Re-constructing the Chelsea industrial waterfront

The view from atop the salt pile across the street suggests Christmas in July (Dan Adams photo).  Note our own humble abode in the neighborhood beyond near the top of the image just right of center. The Chelsea Creek is immediately behind the photographer.

"Salt is deposited on Chelsea as a foreign material and is accreted into a mountainous landscape dividing the residential area" from the waterfront port, writes our Harvard Design School correspondent Dan Adams in a provocative funding proposal for "Re-constructing industry in the community." The project would take the young Newton native from the salt piles of Chelsea, MA -- distribution point for road salt all over the region -- to the source -- the salt mines of Kilroot, Northern Ireland -- and back again in a quest for the spirit of the place:

In Kilroot, the salt is in the form of an underground vein of rock salt which resulted when entire oceans evaporated, prior to the previous ice age.  This salt vein is an integral element in the foundation of Kilroot's landscape.

In Chelsea the salt pile is a highly contentious landscape which is simultaneously seen by some residents as a beautiful, unique landmark, while others consider it an industrial blight on the landscape, pollution of both visual and environmental space.

In a sign of the times, Dan stopped by the other evening to drop off a CD he had just burned of his project proposal.  But all is not cyberoid.  The young man graced us with his presence for a lovely tete a tete, getting us up to speed -- and once again picking our brains -- on his Chelsea project. A fresh snowfall -- first of the season -- recorded his departure (photo above).

Before Dan continues, may we interject?  We happen to live just across the street, diagonally, from the Chelsea salt piles -- 'have been here for three decades and more and draw inspiration from the vitality of a working waterfront. The rhythmic rising and falling of the salt piles -- not to mention the comings and goings of the bulk carriers that bring the salt from distant ports to our shore -- in the ever-changing light conditions of a New England harborscape are grist for our photographic and spiritual mill. We've blogged about this dynamic landscape time and again. Now listen again to more of Dan Adams's vision:

Because of these contrasting perceptions, I am interested in examining the ways that the physical manifestation and connections to salt as a material in the two regions has propagated a different response from the communities. It is my belief that much of the difference in this reaction to the industries results from intrinsic relationships of the salt’s physical presence in each community. For example, the perception of mining salt as an excavation of the natural, and historic landscape of Kilroot versus the perception of the salt as an alien industrial material simply being deposited and stored in Chelsea, may be one significant cause of the disparate acceptances of the material.

The primary objective of this research is to create documentation and mapping which develop an understanding of the Eastern Minerals Company and its relationship with the communities of Chelsea and Kilroot.  This documentation will become a foundation for proposals for re-constructing the Chelsea industrial waterfront as part of my final graduate thesis.

As we said before, in a previous post, good stuff.

Comments

[pam]

I think you need to be heading a Fortune 500 company. You may already, and I just don't know about it, of course. ;)

You've managed to make salt piles, research into same and the waterfront all riveting. I had to read both this post and the earlier one twice, I was so engaged. And that's just not me.

:)

[the all seeing eye]

Dan Adams is employed by the Eastern Salt in Chelsea