East Point Indicator Loop Receiving Station, Nahant, MA; US Navy

This diagram shows the arrangement of the cables in the loop ("3-legged") and the tail cable connecting them to the shore station. The Pequot crew laid the four loop cables at Boston in the correct position and joined it to the tail cable from East Point or Strawberry Point using waterproof splices and junction boxes.

Naval hydrographers were despatched to find a suitable location for the planned loops. The loops had to cross the shipping channels but could not be in water too deep as the sensitivity would be impaired. The Navy chose Lodge's Beach beside Bennett's Head at East Point for positioning the tail cables ashore. Note: Lodge's Beach was named after Henry Cabot Lodge (1850 – 1924) who owned a summer house nearby, and where Henry Cabot Lodge Jnr was born. It is commonly known as Dive Beach by the scientists at the Northeastern University Marine Science Centre on Nahant Road near to the beach. The cableship Pequot laid all the cables and buried the two tail cables in a shallow trench all around the bluff area to the loop hut. The loop cables were laid in the traditional 3-legged pattern with leg spacing of about 200 yards. In the diagram below the loops are shown as a solid yellow line. However, they are really three parallel lengths of cable but it is too difficult to show at this scale. Loops 3 and 4, known respectively as Loop C ("Charlie" or "Cast") and Loop D ("Dog"). Loop 3 was 3 miles long with a 4.5 mile tail; Loop 4 was 4.5 mile loop but a short (500 yard) tail as it was close to shore. The cable was supplied by the Simplex Wire & Cable Co., Portsmouth. During World War II Simplex produced over 3000 miles of cable for the US Army Signals Corps communications as well as cable for harbor and coastal defence work.

1. Sono-radio-buoy	9. Transmitter control box	21, 22. Resistance balance boxes
2. Fuse and switch box	11. Board	23. Telescope
3, 10, 15, 24. Chairs	12. Heater	25. Cable entrance
4. Main switch	14. Radio transmitter	26. Binocular shelf
5, 13. Tables	16. Water cooler	27. Fire extinguisher
6. Communications system	17. Arms rack	28. Light switch
7. Sono-radio-buoy receiver	18. Cabinet	29. Inlet aperture
8. Radio receiver	19, 20. Fluxmeters (recorders below)	30. Flue and chimney stack

June 2000 - The naval operations building at East Point - taken from the path at the rear. The hut faces east. East Point more or less consists of angular rock ledge 10-15 feet above mean high water, with narrow, and rarely, wider 'crevices'. Above this is another 10-ish foot rise, variously angled, variously grassy/brushy. The 'top' is relatively level/grassy, the top is 'man made' as part of the defense installations.

June 2000 - A view of the southern side.


A view from the northeastern side. On a bench under the front window were the resistance balance boxes used to ensure the resistance of both halves of each loop was the same. Underneath them were the fluxmeters (galvanometer/amplifier).	Our intrepid photographer Dave Pierson - at East Point. Dave is a professional pyrotechnician.


2008 - the southern side	2008 - Leo Wanker has left his mark


2008 - the northeastern side. In the middle of the front window was the telescope. The window facing us had the arms rack underneath. Behind the window on the side was the water cooler and radio transmitter. The small hole to the far right was for the flue and chimney stack.	2008 - unsheathed cables, just to the north. Most likely 'dedicated ground', for signal integrity, and or lightning protection.


Lodge's Beach with Bennett's Head in the centre of the photo. To the left there is a trail that leads more or less out Bennett's Head, thence to level patch above Lodge's Beach. This scene looks westish across the beach.	If you descend on to Lodge's Beach at the Eastern End and wander about you'll see a couple of oddities, notably, the concrete lump shown above; a bit under a meter, longest. Might be a cap over/embedding tail cables.


This is indicator loop tail cable and was found just to the SE on the track above Lodge's Beach. It consists of three insulated cables inside the usual sort of iron armour.	Trek along the top ledge to the Admin/power hut. One puzzling observation is that there is no sign on the rocks, etc, of cables connecting the two. The photo above shows what appears to be a power transformer embedded in and filled with gravel, insulator at 'top'. (Picture is 'straight down'). Remnants of power feed from rest of fortification.


The three rubber-insulated conductors of the loop tail cable are clearly visible in the rusted shroud of steel armor wire.	The coin helps envisage the size of the loop tail cable. It is a US 'quarter' (25 c) which has a diameter of 1" or 25 mm.

On along the ledge top above Lodge's Beach, there is one crevice with some remnants of gun positions tipped in, and in the next is the two brown ropy-looking armored cables (loop tails) about 12" apart, hanging in mid air as erosion has removed the soil. From a bit past here, the ledge top trail becomes eroded but you can scramble to the top, where public paved trail is. The cables are JUST barely visible from top, but out of line of sight.

