Boston Water Works, Leavitt Pumping Engine, 2450 Beacon Street, Boston, Suffolk County, MA

Significance: The Leavitt triple expansion steam pumping engine is the oldest engine extant at the Boston Water Works Chestnut Hill Station. Designed by one of the country's leading mechanical engineers of the time, the engine is today a National Mechanical Engineering Landmark. / Designed by Erasmus Darwin Leavitt, Jr., this machine is an unusual triple-expansion, three-crank rocker engine, high-capacity unit which provided outstanding performance for the Boston Water Works Corporation. In 1894 it was installed in a high-service pumping facility on the south side of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir in Brighton. This engine was designated an Engineering Landmark in December of 1973 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Survey number: HAER MA-24-A
Building/structure dates: 1895 Initial Construction