Metropolitan Waterworks Museum
Metropolitan Waterworks Museum things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
Description
cultural
family friendly
accessibility
The Waterworks Museum is a museum in the Chestnut Hill Waterworks building, originally a high-service pumping station of the Boston Metropolitan Waterworks. It contains well-preserved mechanical engineering devices in a Richardsonian Romanesque building.
attractions: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill Reservation, New Box Studio, Cassidy Playground, Beacon Convenience, Margot Connell Recreation Center, Brookline Recreation Department, Longyear Museum, 7-Eleven, restaurants: Cityside Tavern, Cafe Landwer Cleveland Circle, Pino's Pizza, Eagle's Deli, My Happy Hunan Kitchen, Fin's Sushi & Grill, Amelia's Taqueria, The Circle Pizza Tavern, Energize, The Circle Tavern
Ratings
Description
The Waterworks Museum is a museum in the Chestnut Hill Waterworks building, originally a high-service pumping station of the Boston Metropolitan Waterworks. It contains well-preserved mechanical engineering devices in a Richardsonian Romanesque building.
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Boston Kid-Friendly Outing: Waterworks Museum
BelleBelle
690
🔅Kid-Friendly Boston | Don’t Miss This List of Free Open House Days
KennethKenneth
3210
The Special Access tour at the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum was amazing and is definitely worth your time. What do you know about the history of water access in Boston? "Thousands have lived without love, not one without water." W.H. Auden. There are 3 coal-powered, steam-driven water pumps built by Leavitt, Allis and Worthington and they are each marvelous in their own way. Leavitt's is gorgeous with walnut wood insulation, amazing metal work, a complicated oil delivery system and always 'dual action'. Allis created a slightly less gorgeous machine to look at, however it was very well built, put together onsite and it was extremely functional. Worthington's looks like you could buy it from Amazon and it would be - plug and play. Our guide, Martin, has a long history with pumps from his career in the navy and as an engineer. His passion, knowledge of history and story telling added to the entire experience. Go try out the ship's wheel, the massive wrenches and marvel at this amazing machinery.
M KingM King
10
I expected to simply see the gigantic machinery used to pump fresh water to Boston that came from the hinterlands. And I did see that - awesome machinery that dated to the 1880s powered by coal fired steam engines. But the real story here is of the importance of fresh water to the health, growth and fire safety of modern urban communities. There are lots of educational information on this throughout. This ranged from the new instrumentation to check water quality developed right here in Boston to the aquatic systems dating to the 1840s that brought fresh water from distant reservoirs. And you saw photos of how the civic leaders used this as a cause for civic pride and recreation. The building is a glorious design and in the late 1800s there was a beautiful carriageway for weekend R&R to allow escape from the congested city. A wonderful showcase of a bygone era.
Nick LazarisNick Lazaris
10
My spouse and I live nearby, and I’ve always loved this out of the way museum. I took my parents several years ago, but always wished I could climb on the machines. Lo and behold, was it ever awesome to find they offer tours! Our tour guide Eleanor was amazing! She was so, so knowledgeable, and also so patient with a couple of annoying little kids who happened to be in our group (I’m sorry, parents, but please control your children!). And the machines…they were glorious! It’s hard to believe humans built these, and they are truly feats of human ingenuity and engineering. Being able to see the details up close and personal is eye-opening and awe-inspiring. If you’re available, I highly recommend getting in on one of these.
Chris SimonettaChris Simonetta
00
Highly recommended. We loved our visit to this museum! An amazing marriage of form and function, the old engine room and the truly impressive industrial pumping machinery inside are a real delight. We met the director, who was extremely informative and also rightly proud of the museum and its history. It’s impossible to underestimate the importance of this place, its architect, engineers and workers in the creation of Boston as a city. With the coming of a fresh clean healthy water supply in 1848 there was a 5 mile municipal parade and the people celebrated for two days after the switch on at Boston Common. It’s a shame the city authorities don’t seem to celebrate this wonderful feature with the same enthusiasm today.
Amanda BenthamAmanda Bentham
00
Nearby Attractions Of Metropolitan Waterworks Museum
Alumni Stadium
Chestnut Hill Reservation
New Box Studio
Cassidy Playground
Beacon Convenience
Margot Connell Recreation Center
Brookline Recreation Department
Longyear Museum
7-Eleven

Alumni Stadium
4.4
(390)Click for details

Chestnut Hill Reservation
4.8
(178)Click for details

New Box Studio
5.0
(72)Click for details

Cassidy Playground
4.4
(69)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Metropolitan Waterworks Museum
Cityside Tavern
Cafe Landwer Cleveland Circle
Pino's Pizza
Eagle's Deli
My Happy Hunan Kitchen
Fin's Sushi & Grill
Amelia's Taqueria
The Circle Pizza Tavern
Energize
The Circle Tavern

Cityside Tavern
4.4
(601)$$
Click for details

Cafe Landwer Cleveland Circle
4.3
(475)$$
Click for details

Pino's Pizza
4.4
(436)$
Click for details

Eagle's Deli
4.4
(474)$
Click for details