Taunton Transit Oriented Development - Roger Williams University
Taunton Transit Oriented Development - Roger Williams University Taunton Transit Oriented Development - Roger Williams University
Taunton Transit Oriented Developmentpoint of the Great River" 7 . The town was incorporated under thename of Taunton and the river also took its name from that sameEnglish town in Somerset. The convergence of other smallerrivers and streams with the Taunton River would provide theearly settlers with ample sites for mills and forges that drew theirbog iron from the nearby swamps. The proliferation of ironworks during the 17 th and 18 th century would establish Tauntonas a center for metal-related industries and soon establish it asthe "Silver City" and the home of noted whitesmiths Reed &Barton.engines 9 . The Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Co. wasfounded adjacent to the Mason Machine works in 1846 and alsomade locomotives and cars until 1899. During the Civil War,production shifted to the manufacture of rifles, equipment andclothing to support the war effort. After William Mason's deaththe locomotive works declined and in the 1920's the cotton millsbegan to move south, initiating a slow decline of manufacturingin Taunton 10 . Changes in manufacturing and new investments inhighway infrastructure (routes 24 & 495) by-passed the core ofTaunton and its many older industrial sites. The end ofcommuter rail service to Boston in the 1950's signaled achallenging new era for the city. Taunton is currently home to agrowing number of high tech concerns. The long anticipatedreturn of commuter rail service to Taunton would provide amuch-needed boost to this trend and aid in recruitment of newbiotech concerns.Fig. 6 Mason Locomotive WorksSource: "The Fairlie Locomotive" - Abbott p81This early experience with metalworking would be put to gooduse with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution. Taunton soonbecame a center for the manufacture of products from shovels tostoves. William Mason arrived in 1835 to work for a firm thatmanufactured textile machinery and in 1842 Mason, who hadalready patented his most noteworthy invention of the "selfactingmule", took over the concern 8 . By 1845 he had turned itinto one of the largest plants for the manufacture of machinery inthe country. In 1852 he began making locomotives and by thetime of his death in 1883 he had manufactured some 7007 http://www.oldcolonyhistoricalsociety.org8 http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/d8045.htmFig. 7 Taunton, 18759 Ibid.10 Winter, Taunton Architecture9
Taunton Transit Oriented DevelopmentGATRA Site: Oak StreetThe map of 1850 also shows how intimately it was linked to thefabric of the city as an extension of Main Street and its uniquelinkage of the town Green and the Church Green. The decline ofmanufacturing and the destruction of the Machine Works in ahorrendous fire made the site a prime redevelopment site and inthe 1960's it was cleared. Ultimately the Station and LocomotiveCompany would be replaced by a struggling automobile orientedshopping mall that ignores its relationship to the Town Greenand to Main Street. The seldom-used freight line, which wasonce a vital connection for the city, now serves as an addedbarrier to the isolated bus terminal on Oak Street. While this siteis viewed primarily as a means of exploring the potential TransitOriented Development in relation to the bus terminal, thepotential (however remote) for linking bus and rail transit on thesame site remains a tantalizing prospect.Fig. 8 Taunton 1850Source: Old Colony Historical SocietyThe site of the current GATRA/Bloom Bus Terminal is a criticalintermodal link and a key strategic site for the city of Taunton.Westminster Street used to function as an extension of MainStreet linking the Taunton Green to a smaller green space andfountain in front of the Taunton Station. To the southWestminster widened to meet Church Street, which connected toMarket Street and the Providence Turnpike (Rt. 44). The site waslocation of the Mason Machine Works and the TauntonLocomotive Company. Trains along this line connected Tauntonto a vast the rail network that linked all of Southern NewEngland to New York and Boston - a network ultimatelycontrolled by the New York, New Haven and Hartford RailroadCo..Figure 9. Current condition with site area indicated10
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<strong>Taunton</strong> <strong>Transit</strong> <strong>Oriented</strong> <strong>Development</strong>GATRA Site: Oak StreetThe map of 1850 also shows how intimately it was linked to thefabric of the city as an extension of Main Street and its uniquelinkage of the town Green and the Church Green. The decline ofmanufacturing and the destruction of the Machine Works in ahorrendous fire made the site a prime redevelopment site and inthe 1960's it was cleared. Ultimately the Station and LocomotiveCompany would be replaced by a struggling automobile orientedshopping mall that ignores its relationship to the Town Greenand to Main Street. The seldom-used freight line, which wasonce a vital connection for the city, now serves as an addedbarrier to the isolated bus terminal on Oak Street. While this siteis viewed primarily as a means of exploring the potential <strong>Transit</strong><strong>Oriented</strong> <strong>Development</strong> in relation to the bus terminal, thepotential (however remote) for linking bus and rail transit on thesame site remains a tantalizing prospect.Fig. 8 <strong>Taunton</strong> 1850Source: Old Colony Historical SocietyThe site of the current GATRA/Bloom Bus Terminal is a criticalintermodal link and a key strategic site for the city of <strong>Taunton</strong>.Westminster Street used to function as an extension of MainStreet linking the <strong>Taunton</strong> Green to a smaller green space andfountain in front of the <strong>Taunton</strong> Station. To the southWestminster widened to meet Church Street, which connected toMarket Street and the Providence Turnpike (Rt. 44). The site waslocation of the Mason Machine Works and the <strong>Taunton</strong>Locomotive Company. Trains along this line connected <strong>Taunton</strong>to a vast the rail network that linked all of Southern NewEngland to New York and Boston - a network ultimatelycontrolled by the New York, New Haven and Hartford RailroadCo..Figure 9. Current condition with site area indicated10
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