Pawtucket Dam
Oct. 26th, 2009 12:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deguspiceFor weeks now, I've been driving past the School Street Bridge in Lowell and admiring the Merrimack River and a dam next to the bridge (while Ann was driving).
Today, I finally had the opportunity to stop and explore the area and discover a little about the area's history.
After taking some pictures of the dam and the bridge, I crossed over the bridge, stopping to take pictures as I went.
On the far side of the river, I discovered that there's a canal (Lowell's Northern Canal) and there's a nice walkway along the canal, but the gate was chained shut and there was a sign saying that closed for the winter 10 days ago (October 15).
I crossed the road to take photos of the dam on the side of bridge. Once there, I noticed there was another gate and some stairs leading down next to a brick building. This gate was not locked, so I pushed it open and started exploring. On the side of the brick build was a sign explaining that it is a gatehouse for the canal (it allows the flow of water from the Merrimack River to be controlled).
I walked behind the gatehouse to take pictures of the Pawtucket Dam.
After taking lots of pictures of the dam, I wandered back to the other side of the gate house and took the stairs down to the tunnel next to the lock.
Now that I've seen the start of the canal's waterway, I hope to explore the rest the canal system.
A few more pictures can be seen at my Picasa album (19 in all, including a panoramic picture of the dam).
A short video of the dam (my first upload to YouTube).
The dam and canal were used for transportation and power for Lowell's mills.
Lowell Power Canal System and Pawtucket Gatehouse
James B. Francis, Chief engineer of the Locks and Canal Company of Lowell, Massachusetts designed the gatehouse and much of the canal system. He was also the inventor of the Francis turbine (used in most modern hydroelectric dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam).
Lowell Power Canal System and Pawtucket Gatehouse Brochure (7MB)
Today, I finally had the opportunity to stop and explore the area and discover a little about the area's history.
 |
| View of the bridge and the dam from the road. From Lowell - Northern Canal and Pawtucket Dam |
After taking some pictures of the dam and the bridge, I crossed over the bridge, stopping to take pictures as I went.
 |
| Merrimack River |
On the far side of the river, I discovered that there's a canal (Lowell's Northern Canal) and there's a nice walkway along the canal, but the gate was chained shut and there was a sign saying that closed for the winter 10 days ago (October 15).
 |
| Northern Canal |
I crossed the road to take photos of the dam on the side of bridge. Once there, I noticed there was another gate and some stairs leading down next to a brick building. This gate was not locked, so I pushed it open and started exploring. On the side of the brick build was a sign explaining that it is a gatehouse for the canal (it allows the flow of water from the Merrimack River to be controlled).
I walked behind the gatehouse to take pictures of the Pawtucket Dam.
 |
| Pawtucket Dam and the meandering Merrimack River (my favorite picture of the day) |
After taking lots of pictures of the dam, I wandered back to the other side of the gate house and took the stairs down to the tunnel next to the lock.
 |
| Locks |
 |
| Gatehouse and Dam |
Now that I've seen the start of the canal's waterway, I hope to explore the rest the canal system.
A few more pictures can be seen at my Picasa album (19 in all, including a panoramic picture of the dam).
A short video of the dam (my first upload to YouTube).
History
The dam and canal were used for transportation and power for Lowell's mills.
Lowell Power Canal System and Pawtucket Gatehouse
James B. Francis, Chief engineer of the Locks and Canal Company of Lowell, Massachusetts designed the gatehouse and much of the canal system. He was also the inventor of the Francis turbine (used in most modern hydroelectric dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam).
Lowell Power Canal System and Pawtucket Gatehouse Brochure (7MB)
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no subject
Date: 2009-10-26 11:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-26 03:09 pm (UTC)Reading about the canal system, a couple of the sites says that because of the way James Francis designed the canals, it protected downtown Lowell during many of the floods, including 1936.
I haven't seen it in person, but there are photos of the guard gates (aka "Francis's Folly) near the corner of Broadway and Walker that have a marker showing the height of the 1936 flood (painted on the side of the gate house, and another marker, a bit lower down, engraved in the stone wall to indicate the height of the 1852 flood.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-26 12:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-26 01:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-26 06:12 pm (UTC)