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Friday, November 7, 2014

Quincy Quarries Reservation, West Quincy, Massachusetts, USA

Normally, I am not fond of random graffiti but sometimes, I can see it as purposeful and vibrant street art. These images are from the Quincy Quarries Reservation.  Much of the dirt used to fill the formerly water-filled quarry came from the "Big Dig" in Boston - a win-win solution - the "Big Dig" got rid of excavated dirt and filling in the quarry ended the dangerous and deadly practice of kids diving/jumping from the rocks into the water.

"It was here in West Quincy that America's large scale granite quarrying industry was born in 1825 when, after an exhaustive search throughout New England, Solomon Willard selected the area as the source of stone for the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. With his development of the revolutionary construction techniques that made hard Quincy granite a practical building stone, Willard earned the title "Father of the Granite Industry". Quincy became known nationwide as "The Granite City." The last active quarry closed in 1963; in 1985, the then Metropolitan District Commission purchased 22 acres including Granite Railway Quarry. Trail connections to the Blue Hills Reservation are protected by recent parkland purchases." Source: Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Well, maybe sometimes that is true............


It is a popular place for rock climbing. 

At the highest point, the Boston skyline, about eight miles away, is visible on the horizon.

Panorama - click on image to view in full width.  And yes, I climbed to the top - but not using the ropes.

This small pond (not a quarry) near the northeast boundary of the Blue Hills Reservation is less than a mile from the Quincy Quarries Reservation property. In a head to head contest, I think nature's beauty and art wins. 

Panorama - click on image to view in full width.


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