Echo Bridge
Echo Bridge
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File:Echo Bridge - Newton, MA - DSC09470.jpg | |
Echo Bridge
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Location | Spans the Charles River between Needham and Newton, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Built | 1876 |
Architect | Phelps,George W. |
Architectural style | No Style Listed |
Part of | Sudbury Aqueduct Linear District (#89002293) Newton Upper Falls Historic District (#86001750) |
NRHP Reference # | 80000638 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 9, 1980 |
Designated CP | January 18, 19990 September 4, 1986 |
Echo Bridge is a historic masonry bridge spanning the Charles River between Needham to Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts, and Ellis Street in Newton. The bridge carries the Sudbury Aqueduct and foot traffic, and is located in the Hemlock Gorge Reservation. At the time of its construction in 1875-77 it was the second longest masonry arch in the country. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and was named an American Water Landmark in 1981.
Description
The bridge crosses over Hemlock Gorge where the Charles River passes over the fall line in Newton Upper Falls. There are still old mill buildings in view from the bridge, but most of the gorge remains naturally overgrown with hemlocks. The bridge has two viewing locations, the pedestrian walk on top of the bridge and a platform underneath where visitors can hear the eponymous echoes. Views include white water, a waterfall and the hemlock-lined gorge. The 23-acre (93,000 m2) Hemlock Gorge Reservation including the gorge is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The bridge is located just off Route 9 where it crosses Route 128. Despite being in the midst of a tangle of highways (a major interchange of the Massachusetts Turnpike is also nearby), the river itself is tree-lined and natural.
The bridge is 500 feet (150 m) long, and consists of a series of seven arches. The longest of these, that crosses the Charles, has a span of 137 feet (42 m), and is a segmented arch with a radius of 69 feet (21 m) and a crown of 51 feet (16 m). Five of the arches span 37 feet (11 m), while that spanning Ellis Street is 28 feet (8.5 m). At its crown the bridge is approximately 70 feet (21 m) above the river. The bridge's foundations are made of granite resting on bedrock.[2]
Echo Bridge underwent extensive renovations in 2006 and was closed to the public for much of the year; it has been reopened.
The aqueduct, which has been serving only as an emergency backup for some years, was reactivated during a state of emergency declared on May 1, 2010. The line was used to carry clean water to parts of 38 communities affected by a catastrophic failure elsewhere in the MWRA system.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Newton, Massachusetts
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
References
External links
- The Friends of Hemlock Gorge
- Hemlock Gorge Reservation
- The science behind the arch's echo
- Echo Bridge at StructuraeLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Echo Bridge
- Historic district contributing properties
- Pages with broken file links
- National Register of Historic Places in Newton, Massachusetts
- National Register of Historic Places in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- National Register of Historic Places in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
- Bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
- Bridges completed in 1877
- Aqueducts in Massachusetts
- Charles River
- Buildings and structures in Newton, Massachusetts
- Needham, Massachusetts
- Bridges in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
- Bridges in Norfolk County, Massachusetts