{"nrhp_refnum":"89002274","name":"Weston Aqueduct Linear District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Along Weston Aqueduct from Sudbury Reservoir to Weston Reservoir","address_restricted":false,"city":"Weston","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.322744500000056,"lon":-71.43948256784958,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-01-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Engineering","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 13.5-mile linear district carrying water by gravity from Sudbury Dam in Southborough through Framingham and Wayland to Weston, Massachusetts, built 1901-1903 as part of metropolitan Boston's water system.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an outstanding, well-preserved example of engineering and architectural design for a gravity aqueduct, showing varied conduit and chamber types adapted to different terrain. Its granite chambers show coherent Renaissance Revival design by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge. It represents the third phase of the Boston system's development.","narrative":"Running 13.5 miles from Sudbury Dam in Southborough through Framingham and Wayland to Weston, this aqueduct carried water by gravity toward metropolitan Boston. Built in 1901-1903 under Chief Engineer Frederic P. Stearns, it includes 2.3 miles of tunnel, more than nine miles of brick and concrete conduit, two steel pipe siphons, an open channel, a sixty-acre reservoir, a bridge and nine chambers. The chambers are hipped-roofed structures of orange-tan or red-orange granite with pink granite trim, designed in a simplified Renaissance Revival style by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge. Olmsted & Olmsted shaped the landscape around the channel and reservoir. The aqueduct was a subsidiary project of the third phase of the Boston water system, meeting rising demand northwest of the city. It was recognized for the variety of conduit types that met hydraulic grade needs across differing terrain, and for the coherent design of its chambers. It remains in good condition and in use for water supply.","period_of_significance":"1901-1926","architect_builder":"Engineer Frederic P. Stearns (Metropolitan Water Board); chamber superstructures by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge; landscape by Olmsted & Olmsted","architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"General condition is good; present use is water supply.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.462708-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/37/7923/63792337/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89002274.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002274/711842eba6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002274/711842eba6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WestonAqueduct_ChannelChamber.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WestonAqueduct_ChannelChamber.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792337","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_Aqueduct","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7989398"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/weston-aqueduct-linear-district-89002274/"}