Our built landscape

[MadRiver]

Once again I need your assistance. In your travels have you ever observed something that was slightly out of the ordinary? It first appeared mundane, yet held your attention longer than one might think it should. It wasn’t necessarily unique, though there was a certain level of fascination with its appearance. You see it on your daily commute to work our while driving to a trailhead. You know it is there, yet you never truly explored why it was there and only there. That is what I am looking for.

Since I will need to research its existence with town records or other agencies, it has to be within 100 miles of Plymouth NH.

Thanks again.

 

[Tom_Murphy]

Buildings or landscape features or either?

Shame about the 100 miles radius, the first building I thought of was this one.

Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester MA

Photo Gallery from Historic American Buildings Survey

Higgins Armory Museum, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is the only museum in the Western Hemisphere that is solely devoted to arms and armor. The building was the first free-standing glass and steel frame structure of its type to be built in the United States. The distinctive L-shaped, four-story facility is an extremely rare example of steel frame Art Deco architecture. The interior walls of the main galleries were constructed of plaster on metal lathe, formed to resemble the stone Gothic arches of a medieval castle.

 

[MadRiver]

Thanks, here is a synopsis of what I need:

” In the spirit of John Stilgoe's invitation to go out and explore - go outside, on foot or bicycle, and examine a landscape that is familiar to you. Look up, down and sideways. What do you see? What questions are raised? Which ones can you answer? Which can you not? Pick one feature of this landscape and explore it. For example - do you know why highway medians dip into the middle? Or how roads are engineered? Or where/how telegraph poles are manufactured or how they are installed? Do you know what is below the manhole covers in the road or when a particular town's water/sewer system was installed? Look at the things around you that you don't really pay much attention to - where would you go to answer the questions that arise? Try to investigate at least two repositories of information to find some of these answers.”

 

[--M.]

The thought I had as I read your original post was of the fake pine tree cell-tower that you see as you drive east on the Mass. Turnpike coming over the hill after the State Police barracks and before the 128 turn-off (in Weston). The 'tree' has always caught my attention because it tries to look real, always looks really fake, and sits amidst a ton of development of various types, so why even try (just have a cell-tower!)?

But the coolest thing about that tower is the variety of that other stuff, including the confluence of the MWRA aquaduct tunnels, which burst their pants so dramatically a few years ago. In that one space, you have the State cops, the maintenance depot, a major highway interchange, the Charles River, and the massive engineering of the aquaducts. There's also the hilly topography, too.

Is that within 100 miles of Plymouth? Or completely out of left field? Anyway, that's what I thought. Good luck!

 

[MadRiver]

The thought I had as I read your original post was of the fake pine tree cell-tower that you see as you drive east on the Mass. Turnpike coming over the hill after the State Police barracks and before the 128 turn-off (in Weston). The 'tree' has always caught my attention because it tries to look real, always looks really fake, and sits amidst a ton of development of various types, so why even try (just have a cell-tower!)?

But the coolest thing about that tower is the variety of that other stuff, including the confluence of the MWRA aquaduct tunnels, which burst their pants so dramatically a few years ago. In that one space, you have the State cops, the maintenance depot, a major highway interchange, the Charles River, and the massive engineering of the aquaducts. There's also the hilly topography, too.

Is that within 100 miles of Plymouth? Or completely out of left field? Anyway, that's what I thought. Good luck!

Wow, that is exactly what I am looking for! It might be a tad out of my range however. I will check.

 

[peakbagger]

There are few of those "frankenpines" along I93.

 

[MadRiver]

There are few of those "frankenpines" along I93.

Could you give me a general location? Also, do you know who operates them?

 

[peakbagger]

Dont know who owns it but I seem to remember one on the east side of the road up on ridge some where near the south of tilton near the cantebury exit ? I dont go down there very often but the irony or it being in the same area as the shaker village struck me when I noticed it. I think its obly visible going south bound Somewhere on the web is a site that lists the license information on all cell phone towers but I will let you do the research.

 

[Heather&Kali]

There are frankenpines on top of Cranmore along the trail from Blackcap.

 

[peakbagger]

Couldnt get it out of my head

http://www.nh.gov/oep/resourcelibrary/referencelibrary/p/pwsf/index.htm#disguising

 

[sierra]

Peakbagger thats a fun list to look at. I saw a flagpole in Merrimack that was way to big for the flag. I asked my brother a local firefighter and it turns out it is a cell phone tower, which made sense. Its at the VFW on Baboosic lake rd.

