Vinal/Wheelwright: Two Boston City Architects

Vinal/Wheelwright: Two Boston City Architects

The Metropolitan Waterworks Museum is pleased to present a new exhibit on two late 19th century Boston City Architects, Arthur H. Vinal and Edmund March Wheelwright. In conjunction with a forthcoming book by architectural historian Dennis De Witt, this exhibit looks back at the influence of both Vinal and Wheelwright on the design landscape of the city. 

Vinal, City architect between 1884-1888, produced numerous buildings during his tenure and approximately 60 of these are still standing. The Metropolitan Waterworks Museum and the Boston Architectural College at Boylston and Hareford Streets (formerly the Boston Fire and Police Station) are among the most notable. 

During his time, Wheelwright was also very active and roughly 75 of his works remain on the landscape. His notable works include the Pine Street Inn, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Longfellow Bridge, and the Larz Anderson Carriage House. 

The retrospective is now open in the Waterworks Museum's Overlook Gallery and will be on exhibit through the end of the summer.

About the Waterworks

Opened in 2011, the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum uses its architecturally magnificent building, mammoth steam pumping engines, and the adjacent historic Chestnut Hill Reservoir to interpret unique stories of one of the country’s earliest metropolitan water systems. Through educational programs and exhibits focused on engineering, architecture, urbanism, public health, and social history, the Museum connects these stories to current issues and future challenges.

Dubbed “The Cathedral of Steam Technology,” the facility served originally as the high service pumping station that delivered clean, public drinking water into the heart of 19th century Boston. Built in response to the Great Fire of 1872, the Waterworks was the nexus of a complex supply and delivery system that included reservoirs, aqueducts, water towers, and other facilities that eventually became part of the Metropolitan Water Resources Authority.

The museum preserves the three original, coal-fired, steam engines that pumped millions of gallons of water each day into Boston. The historic building, designed in the Romanesque style of H.H. Richardson, was built by Boston City Architects Arthur H. Vinal in 1888, and enlarged by Edmund March Wheelwright in 1897. The structure was constructed near the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, part of the pastoral park and carriageway originally designed by the Olmstead brothers’ landscape architecture firm. Turn of the century engineer and microbiologist George C. Whipple, later co-founder of the Harvard School of Public Health, and chemist Ellen Swallow Richards, the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a pioneer of water quality testing, are among the notable contributors to the Waterworks legacy.

Today, the museum serves as a community hub for audiences interested in the rich history of the Waterworks system. Thousands of visitors are welcomed each year for lectures, tours, and exhibits with no admission charge. Our education department partners with students and teachers for enhanced, curriculum- connected programming focused on water science, engineering, and sustainability. A dedicated group of volunteer docents, many retired engineers, historians, and scientists, guide visitors through the building and collections spaces. Private event rentals are also available. For more information on the history and program offerings, please visit the museum’s webpage at www.WaterworksMuseum.org. 

Image: A.H. Vinal, Fire House, Washington Street, Roslindale, 1887-88.