If you walk along the top, public area to Loop Hut access you will see the scene above which shows the loop cable leading to 'access port' on top of ledge. The picture shows rock texture, is about 7' up, near vertical. Right hand area of 'access port' has broken end of 'another' cable, matching the two at the erosion site. There are 4 access holes cast into the hut wall.

Later photos still...

On Thursday 6th October 2011 in the early afternoon, Jerry Butler and colleague Carole McCauley from the Northeastern University - Nahant Marine Science Centre visited the Naval Operations Building to see if the building had deteriorated any further. Of prime concern to Jerry was the concrete block used for the fluxmeters and the condition of the station due to some vandalism and much sea abrasion and element erosion. The 13 photos below were taken by Carole McCauley.

Our intrepid investigator - Jerry Butler - revisits the Operations Building. Flash car Jerry!


The last military use of the structure was in the late 1950s and up to August of 1961 when Army personnel from the Nike-Ajax launcher area utilised the little building to sneak a cigarette break.	The holes for the ingress and egress of the loop and power cables are clearly visible in the base.


What's with the blue and aqua stripes? What sort of vandal would do that?	Leo's tag is fading fast.


Lens flare...pure art!	The metal window frame has badly deteriorated.


The fluxmeter pillar (note the huge rock beside it). You would wonder how such a big rock would get inside the building. It was due to extreme wave and storm action.	Notice the lip that runs around the lower segment underlying the door aperture, etc. That was for the flooring, which consisted of wooden beams placed across.


The presence of that big rock makes you think that there were many frightening days in the Operation Building during WW II because of waves and weather (not to mention U-Boats).	At each end of the fluxmeter pillar there are two bolts that were used to mount a wooden beam to install and secure the fluxmeters. The wooden beam disappeared many, many years ago.


Note the wooden battens mounted on the ceiling to carry electrical wires. Rusting of the reinforcing mesh has cause the concrete to spall.	It would seem that corrosion is greatest at the weld points where the galvanising is less effective.


The rocks of East Point are mostly the layered sedimentary rocks limestone and shale. Some younger igneous rock (gabbro) is also present. The igneous intrusion of the gabbro has recrystallised the shale and limestone to form white sugar marble, tough hornfels, bubbles and knots of dark green chlorite and pistachio-green epidote.	At the same time, water, heated by the magma, steamed the stone, resulting in the formation of red-brown rust, green serpentine, epidote, and chlorite, and white calcite and quartz. Erosion at East Point has exposed all of these on the seaward cliffs. You can see the waves at the bottom of the cliff.

Looking out of the Administration & Power Hut window over the war-time indicator loop field. The shipping channel into Boston is obvious.

The diagram above is taken from Gerry Butler's "Military Annals of Nahant, Massachusetts" 1996.

1. Battery	9. Tool and equipment storage	18, 22, 29. Chair
2. Petrol (gasoline) engine	10. Oil furnace	19. Flue and chimney
3. Alternator	11, 13, 25, 30. Shelving	20 Desk
4. Radiator	12. Radiator (heater)	21, 28. Table & typewriter
5. Louvered window	14. Coat rack	23. Bunk curtain
6. Main junction box	15. Fire extinguisher	24. Bunk
7. Main switch box	16. Arms rack	26. Electric range
8. Main fuse box	17. File and safe	27. Electric refrigerator

During WWII a cartoon was mounted outside the Administration and Power Building at Nahant on the entrance walkway rails. It was of Popeye with a telescope and megaphone (to represent a listening device) as not to divulge the secret systems in place. Redrawn by Gerry Butler.

The Naval Administration and Power Building photographed in December 2008 by Dave Pierson.


The power room end of the building (closest to us) is on the southern side and is 12' wide (from L to R in the photo) and 7'8" deep. There were just the one window, a door and a concrete floor in this end.	The building measure 22' long by 14' wide and was 9'7" high. The upturned concrete slab is the remains of the 'head' - a toilet constructed outside the main building.


The rear of the building. Concrete steps, platforms and (originally) steel safety rails led from the bluff to a walkway that completely enclosed the station.	Looking north-east out to see over the loop field from the path at the top of the bluff.


Looking south-east over the loop field at a lobster fishing boat.	The administration room is at the northern end. It is 12' square with two windows and a wooden floor.


The power room. Ceiling battens show where the ply lining was attached. Note the concrete slab that was once the foundation for the latrine.	The front wall of the building. The spalling of the concrete from the salt water spray is obvious.


The rear wall of the building. Note that the thin internal concrete wall has been demolished.	The hut back in June 2000. Graffiti is periodically removed.

Further decay by August 2011
(photo supplied by Jerry Butler)