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Echo Bridge

Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and Norfolk County, Massachusetts

Photos 

General View Looking North Showing 130-Foot Span Of Echo Bridge Over The Charles River

Photo taken for the Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

BH Photo #289304

Map 

Street View 

Description 

Echo Bridge is the largest of the visible structures on the 18.8 mile Sudbury River Aqueduct connecting the Sudbury River in Framingham with Boston's Chestnut Hill Reservoir. Completed in 1878, the aqueduct was Boston's second major water supply, supplementing the Cochituate Aqueduct of 1848. Chief Engineer in charge of construction was Alphonse Fteley. The 475-foot long bridge consists of seven arches: five have 37-foot spans; that over Ellis St. is 28 feet long. The river span has a length of 130 feet, for many years the second largest masonry arch span in the U.S. (following that of the 220-foot Cabin John Aqueduct in Washington, D.C.), and the eleventh in the world. A footbridge on the crown covers the conduit which is inside a brick and concrete framework. The bridge takes its name from the ability of the central arch to echo loudly voices and other sounds beneath it. The bridge is situated in Hemlock Gorge, a rugged wooden setting, now an MDC reservation.

-- Historic American Engineering Record

Facts 

Overview
Stone arch bridge over Charles River on Sudbury Aqueduct
Location
Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Status
Open to pedestrians only
History
Built 1878
Builders
- Alphonse Fteley (Chief Engineer)
- George W. Phelps (Architect)
Design
Stone arch
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 130.0 ft.
Total length: 475.0 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on April 9, 1980
Approximate latitude, longitude
+42.31482, -71.22693   (decimal degrees)
42°18'53" N, 71°13'37" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
19/316478/4687133 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Newton
Inventory numbers
NRHP 80000638 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 61956 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (7,848)
Alphonse Fteley (1)
Aqueduct/Flume/Irrigation Canal (86)
Arch (12,403)
Built 1878 (93)
Built during 1870s (1,160)
Charles River (53)
Deck arch (11,639)
George W. Phelps (2)
HAER documented (1,108)
 Have street view (27,720)
Massachusetts (1,158)
Middlesex County, Massachusetts (248)
NR-listed (2,997)
Newton, Massachusetts (19)
Norfolk County, Massachusetts (63)
Open to pedestrians (4,396)
Span length 125-175 feet (4,303)
Stone arch (3,170)
Total length 250-500 feet (5,354)

Update Log 

  • April 8, 2020: New photo from Tony Dillon
  • October 25, 2019: New photo from Dave King
  • September 6, 2015: Photo imported by Dave King
  • August 11, 2014: New Street View added by Ian Martin
  • July 25, 2014: Added by Ian Martin

Sources 

  • Ian Martin
  • HAER MA-39 - Sudbury River Aqueduct, Echo Bridge, Spanning Charles River at Upper Newton Falls, Newton, Middlesex County, MA
  • Dave King - DKinghawkfan [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com

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