MacLeod Consulting, Inc.
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MacLeod Consulting, Inc.
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Town assesses condition of historic timber monument, which conceals a standpipe
November 20, 2000 In 1901, the Scituate Water Company completed the standpipe next to the Dreamwold Estate of Thomas W. Lawson. The tank was made by the Portland Company located in Portland, Maine. With the permission of the Scituate Water Company. Lawson paid to have the bare standpipe enclosed with an attractive structure to satisfy the wishes of his wife. He hired the Boston architectural firm of Coolidge and Carlson to come up with a design. Their architect traveled to Europe and returned with the idea of developing the form of a watch tower taken from a 15th Century castle located on the Rhine, Castle Stahlech. The construction firm of Charles Logue Co. completed the structure in 1902 for a cost of about $60,000. Lawson paid the Meneely Company of Troy, New York to install the 10-bell chime in 1902. Also that year, he hired the E. Howard & Company to install a clock to time the bells. In 1929 the Town leased the standpipe from the Scituate Water Company for one dollar a year. They bought it in 1931. By 1988 the standpipe developed leaks and was drained and taken out of service. The Town still owns the tower and tank, but it is now administered by the Scituate Historical Society. Lawson Tower was listed as an American Water Landmark in 1974 and on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as an individual property. During the summer and fall of 2000, MacLeod Consulting and architect Gary Tondorf-Dick surveyed the tower and provided the Town with a condition report. They identified problems with shingles and their fasteners, wood trim, cracked bell carriage timbers, severely corroded fasteners, rotted timbers, poorly done foundation repairs, and broken chime controls. The Town is presently reviewing the report.
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