Rebuilding the Lost City: UPDATE

From Dave Brigham:

The most seriously blighted property I've written about is finally being demolished. For 70 years, the Haartz Mason factory in Watertown, MA, made roofing and auto-top fabrics, before closing in 1993. For the last 18 years, the site has been a haven for vandals, graffiti artists and homeless people.

I posted pictures of the site last summer (see July 5, 2010, "Rebuilding the Lost City") and speculated that a future developer would include retail space on the property. According to the Watertown Tab, Criterion Development Partners plans two apartment buildings on the lot, along with retail space and a parking garage.

I often jog on the bike path directly behind the property, and have long been fascinated by the state of ruin at this old factory. Now, with the demolition in full swing, I'm equally fascinated by the amount of graffiti on display inside the buildings. I'm sure the demolition and clean up will go on for quite some time, given that Haartz Mason made coated fabrics, which I suspect means loads and loads of chemicals in the soil.

I'll post more updates as this new project gets under way. I'm excited that this blighted stretch of Pleasant Street will soon have new, vibrant life.

















(The one site that may be more blighted and polluted than this one is the former Watertown Arsenal munitions burning facility. The extent of the mess at that site is difficult to gauge from the road. See May 19, 2010, "Nuclear Dump Playground?")

Rebuilding the Lost City

From Dave Brigham:

The long-abandoned Haartz Mason Coated Fabrics factory is located in Watertown, Mass., in an area that my wife's brother-in-law dubbed The Lost City. Located along Pleasant Street, the complex, which comprises several buildings, sits amid a mix of industrial buildings, thrift shops, office buildings and residential neighborhoods. Less than a mile from the hustle and bustle of Watertown Square, the old factory has featured a "Sale Pending" sign out front for the last several weeks.

I'm fascinated by the extent of decay and ruin at the factory. There is a giant smoke stack in the middle, surrounded by buildings that have been partially torn down or fallen apart, all covered in graffiti. There is a walking/biking path that runs right behind the complex, hard by the Charles River. With the advent of spring and summer, trees and bushes on the perimeter of the dilapidation zone obscure the mess inside.



The Lost City has been treated of late to some upgrades, such as new blacktop and sidewalks. Right next door to the Haartz Mason building is a new condo development that was originally going to be an office building. The developer evidently couldn't sell the space as businesses, so he converted it to residential.

Given that built-in audience, logic would dictate that whoever knocks down these buildings would put up some retail space. Whatever goes in there, it'll be a vast improvement. I can only imagine the nasty clean-up that lies ahead.