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ARMY MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY /
WATERTOWN ARSENAL
WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS
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PAL prepared a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the
Watertown Arsenal Historic District and HABS/HAER documentation for 16
buildings and the Olmsted landscape as a component of the BRAC study. The
work included research at the Library of Congress, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, and Watertown Arsenal, and comprehensive field investigations.
Field investigations included defining boundaries of the historic
properties, documenting existing conditions, verifying extant historic
features, and recording descriptions of the buildings and landscape. The
results of the research and field investigations were used to complete the
National Register nomination and Level II HABS/HAER reports including
narrative descriptions and histories and large format archival photographs.
Copies of the HABS/HAER documentation are on file at the Library of Congress
and the Massachusetts State Archives.
Section 106 consultation determined project effects to
historic resources and identified alternatives to avoid, minimize or
mitigate adverse effects. Detailed analyses were conducted, community
meetings were held, and a comprehensive effects and mitigation report was
prepared in conjunction with the project Programmatic of Agreement. |
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PAL completed a reconnaissance survey of the U.S. Army
Materials Technology Laboratory (AMTL, former Watertown Arsenal) as a
component of the Base Realignment and Closure Environmental Impact Study (BRAC).
The survey included background research; development of prehistoric and
historic period contexts, including a national military context; preparation
of archaeological sensitivity models; identification of historically and
architecturally significant buildings, landscapes, and structures; and
development of National Register of Historic Places recommendations.
PAL also conducted an archaeological survey of intact
areas within the former AMTL facility (Watertown Arsenal) in Watertown,
Massachusetts and subsequent site evaluation of an identified prehistoric
site in 1995 and 1996 under the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. The former AMTL facility was designated a superfund site in 1994
and the archaeological investigations were conducted by PAL personnel who
completed the OSHA 40-hour hazardous waste/emergency response training and
had medical clearance to wear Level C personal protective equipment
including full-face respirators.
The archaeological investigations assisted the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers in fulfilling legal requirements under Section 106 and
110 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as part of the Base
Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process for federal military installations. |
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