Northern Avenue Swing Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts, USA
par Tom Sadowski
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Photo panoramique par
Tom Sadowski
Pris 19:57, 27/03/2011
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Northern Avenue Swing Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts, USAThe World > North America > USA > Boston |
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Boston’s Northern Avenue Swing Bridge was built in 1908 over the Fort Point Channel to facilitate the movement of cargo, trains, vehicles and pedestrians between downtown Boston and South Boston’s busy port area. There are presently only three surviving swing bridges in the Boston area from that time period.
The center swing span is 283 feet in length and 80 feet wide. This span pivots on a 56 steel wheels traveling around a 40 foot diameter track mounted on a granite island in the middle of the channel. It is the only swing bridge that was designed to operate with a compressed air powered system to rotate the center span. Apparently the center span is still able to rotate but the compressed air system has been replaced with an electric one.
There has been extensive debate as to whether to save the bridge or tear it down. In 1995, congress approved a $3 million grant to renovate the historic bridge. Half of the bridge tender’s house was demolished in 1998. (The remaining portion can be seen to the north of the bridge in mid-channel.) The bridge is presently closed to vehicular traffic but is used extensively by pedestrians as work and debate continue.
Note: story presented above is from various Internet sources. Facts have not been checked.
See this website for more technical bridge details and photos:
http://www.historicbridges.org/massachusetts/northern/
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The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.
The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.
The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.
The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.
The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seatle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer.
Text by Steve Smith.