 

[MadRiver]

Couldnt get it out of my head

http://www.nh.gov/oep/resourcelibrary/referencelibrary/p/pwsf/index.htm#disguising

Thanks, I was looking at that page earlier. Since this project involves “exploring” I’ve often wondered why when we lose power our neighbor down the road and supposedly on the same grid does not. Inquiring minds need to know, so it looks like I will be doing the grid, though a different grid that is normally done on this page.

 

[Mike P.]

Any roadside historical sites in the area? The buildings at the Willey House or something from historical times that has been forgotten?

When we stay in Minerva, NY, we always stop at Aiden Lair. The house is in a sad state of disrepair on 28N but in front, it has a historical site marker. This was the location that Teddy R. stopped before continuing to Buffalo to be sworn in after McKinley was shot. Teddy was in the High Peaks at the time. My daughter always comments that if she won Powerball, she'd donate all the money to have it restored. (she's 12)

In my hometown, they have Pitkin Glass works. It's a nearly forgotten wall of the former factory that came about when the CT assembly gave the Pitkins a 25 year monopoly for manufacturing glass as gratitude for supplying the CT Militia gun powder at a loss from 1775 - 1781. Well I just learned a lot about something in my hometown. (thanks)

http://www.manchesterhistory.org/prev_site/pitkinglass.htm

 

[Lefty E]

Some kind of a concrete "blockhouse" on the banks of the Peabody River across Rt. 16 near the Imp Trail, south trailhead, and a set of electric lines that lead to an old, mysterious building near Lowes Path in the Bowman section of Randolph....and is that a camp or just a cliff on the slope of Mt. Cleveland that one can see from the scenic pulloff on Rt. 3??

 

[Andrew]

Southbound on 93 as you are approaching the notch and about to go under the bridge for Rte 18 at exit 34c.

Look at the bridge abutment to your right and see the likeness of an old friend ("The Boss") who departed from above in '03.

Not a good place to stop and take a picture or slow down and linger to try and see. But he's there in a rendering of the fieldstone veneer much thanks to an inspired craftsman.

 

[Hillwalker]

There is the pole that used to hold a windsock in the rock cut heading north on I93 just past the Ashland Exit. I wonder how long the actual windsock was in existance?

I have often wondered if the increased tree growth on that hillside lessened the need for a wind warning device over the years.

 

[Hillwalker]

Although this one is off the highway, it has fascinated me ever since I realized what it was. On the AT between Ore Hill (Cape Moonshine Road) and Rt 25C you walk beside a tiny pond that seems to have no business being there. At least that was my first thought when I first saw it. After passing it a few times and whacking around a bit I saw that the lower end had a small earthen dam. Turns out that it was manmade to supply water for the old Ore Hill Lead/Silver mine.

http://www.mindat.org/loc-6134.html

https://www.plymouth.edu/center-for...esentation-for-NH-Water-Conf-2011-3-22-11.pdf

 

[sierra]

There is the pole that used to hold a windsock in the rock cut heading north on I93 just past the Ashland Exit. I wonder how long the actual windsock was in existance?

I have often wondered if the increased tree growth on that hillside lessened the need for a wind warning device over the years.

I remember that windsock very clearly and have pondered coming up with a way to replace it. Then I figured it might be treading on ill-leagal ground so I never did.

 

[DougPaul]

There is the pole that used to hold a windsock in the rock cut heading north on I93 just past the Ashland Exit. I wonder how long the actual windsock was in existance?

I have often wondered if the increased tree growth on that hillside lessened the need for a wind warning device over the years.

I remember it as well.

I recall speaking to someone about it and he said that it wore out and no one replaced it. That area is subject to occasional high downslope winds--sometimes strong enough to blow cars off the road.

Doug

 

[Hillwalker]

Right after 9/11 there was a beautiful American Flag tied on there for a while. Here is an idea, get the local VFW or AmLegion to put old glory (new pole) up there and keep it maintained. I would willingly donate to that project. Of course NH Dept of Safety would have to agree. Although I no longer live in NH, I worked in Plymouth from 1989 to 2009 and passed that spot twice a day on my commute from Meredith and it occupies a soft spot in my heart.