Ruminski, Clayton J.
Dan Trepal
Frances C. Robb
Theodore Penn
Charles A. Parrott
Concepts
Industrial archaeology
Iron, Cast
Iron, Wrought
Bridges
Iron and iron industry
Railroads
Time Periods
19th century
20th century
18th century
17th century
Places
United States
Connecticut (U.S.)
New Jersey (U.S.)
Massachusetts (U.S.)
New Bedford, Mass
Youngstown, OH
Institutions
West Point Foundry
Berlin Iron Bridge Company
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment