Boston Navy Yard (also known as Charlestown Navy Yard and Boston Naval Shipyard) is a former shipyard in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston in Massachusetts, United States. One of the first shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy, it operated from 1800 until 1 July 1974. The National Park Service (NPS) controls of the decommissioned yard as part of Boston National Historical Park. Three other sections, totaling about , are owned by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA). The site is a National Historic Landmark.
Plans for the yard date from 1799, soon after the Navy was established. Shipbuilding began in 1812, and a master plan in 1828 influenced the yard's mid-19th century development. The complex was modernized for the American Civil War but declined in the late 19th century as maintenance was deferred. Extensive upgrades again took place in the 1890s and 1930s. The complex became known as Boston Naval Shipyard in its final quarter-century, repairing vessels rather than building new ones. After decommissioning, the NPS and the BPDA's predecessor Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) acquired the yard. Renovation of existing buildings, and some new construction, took place in phases from the late 20th century onward, while many older buildings were redeveloped.
The yard retains more than two dozen buildings from its military era, designed in a variety of styles. These buildings, which include the Charlestown Ropewalk, Commandant's House, and Marine Barracks, have mainly been redeveloped for office, commercial, and residential use. Open spaces include a Marine parade ground and Shipyard Park. The yard also includes several gates, a street grid, eleven piers, three dry docks, and remnants of a former railroad system. Two ships are docked at the yard: Constitution (1797) and Cassin Young (1943). In the 20th century, the yard had several annexes, including South Boston Naval Annex.
Military history Creation Before the Boston Navy Yard complex was developed, the plot was in the then-separate town of Charlestown, settled in 1629. It was mostly marsh or pasture, with some buildings at the current yard's southwest corner. The site may have been used as a landing site during the American Revolutionary War by both American patriot Paul Revere, during his April 1775 midnight ride, and British forces, during the Battle of Bunker Hill two months later. The Navy was founded with the Naval Act of 1794, under which six frigates were to be built, each at a different new shipyard.; Joshua Humphreys, the frigates' contractor, visited New England in 1799–1800 to investigate sites for a shipyard. Humphreys recommended a site in the Boston area, citing the favorable topography and the large potential pool of laborers, despite the drawbacks of fogs. Humphreys suggested a marshy site in Charlestown, near a mansion owned by Aaron Putnam, where he said could be obtained for $19,350.
The frigates were ultimately not built, but plans for the yards were retained. President John Adams agreed on 9 May 1800 to build a shipyard at Charlestown. Charlestown was among the United States Navy's original six shipyards, along with Brooklyn, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Portsmouth, and Washington Navy Yards. Putnam was tasked with studying the feasibility of acquiring land in the area. Under an act passed by the Massachusetts General Court (the state legislature), land acquisition for the initial phase of construction began on 26 August 1800. The initial acquisition was completed on 3 April 1801, comprising ten land lots. This gave the Navy a site of , at a cost of $37,348. The Charlestown Navy Yard never had a formal opening ceremony, being built up gradually. For much of its time as a military facility, at least part of it was open to the public. Employment generally peaked during wars (except for the Vietnam War) and decreased during peacetime.
19th century 1800s to 1820s
Samuel Nicholson, the yard's first commandant, oversaw limited improvements to the complex, which began in 1802. The first wharf was among the earliest structures built; the initial plans also included a dry dock, which was not constructed for over two decades. The site was little used before the War of 1812, and other U.S. government agencies used parts of it. The Treasury Department leased at the yard's northeastern corner in 1802 for a marine hospital, and the War Department occupied a laboratory. That year, a Marine Corps detachment began guarding the yard and constructed their first barracks there. Quarters G, the commandant's house, was constructed in 1805 as the yard's first residence. Modifications to Quarters G, conducted two years later, marked the earliest repairs to the yard. In 1809, the U.S. Army completed a gunhouse and a firearms magazine that it shared with the Navy, and shortly thereafter, a boundary fence was built between the Army and Navy facilities. The original Marine barracks was replaced with a brick structure in 1810–1811, and a parade ground was built simultaneously.
By 1812, a report by Commandant William Bainbridge found the complex in poor condition. The yard contained Quarters G and I; a blacksmith's shop; various other offices, residences, and storage structures; and a boat landing and wharf. A slipway for manufacturing ships was planned, but construction was deferred for a lack of funds. The Navy added a wharf and slipway at the western boundary in 1813, after Congress finally provided an appropriation for Charlestown Navy Yard. The first quay wall was built that year, and a ropewalk was also proposed, albeit not built. The slipway was enclosed by a shiphouse in late 1813 but was blown apart and replaced within a year. In the mid-1810s, defensive weaponry was installed at the entrances, and a perimeter fence was added. With retrenchment after the war, the Board of Navy Commissioners considered moving all the Navy's storehouses to Charlestown (which never occurred) and erecting a dry dock there. During 1817, the Navy built Quarters A (the porter's and guard's residence) and moved the fence following a land swap. A new spar shed and timber shed were also added in the late 1810s.
