For Week #5 of the Newton Photo Scavenger Hunt, here are five more photos of objects in Newton that are odd or charming — and rather unique, rather permanent, and visible from public property. Can you identify them?
The first person to write in the comments below the correct (and sufficiently precise) location of the object will win one point per object identified. At the end of the summer, whoever has the most points will win a $50 gift certificate for the Newton restaurant of the winner’s choice…and a V14 commemorative mug.
After four weeks of the scavenger hunt, the current totals are: @Michael 6; 3 each for @LisaP and @Dave Brigham; 2 each for @David Wallace, @Fignewtonville, and @Adam; and 1 each for Nanci Ginty Butler, Dalek, Bob Burke, and Sean Roche. No photos from previous weeks are outstanding, so here’s Week 5:
21. Arc of Stone
22. Phone Booth
23. Ceramic Sculpture
24. Circa 1790
25. Linear Measurement
For #21, I had a list of three candidate locations lined up for my midnight interloping bike ride from Needham (colorfully illuminated by the highly-recommended Lumos Matrix helmet). I’m happy to report that it was the first candidate on my list, the Newton Highlands Playground. Absolutely beautiful stonemasonry, although it’s really tucked away in the far corner of the park. I wish they’d do one of these in Roxbury Puddingstone!
@Michael: Correct! I’d like to learn more about its design and intended use. Could the Newton Theatre Company use this space for open-air, socially distanced productions?
#25, Cheesecake Brook at the Watertown Street Bridge as seen when facing eastbound from the southern bank of the brook.
#25 spillway at Hemlock Gorge.
@Randy: A good guess, but not the correct location. I see that this object is not quite as unique in Newton as I had thought! I’ll have to check out the location you noted, to see how similar it is.
@Maureen Reilly Meagher: Correct!
The USGS describes the location of this stream gaging station as “Lat 42o18’59”, long 71o13’42”, Norfolk County, Hydrologic Unit 01090001, on left bank at east limits of Wellesley, 30 ft upstream from a horseshoe-shaped dam and 50 ft upstream from bridge on State Highway 9.” ;-)
The numbers are feet above sea level, and this visible gage is on the Newton side of the river. An electronic gage just across the spillway, on the Wellesley side, measures the height of the river surface and transmits that data to satellites continuously, and from this data the USGS can estimate rather accurately the volume of the river flow. This page shows a graph of water flow (cubic feet per second) for today and the previous 7 days.
And yes, the USGS spells it “gage” and not “gauge” for historical reasons.
I had the same guess as Randy on #25. Had no idea about the others, and am curious to hear more about them!
@Dave Brigham: My search of the USGS site shows 7 measuring stations in Newton, but not all of them transmit water-height data continuously. Click on any of them for more info.
@Dave, @Bruce & @Randy – The one at Cheesecake Brook, near the old Horace Mann, measures feet above flood stage. (It only goes up to 5 feet. It measured a little over a foot a couple of weeks ago when we had that 30 minute downpour)
I’m surprised there hasn’t been any movement on 22, 23, and 24! Lots of people went down on the Cape this week I guess.
I just pedaled over for this evening’s once-a-month shipment of fresh Montreal bagels at Walnut Market, after which I tried searching for the British telephone box and ceramic sculpture on a few side streets up toward the aqueduct region in Four Corners, but no luck.
I also did some desktop research on buildings that might have been constructed in 1790 and there’s a candidate in Lower Falls but I haven’t had the chance to check it out in person yet, and its red-brick addition apparently only dates to the 1800s.
I thought for sure that #24 was on the Ware Paper Mill in Lower Falls, so we organized a family picnic in a clearing along the river upstream of the Finlay Fishway, and afterward did a walkaround of all sides of the mill, but the 1790 sign was nowhere to be found.
Then, just as we were about to head home with our tails between our legs, our three-year-old exclaimed, “Turn around, it’s there!”
And lo and behold there it was on the side of the Gregorian Oriental Rugs building, aka “The Mill at Newton Lower Falls” – which, aside from maybe its foundation, looks to be significantly more modern than the Ware Paper Mill building.
@Michael: Correct! It’s this building. One point for Michael’s 3-year-old son! ;-)
Our theater was performing this weekend on the grounds of the Durant-Kenrick House. #23 Ceramic Scupture was in the corner to the right of our stage area. I pointed it out to a number of audience members and told them about Bruce’s Scavenger Hunt.
Bruce, thanks for the visit today to my phone booth. Will look forward to the picture of the winners shortlly!
@Brian Harrington, many thanks for hosting us today, taking our picture, and not shooing us away from your wonderful Phone Booth when we showed up unannounced. It was great to meet you. Welcome to Newton and to Village14!