Moody Street Feeder canal gatehouse (Lowell, MA)
Despite its location by the tracks (and its age) this was never a railroad building. It was built for manually operated sluice gates that controlled water flow between two of Lowell’s power-generating canals. The two canals are connected by an underground pipe called the Moody Street Feeder. The sluice gates can change the flow through this pipe so that more water is diverted to one canal than to the other. In 1848 when this was built, Lowell’s canal system had already been established for 50 years or so, and this was constructed as an improvement to make the system more versatile and powerful.
This building is currently owned by the National Park Service and still contains its original equipment. It’s been in use for its intended purpose for almost its entire life. The only time it had another use was for a short period (less than 2 years) in the early 1970s, when it was a flower shop. The building also looks almost exactly like it did 165 years ago. According to the National Park Service historical and engineering record for this building, “changes to the building itself over the years have been few.”
Side view facing one of the canals, below.
Moody Street Feeder canal gatehouse (Lowell, MA)
Despite its location by the tracks (and its age) this was never a railroad building. It was built for manually operated sluice gates that controlled water flow between two of Lowell’s power-generating canals. The two canals are connected by an underground pipe called the Moody Street Feeder. The sluice gates can change the flow through this pipe so that more water is diverted to one canal than to the other. In 1848 when this was built, Lowell’s canal system had already been established for 50 years or so, and this was constructed as an improvement to make the system more versatile and powerful.
This building is currently owned by the National Park Service and still contains its original equipment. It’s been in use for its intended purpose for almost its entire life. The only time it had another use was for a short period (less than 2 years) in the early 1970s, when it was a flower shop. The building also looks almost exactly like it did 165 years ago. According to the National Park Service historical and engineering record for this building, “changes to the building itself over the years have been few.”
Side view facing one of the canals, below.