The Mill Creek Monster
The Mill Creek Monster was a floating, moving sculpture placed in Mill Creek in Revere, Massachusetts. It was powered by the wind and current and became a well known curiosity for thousands of passers-by
Impetus/Inspiration
The idea for a floating sculpture came from the picturesque view of the creek itself - it struck me as the mysterious setting for sea monster sightings I read about as a kid. I drew inspiration from real-life accounts of the Gloucester Sea Serpent, Loch Ness Monster, Lake Champlain Monster and a Hollywood depiction of a majestic figurehead in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Basic components
I knew roughly how I would make it swim, but had to figure out how to accomplish this with the little resources I had on hand. Without any real funds for the project, I began to sketch out the basic framework of the Monster utilizing plywood, 2x4’s, pine scraps, and deck screws. I did spend a little on some wheel casters.
Raw materials/improvisation
I did have the most important piece needed to place a scultpture in the middle of the creek - a rowboat. I modeled the main body after a weathervane, as a plywood silhouette that would turn into the wind. I mapped out the monster’s head after the Monty Python figurehead and cut out the outline with a skilsaw and jigsaw, probably breaking every safety rule as I worked. Each silhouette section was mounted on a triangular platform that provided bouyancy needed without any additional floatation devices.
Serpentine Motion Mechanics
In order for the Monster to move in a serpentine slithering motion with the wind and current, I designed a linking system similar to railway cars - each piece was connected to the next with a 2x4 fixed on one side and attached on the other by a wheel caster. When the wind/current turned the head section in a certain direction, the following hump section would turn as railcars do when they turn on a curve. The second hump and finally the tail would follow this same motion. The resulting would be a slithering, serpentine motion that from a distance gave the illusion that the Monster was indeed swimming out in the creek.
Anti-Flipping Countermeasure
Because of the triangular platforms it floated upon, it would be susceptible to flipping. To counter this, I simply fashioned rectangular pontoons out of 2x4s and attached it to the head’s platform. This slowed the serpentine motion somewhat, but it kept the Monster from turning over.
Anchoring
The anchor was just a mass of several cinderblocks tied together to an anchor line that would be attached to the front of the head section. The length of the anchor line allowed the Monster to swing in any direction freely no matter if high tide or low.
Positioning out the Monster
Once the Monster was built, it was time to anchor it in the creek. I kept the idea and construction mostly a secret, and decided to row it out to its spot in the middle of the night without informing anyone. I chose a spot in the middle of the creek, equidistant from Revere’s Rt 16, a large apartment complex across the water in Chelsea and the Rockport/Gloucester commuter rail tracks. The result was a viewpoint of at least 150 yards in every direction, so the image would be blurry and mysterious from all angles. A moving mass you can’t quite make out from afar is exactly how many of the monster sightings I read about as a kid unfolded.
A new local legend
Aside from my family and my neighbors in the Mill by the Creek, no one knew exactly what the monster was and who had built it. After two weeks, word eventually leaked, and I got a call from the local Revere Journal Newspaper. I was told by the reporter that the Monster had created quite a stir - the Police, Fire Department, City Hall and the newspaper had received dozens of calls from people reporting a “sea monster ,a baby seal, or a dead body” out in the dark of the creek. Art imitated life, as the reported sightings resembled those of all the mysterious monsters I read about. I told the reporter the real story, and the legend of the Mill Creek Monster was born.
