Charleston Navy Yard
Boston, MA
Client: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Project Type: Archival Research; Hazardous Materials Mitigation Study
When the Charlestown Navy Yard ropewalk began production in 1837, its steam-powered machinery was among the most advanced in the world, and shortly before the ropewalk closed in 1971, its managers created a new structure for nylon rope that revolutionized the manufacture of maritime cordage. The ropewalk buildings at the Charlestown Navy Yard may well be the only mid-nineteenth century structures of this building type to survive in America.
Under the direction of John G. Waite, the firm prepared a study documenting the ropewalk’s significance. Also, because many of the traditional materials utilized in the manufacture of rope have been determined to contain hazardous materials, the firm, in collaboration with HUB Testing Laboratories of Waltham, MA, prepared a hazardous materials mitigation study documenting the extent of hazardous material remaining in the ropewalk and providing recommendations and cost projections for abatement.
