Old Northern Avenue Bridge

The city of Boston is a pleasure to visit. It doesn’t feel as overwhelming as New York City. In fact, I think it is a very walkable city with numerous parks to pass through. Even the newer parts of the city such as the Seaport District was designed with livability in mind. Not everything is thrown away in favor of the new. There are numerous buildings which are kept as heritage buildings and Boston has several of them. However, one of the stranger structures which I have seen here is actually an old bridge.

I was walking along the Fort Point Channel when I saw what appears to be a steel frame of something. I initially thought it was some kind of sculpture but it was actually in the middle of the river. When I got a closer look I understood it to be an old bridge. This used to be the Northern Avenue Bridge. While, it used to serve vehicular traffic, it was eventually turned into a pedestrian only bridge. After that, it was discovered that there are structural defects which made the bridge unsafe even for pedestrians. It seems that it was supposed to be replaced but somehow plans were delayed and the remains of the bridge is still here.

As you can tell the bridge is quite old. It was built in the year 1908. The design is probably typical of bridges which were built in that time. The bridge appears to be one of those which rotate. The center of the bridge is rotated to make way for ships which are too tall to pass under it. Currently, the center span is rotated so no one can even cross the bridge even if they really wanted to. You can still see the signs which say not to enter the bridge if the lights are blinking, but of course, that is all meaningless now. I am conflicted on whether the bridge should be disposed of, because I think it is a unique piece of history in a very unique location.

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