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High Rock Tower Reservation

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Coordinates: 42°28′3″N 70°56′54″W / 42.46750°N 70.94833°W / 42.46750; -70.94833
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High Rock Tower–High Rock Cottage and Daisy Cottage
High Rock Park and High Rock Tower
High Rock Tower Reservation is located in Massachusetts
High Rock Tower Reservation
High Rock Tower Reservation is located in the United States
High Rock Tower Reservation
Location15, 17 Campbell Terrace, 22 Johns Avenue,[2] and 30 Circuit Avenue, Lynn, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°28′3″N 70°56′54″W / 42.46750°N 70.94833°W / 42.46750; -70.94833
Area7.16 acres (2.90 ha)[3]
Built1847 (1847)
ArchitectG. E. Harney and Alonzo Lewis (High Rock Cottage);[2] Wheeler and Betton (High Rock Tower)
Landscape ArchitectOlmsted Brothers[4]
Architectural styleGothic Revival (High Rock Cottage);[2] Romanesque Revival (High Rock Tower)[5]
Restored1998 - 2017[3]
Restored byMassachusetts Historical Commission, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management Olmsted Parks Program, and City of Lynn[6]
NRHP reference No.09000086[1]
Significant dates
High Rock Cottage built1847
High Rock Tower builtDecember 16, 1905[3]
Olmsted Brothers design completed1908[4]
Added to NRHPOctober 11, 1979

The High Rock Reservation (or High Rock Park) is a city park in the Highlands neighborhood of Lynn, Massachusetts.[6] Designed in 1907 by the Olmsted Brothers,[4] the roughly 7-acre (2.8 ha) park[3] encompasses the summit area of a hill with commanding views of the surrounding area, as well as the Atlantic Ocean which is approximately half a mile away.

The park's principal attraction is the High Rock Tower, a stone structure measuring 85 feet high, completed in 1905 and dedicated on December 16.[3] It replaces an earlier wood tower designed by Alonzo Lewis for Jesse Hutchinson[5] of the Hutchinson Family Singers, a politically active abolitionist singing group that performed throughout the northern United States from the 1840s to about 1880. Jesse Hutchinson acquired the property from the Pawtucket natives, and by 1851 had built two Gothic Revival cottages (known as High Rock Cottage and Daisy Cottage) and later other cottages, as well as the first tower which burnt down during a celebration of the Civil War's end.[7][3]

The original wooden High Rock Tower was the site of a celebration by an estimated 8,000 people on August 17, 1858 for the laying of the first Transatlantic telegraph cable completed one day previous. The Hutchinsons held nightly rallies and concerts there during the first year of the Civil War.[3][5]

The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (as "High Rock Tower–High Rock Cottage and Daisy Cottage") in 1979.[1] The lands surrounding the tower were protected by The Trust for Public Land and conveyed to the City of Lynn in 1988.[8]

High Rock Tower is featured prominently on the Lynn city seal. It is one of five structures in Lynn designed by Holman K. Wheeler which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1998, a grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission allowed for restoration of the Tower. A new observatory was added, replacing the prior observatory which was removed after being vandalized. Later additional park renovation projects between 2012 and 2016 have included new stone-chip pathways, expansion of the reservation base at Essex Street with traffic mitigation, and new granite stairways leading from Essex Street to the base of the Tower. Finally, in 2017 the stone High Rock Cottage received stabilization work including a new roof.[3]

The City of Lynn has periodically opened the tower and observatory to the public for free use of the telescope. This practice continues in summer 2018, with scheduled evenings in July and August.[7]

In 2017, the community organization Centerboard raised $45,000 for the installation of LED lighting and a laser projector for two of the four sides of High Rock Tower.[9] Additional grant funding was obtained in 2018, for LED and laser illumination of the remaining two sides of the tower.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "MACRIS inventory record for High Rock Cottage". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Lynn Open Space and Recreation Plan" (PDF). Metropolitan Area Planning Council. June 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2021. High Rock Tower, built in 1905, was restored with the help of a Massachusetts Historical Commission grant in 1998 and a new astronomical observatory replacing the original observatory
  4. ^ a b c "MACRIS inventory record for High Rock Reservation". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "MACRIS inventory record for High Rock Tower, High Rock Cottage, Daisy Cottage". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Lynn Reconnaissance Report". f Conservation and Recreation, Essex National Heritage Commission. May 2005. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "High Rock Tower". City of Lynn, Massachusetts. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  8. ^ Salem Registry of Deeds, Book 09542. Salem Registry of Deeds. June 1, 1988. pp. 553, 556, Instrument Numbers 19880601003040 and 19880601003050.
  9. ^ "The Illumination of High Rock Tower". Centerboard. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  10. ^ "The Lights Will Stay On At Lynn's High Rock Tower Thanks To A Crowdfunding Campaign". Lynn Item. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
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