It’s the end of the an era in Chelsea, Massachusetts as the iconic 150-ft Water Tower atop of Powder Horn Hill was demolished to make room for the new Chelsea Soldiers’ Home Community Living Center, a long-term care facility for the Commonwealth’s veterans.
Designed to harness panoramic views of downtown Boston and the harbor, the transformative new facility will have 154 private rooms organized around shared community spaces and surrounded by generous courtyards. The nearby Quigley Building will be demolished when the new center opens, enabling development of the full seven-acre site into an accessible landscape and restoration of the adjacent Malone Park as a public amenity.
Last Wednesday, May 29, Consigli Construction successfully orchestrated the controlled demolition of the water tower. The design team, Chelsea Soldiers’ Home representatives and community members were present to watch the water tower drop from where it stood for the past 61 years.
The demolition is for a good cause as the completed Community Living Center, currently under construction, will not only provide an increased level of long-term care for our veterans, but will also be a cutting-edge example of resilience and sustainability with a unique solar canopy, creating a new landmark for the community.
Related:
Chelsea Soldiers’ Home Water Tower Torn Down
Legendary water tower at Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea comes down
Photo gallery and video: Chelsea Soldiers’ Home water tower demolished
Iconic Chelsea Soldiers’ Home Water Tower Comes Down
Soldiers’ Home water tower demolished
The 2025 OpenLAB Boston studio work will be exhibited at Virginia Tech Monday, March 2nd through Wednesday, March 4th.
Please join us for the following events on Monday, March 2nd:
11:00am - Lecture with Parke MacDowell
1:00pm Lobby talk with Kevin Sullivan
This year’s studio identifies seven sites along the frayed edges of Boston’s Greenway. The Greenway is a one-mile-long linear park running through the heart of the city, reconnecting downtown Boston with its waterfront. Many of the parcels along its edges remain undeveloped and present mute, blank facades to the public realm. Addressing and repairing these edges through acts of infilling, layering, grafting, framing, and placemaking is the core focus of the studio—SUTURE.