place

High Rock Tower Reservation

1905 establishments in MassachusettsHistoric districts in Essex County, MassachusettsHistoric districts on the National Register of Historic Places in MassachusettsNational Register of Historic Places in Lynn, MassachusettsRomanesque Revival architecture in Massachusetts
Towers completed in 1905Use mdy dates from August 2023
High Rock Tower, Lynn, Ma USA
High Rock Tower, Lynn, Ma USA

The High Rock Reservation (or High Rock Park) is a city park in the Highlands neighborhood of Lynn, Massachusetts. Designed in 1907 by the Olmsted Brothers, the roughly 7-acre (2.8 ha) park 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. It replaces an earlier wood tower designed by Alonzo Lewis for Jesse Hutchinson 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.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.The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (as "High Rock Tower–High Rock Cottage and Daisy Cottage") in 1979. The lands surrounding the tower were protected by The Trust for Public Land and conveyed to the City of Lynn in 1988.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.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.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. Additional grant funding was obtained in 2018, for LED and laser illumination of the remaining two sides of the tower.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article High Rock Tower Reservation (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

High Rock Tower Reservation
Circuit Avenue, Lynn

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: High Rock Tower ReservationContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 42.4675 ° E -70.948333333333 °
placeShow on map

Address

Circuit Avenue
01902 Lynn
Massachusetts, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

High Rock Tower, Lynn, Ma USA
High Rock Tower, Lynn, Ma USA
Share experience

Nearby Places

Old Lynn High School
Old Lynn High School

The Old Lynn High School is a historic school at 50 High Street in Lynn, Massachusetts. The two story wood frame Italianate building was built in 1850 and opened to students in 1851. Originally five window bays in length, it was extended in 1876 by the addition of three bays to reach its present size, measuring 45 feet (14 m) by 95 feet (29 m). It sits on a rise overlooking the downtown area in a residential neighborhood.Inside the building, the first floor shows only traces of its original academic use, having been converted to other uses. The second floor still shows the original classroom layouts, with two classrooms occupying either side of a central hallway in the original part of the building, and a third classroom is contained in the 1876 addition.The building was used by the city for academic purposes for 124 years. It was the city's first high school until 1892, after which it served as a vocational shop for the English High School, which was built across Liberty Street to the west. In 1924 it became the home of the Lynn Independent Industrial Shoemaking School, which operated in the building until 1975. In 2002 the building had been vacant for some time, and was suffering from neglect and vandalism, including attempted arson. The building was rehabilitated and expanded in a historically sensitive way, and is now the facilities of Girls Incorporated of Lynn.The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

G.A.R. Hall and Museum
G.A.R. Hall and Museum

The G.A.R. Hall and Museum is a historic museum at 58 Andrew Street in Lynn, Massachusetts. The four story Romanesque brick building was built in 1885 by contractor Frank G. Kelly to the design of the Lynn firm Wheeler & Northend for the General Frederick W. Lander Post 5 of the Grand Army of the Republic, an American Civil War veterans organization. It has two storefronts on the ground floor, offices and a library with spaces for 1500 volumes on the second floor, and a large 46'10" x 56'4" meeting hall on the upper two floors. The roofline originally had ornate brick crenellations, but these were removed in the mid 20th century. The first two floors have also been altered over time, but the meeting hall remains in nearly original condition.The building was constructed with incandescent electric lighting by the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, which had moved to Lynn two years prior.With declining membership in the organization, the building was turned over to the city in 1919 by a Special Act of the Massachusetts Legislature. The city operates it as a museum.The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.The building is the earliest known work by Holman K. Wheeler, who designed and constructed more than 400 structures in Lynn and surrounding towns, including residences, schools, commercial and factory buildings, and monuments. A total of five H. K. Wheeler structures in Lynn are listed on the National Register. The father of co-architect William Wheelwright Northend, Massachusetts State Senator William Dummer Northend, while attending Governor Dummer Academy as a child, became longtime friends with General Frederick W. Lander for whom the Lynn G.A.R. Post is named. In 2018, a fundraising campaign was started to raise as much as $10 million for needed repairs, renovations, and preservation of the museum's collection. Plans include making the building ADA compliant with additions such as an elevator. An updated climate control system is also needed to preserve the museum artifacts.The museum was named one of the top 11 most endangered historic resources in Massachusetts for 2018 by Preservation Massachusetts.