Gloucester MA breakwater completed, giving the US a new naval port

Hi!

I'm quite familiar with Gloucester and Rockport in Massachusetts. One of Gloucester Harbor's more curious features is an incomplete breakwater built in the 1800's. Had it been completed, it would have made Gloucester a first-class port ideal for a military base:

"1885 is the same year they began work on the outer breakwater that was to provide a "Harbor of Refuge" large enough to contain the entire Atlantic Fleet. Some years later, Teddy Roosevelt's 'Great White Fleet' would indeed anchor there."

However, the project ran out of money and was never finished. The breakwater has since eroded away for the most part, leaving Gloucester a fishing town with an arts colony.

How would events have unfolded had the breakwater been completed and Gloucester promoted to a major naval base?
 
Well, we'd still have the confusingly named Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (which is in Maine, not Portsmouth, NH). It was 85 years old in 1885, and had a good reputation for shipbuilding. But considering how important Boston is, I'd guess that the government could maintain another Naval Base north of Cape Cod. My guess is that in the long run, Gloucester/Rockport still ends up being a terminal city on the MBTA Commuter Rail, and that will affect its post-WWII development the most, but its blue-collar history would be more complex.
 
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