Echo Bridge

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Echo Bridge

| nrhp_type =

| image = Echo Bridge - Newton, MA - DSC09470.jpg

| caption = Echo Bridge

| location = Spans the Charles River between Needham and Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.

| coordinates = {{coord|42|18|53.42|N|71|13|36.84|W|display=inline,title}}

| area =

| built = 1876

| architect = George W. Phelps

| architecture =

| added = April 9, 1980

| refnum = 80000638 {{NRISref|2007a}}

| nrhp_type2 = cp

| nocat = yes

| designated_nrhp_type2 = January 18, 1990
September 4, 1986

| partof = Sudbury Aqueduct Linear District (#89002293)
Newton Upper Falls Historic District (#86001750)

}}

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 1876–1877, it was the second longest masonry arch in the country.

The bridge 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 {{convert|23|acre|m2|adj=on}} 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, the river itself is tree-lined and natural.

The bridge is {{convert|500|ft|m}} long, and consists of a series of seven arches. The longest of these, that crosses the Charles, has a span of {{convert|137|ft|m}}, and is a segmented arch with a radius of {{convert|69|ft|m}} and a crown of {{convert|51|ft|m}}. Five of the arches span {{convert|37|ft|m}}, while that spanning Ellis Street is {{convert|28|ft|m}}. At its crown the bridge is approximately {{convert|70|ft|m}} above the river. The bridge's foundations are made of solid granite resting on bedrock.{{cite web|url=https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=nwt.904|title=NRHP nomination for Echo Bridge|publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|access-date=2014-04-10}}

In 1889, the cover of Moses King's King's Handbook of Newton Massachussetts by Moses Forster Sweetser featured a wood cut engraving of the bridge on the cover as well as on the inside title page and a page which describes the bridge. It reads:

{{block quote|The crowning attraction of the village is the famous Echo Bridge, a marvellous stone aqueduct on which the Sudbury-River water is carried across the Charles River, high above the stream, on its way to the thirsty throats of Boston. There is a path leading down from Ellis Street, near the Baptist Church, alongside the aqueduct, with an enrailed platform just under the arch large enough to accommodate a dozen persons.{{cite book |last1=Sweetser |first1=Moses Foster |last2=King |first2=Moses |title=King's handbook of Newton, Massachusetts |date=1889 |publisher=Moses King Corporation |location=Boston |url=https://archive.org/stream/kingshandbookne00corpgoog/kingshandbookne00corpgoog_djvu.txt}}}}

The next description is of the echo that can be made from the enrailed platform below the bridge.

{{blockquote|The favourite word to hurl at the arch is July, and the serious charge of lie-, lie-, lie, is thrown back as vigorously and almost as frequently as if the bridge were a political newspaper in campaign time. The human voice on a still day, is rapidly re-echoed 18 times from beneath this arch, and a pistol-shot gives 25 repititions.}}

The bridge was closed to the public for much of 2006 to permit repairs of the railings, which were decaying and which do not meet modern safety codes.{{cite web |title=Echo Bridge Railings Reconstruction |url=http://www.echobridgerailings.com/ |access-date=2 July 2021}} Because of the cost of rebuilding the historic railings, chain link fencing was installed on each side, allowing the bridge to be reopened. This fencing was later replaced by a set of modern railings inside the historic railings. Efforts are underway to secure funding to reconstruct the historic railings.{{cite web |last1=Fisher |first1=Lee |title=Call-to-Action: Support Echo Bridge Railing Reconstruction Today |url=https://newtonconservators.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/17_04_echo_bridge.pdf |website=Newton Conservators |access-date=2 July 2021}}

File:Echo Bridge P1040028.jpg|Walkers on the bridge before it was closed for railing repairs in 2006

File:Echo Bridge P1040091.jpg|The bridge closed for repairs

File:Echo Bridge P1020026.jpg|The bridge reopened with temporary protective fencing

File:Echo Bridge IMG 20180916 103833060.jpg|Protective railings next to the historic railings

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.

Photo gallery

File:Echo Bridge Aerial Photo.jpg|Aerial view of the bridge and Hemlock Gorge

File:Echo Bridge IMG 6465.jpg|Winter view from upstream

File:Echo Bridge P1040046.jpg|Spring view from downstream

File:Newton upper falls.jpg|The Silk Mill Dam, viewed from Echo Bridge

File:Echo Bridge P1000434.jpg|The bridge from the "echo platform" on the Newton side

References

External links

[http://www.hemlockgorge.org/ The Friends of Hemlock Gorge]
[https://newtonconservators.org/property/hemlock-gorge/ Hemlock Gorge Reservation] Newton Conservators
[http://www.sonicwonders.org/echo-bridge-massachusetts/ The science behind the arch's echo]
{{Structurae|id=20001143|title=Echo Bridge}}
{{HAER |survey=MA-39 |id=ma1239 |title=Sudbury River Aqueduct, Echo Bridge, Spanning Charles River at Upper Newton Falls, Newton, Middlesex County, MA |photos=4 |data=1 |cap=1}}
{{gnis|type=retired|600848}}

{{Crossings navbox

|structure = Crossings

|place = Charles River

|bridge = Echo Bridge

|bridge signs =

|upstream = Silk Mill Dam

|upstream signs =

|downstream = Metropolitan Circular Dam

|downstream signs =

}}

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Newton, Massachusetts

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Cambridge, Massachusetts