Seven to Save: Gasholder in Concord

The Concord Gasholder Building is a striking visual for travelers along Interstate 93 in our state capital. Its brick walls, round form, and cupola are as distinctive a part of the skyline as the gold dome of our Capitol Building. New info on the Gasholder here.

A relic of the gas-lighting age, this is believed to be the only enclosed gasholder in the United States to survive with its floating iron tank intact. Unused since 1952, it survived while nearly all of the surrounding structures of the Concord Gas Light Company fell to the wrecking ball. Then in 2012, a falling tree badly damaged the roof. Temporary repairs were made, but deterioration of the building continued, and owner Liberty Utilities has been grappling with hard choices about repairing and maintaining an obsolete facility.

The building’s owner, Liberty Utilities, is planning on securing a demolition permit for the c. 1888 structure by the end of the year, and the Preservation Alliance is working with the utility and the City of Concord to find a redevelopment solution that saves this rare survivor and benefits the City, region and nation. In a rare move, the Seven to Save selection committee put forward this property that was first listed in 2013 because of its national significance, increased threats to its continued existence, and the revived preservation effort that is underway this year in the face of its proposed demolition.

More on current preservation efforts here.