In July, Dodson & Flinker attended the Eliot Tower ribbon cutting ceremony at the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton, Ma. The celebration marked the completion of nearly ten years of work collaborating with Turowski2 Architecture as consultants to DCR. The event was attended by DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo, State Representative Bill Driscoll, Friends of the Blue Hills Executive Director Jen Klein, and Dan Pierce & Roger Cheever, two great-grandsons of Charles Eliot.
One of our tasks for the project was to design pedestrian and wheelchair accessible improvements for the historic Eliot Tower and Eliot Memorial Bridge at the summit of Great Blue Hill. The Memorial Bridge is a stone structure erected as a memorial to landscape architect Charles Eliot at the beginning of the 20th century. The adjacent Eliot Tower was constructed subsequently by the Civilian Conservation Corps. We also developed erosion control measures needed to stabilize the site’s steep slopes.
Our work on the project began in 2015 with a Conditions Assessment of the structure and surrounding landscape, followed by the development of construction documents for site improvements. In summer 2021, the first phase of landscape improvements was constructed by Lawrence Lynch Corporation. This work included stabilized stone dust paths that provide a wheelchair accessible route from the bridge to the rear of the Tower. The fill associated with this new pedestrian surface is supported by boulder edging and stone steps at trail entrances. Additional improvements to the site and structures included repointing of stonework, wheelchair improvements within the structure, and additional fill and conservation planting. This work is also a first critical step in the creation of a future trail loop around the perimeter of the summit that meets the Forest Service Trail Accessibility Guidelines (FSTAG).
Team: Turowski2 Architecture, Lawrence Lynch Corporation
Client: Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