A further two shiphouses were built in the early 1820s, by which the Navy Department reported that the yard was "in great decay". The Navy also acquired land on the western boundary, relandscaped that site, and added outbuildings. It obtained further land in the Lower Yard from the Army in 1821. Afterward, the Navy also sought to take over the Marine Hospital, eventually doing so in 1825. The next year, the Navy completed a perimeter wall designed by Alexander Parris. The wall was Parris's first project at the yard, with which he remained involved for nearly two decades. Also in the 1820s, Parris designed a carriage house; the Navy replaced the marine hospital with a yard officers' residence; and a shipbuilding ways and a third shiphouse were built. The Navy hired Loammi Baldwin Jr. to design a new dry dock at Charlestown, work on which began in 1827. Other upgrades in the late 1820s included a new artillery battery and re-landscaping of the area near Salem Turnpike.
Meanwhile, the U.S. executive branch had begun thorough studies of the country's navy yards in 1826; Baldwin was appointed as chief engineer for the Charlestown Navy Yard study. His master plan was approved in 1828. It recommended removing several buildings and adding a dry dock, shipbuilding way, and street grid, along with several ultimately-unbuilt canals. Most of the existing buildings to date were grouped in two areas, while marshland and a creek took up the remaining site. The master plan influenced development at Charlestown Navy Yard during the next four decades. Parris and his successor as chief engineer, Joseph E. Billings, designed many of the buildings constructed at Charlestown during that era. The administration of President Andrew Jackson studied the country's seven navy yards in 1829, finding that the Charlestown yard could not be eliminated "without injury to the naval service".
1830s to 1850s
The Upper Quarters, housing non-commissioned officers, was completed in 1833. Due to granite shortages and inclement weather, work on the dry dock (later Dry Dock 1) was delayed; it was finally inaugurated on 24 June 1833. With Dry Dock 1's completion, steam-powered equipment was introduced to the yard, and a pump house was built. Jackson approved plans for the Charlestown Ropewalk in 1834. The ropewalk, approval of which followed years of negotiations, was placed in Charlestown because of the region's industrial, trade, and workforce advantages. During that decade, Congress also gave the U.S. Marine Corps permission to acquire land for a new barracks near the Navy Yard, which never happened. The ropewalk opened in 1837 and initially supplied rope for the entire Navy. Other buildings, including hemp, tar, and engine houses, were built to support the ropewalk's operations. By later that decade, the new Dry Dock 1 was already too small for ships such as Fulton.
Additional land was filled in the 1840s, and several roads were paved during that time. The perimeter wall was also expanded to surround the entire yard, and another entrance was built. By then, Charlestown Navy Yard was a major facility for the Navy, maintaining the Navy's wooden-hulled ships. Only one wharf could accommodate long ships, so the Navy added two more wharves during that decade, each with various ancillary buildings. As power demands increased, coal sheds were erected as well. During the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), activity increased, with 700 workers by 1846. Ten ships involved in the war were serviced at Charlestown, and additional storage and workshop buildings were constructed to support the war effort. When shipbuilding slowed down after the war, the Navy allowed private ships to use Dry Dock 1. The Navy built the Carpenters and Joiners Shop in 1849, and successive commandants remodeled the grounds around their house.
By the early 1850s, Gleason's Pictorial described Charlestown Navy Yard as having three shiphouses, two storehouses, a parade grounds, and a landscape with tree-lined avenues. Charlestown Navy Yard remained a busy facility and employed up to 900 people throughout the year. After Parris's 1852 death, Billings oversaw subsequent construction. During the mid-1850s, the Navy constructed an octagonal muster house, a new Gate 4, and a pitch house. Dry Dock 1 was also expanded and its pump replaced. A machine shop complex was also added starting in 1855, allowing the yard to install and repair ship engines. The yard was retrofitted with natural gas illumination the next year. The Navy also renovated numerous buildings, lengthened the fences, paved more roads, and landscaped the yard. In addition, it dredged the rivers outside the yard in 1857. Ultimately, the yard underwent $250,000 in upgrades during that decade, funded by Congress.
1860s and 1870s