| The city of Chelsea’s iconic hilltop water tower is mired in uncertainty, and no one is happy about it.
Visible from the Tobin Bridge, East Boston and the Seaport, the tower is beloved by residents of the small city. Long visible on the skyline, it has become part of the city scenery.
Underneath the tower lies a home for military veterans that is in serious need of rehabilitation. The eponymous Soldiers Home, established in 1882, was the subject of a “scathing” report from State Auditor Suzanne Bump in 2016 which cited “deplorable living conditions,” as reported at the time by WCVB. (The home said it took immediate steps to rectify the issues cited in the report.)
Some of the buildings in the complex are more than 100 years old and are well overdue for an upgrade. A tour of the grounds reveals a mini-city on the hill. Some parts are warm and inviting, where residents gather on benches in the summer to watch the sunsets and greet the dog walkers. Some are downright dingy and depressing, and other parts are shut down and closed off completely.
The home has reported it is in danger of losing funding if it does not upgrade the facilities. And so it came to pass that state officials proposed a $199 million project that will replace the Quigley Hospital. The project will require the removal of the water tower.
For once in Massachusetts, residents are not protesting the development. All parties agree that the safety and wellbeing of the home’s veterans is paramount. But current and former residents of the city are saddened and disheartened by the loss of the water tower.
As reported in the Chelsea Record, the project has been overshadowed by the loss of the water tower. An online petition aims to gather 1,000 signatures and was well on its way as of B&T’s press deadline. But talk is cheap, and electronic signatures won’t save the structure.
Like the Citgo sign and the Orange Dinosaur, the water tower is a relic of the way things were. As Boston and its environs race to embrace an innovative future, these relics and memories are increasingly endangered. The birthplace of the American Revolution does an outstanding job of preserving early American history, but overlooks – or outright rejects – important, more recent history.
Progress is painful and sometimes requires sacrifice. The residents of Soldiers Home deserve quality care and treatment at the end of lives spent in service to our country, and if the water tower absolutely must come down in order to achieve that, then so be it.
But the city’s residents deserve to know beyond a doubt that there is no way to relocate or accommodate the tower. For Chelsea’s residents – current, former and future – the water tower is a symbol of home, and of pride. Its loss would be another painful blow on the path to progress.
