Cisterns Are Doing It for Themselves

From Dave Brigham:

Cistern: Middle English origin (1250-1300); a reservoir, tank, or container for storing or holding water or other liquid. So says Dictionary.com. I've known this word for years, but when I saw "The Cistern" pop up on Google Maps in West Medford, Mass., I was confused. Why is a holding tank at the southern end of Lower Mystic Lake pinned on a digital map?

I can't say I have a good answer.

Located at the point where the lake empties into the Mystic River, the cistern is marked on a rounded spit of land just west of the Mystic Valley Parkway, spilling over the border into Arlington. I'm unsure whether the term "cistern" refers to a holding tank located under the site, or to the funnel-shaped area where the lake drains into the river.

There is obviously something under this parkland, which includes picnic areas and walking paths.

According to Wikipedia, "Present-day cisterns are often used only for irrigation due to concerns over water quality. Cisterns today can also be outfitted with filters or other water purification methods when the water is intended for consumption. It is not uncommon for a cistern to be open in some manner in order to catch rain or to include more elaborate rainwater harvesting systems. It is important in these cases to have a system that does not leave the water open to algae or to mosquitoes, which are attracted to the water and then potentially carry disease to nearby humans."

Perhaps the cistern is a relic from the days when the Middlesex Canal was in operation along the eastern shore of the Mystic Lakes from 1803 to 1851, part of the route connecting Lowell to Boston's Charlestown neighborhood. By the way, make sure to check back in the near future for a post about a former canal towpath located in neighborning Woburn.

If anybody can tell me more about The Cistern, I'm all ears.

Here's your headline explainer:

Where's the Gondolier?

From Dave Brigham:

This is another one that falls into the category of Places That I've Passed Countless Times But Never Really Noticed.

Broad Canal in Cambridge, Mass., is a shadow of its former self. Once part of an extensive system of waterways, the canal now extends just a short distance from the Charles River near Kendall Square.

From Wikipedia:

The canal began in 1806 when Henry Hill, Rufus Davenport, and others laid out a canal system in the land and tidal flats along the Charles River. Broad Canal was dug before 1810, and 80 feet (24 m) wide from the low-water mark to Portland Street. In 1874 the lower part of the canal, between First and Third Streets, was 100 feet (30 m) wide. Connecting canals ran through much of today's East Cambridge.

No visible trace remains of that system, and extensive landfills have removed all remnants of Cambridge's seaport docks and wharves. Broad Canal's truncated remnants can now be found just north of Broadway, entering the Charles River immediately north of Longfellow Bridge.

I found out about the canal while doing a Google search, scanning the map for a waterfront location in the Boston area to do some Backside work.

I spied the words "Broad Canal Walkway" on the map and realized it was a spot I'd driven by numerous times on the way to and from various points, including the Museum of Science, the CambridgeSide Galleria and baseball games in Charlestown.

The walkway is hard by the massive Kendall Cogeneration Station. I saw two small boats tied up along the stone wall that defines the border between the canal and the power plant.

These wharf pilings are silently elegant in their quest to defy the modern world.

But the modern world, alas, presses in from the end of the canal.