Anderson Memorial Bridge (commonly but incorrectly called Larz Anderson Bridge) connects

Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most pa ...

, a neighborhood of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. The bridge stands on the site of the Great Bridge built in 1662, the first structure to span the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...

. It brings Boston traffic (from North Harvard Street) into Harvard Square (via JFK Street) and was finished in 1915.Bridges of Cambridge
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Name

Often assumed to be named after

Larz Anderson Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later '' chargé d'affai ...

, the bridge was actually built by him as a memorial to his father,

Nicholas Longworth Anderson Nicholas Longworth Anderson (April 22, 1838 – September 18, 1892) was a United States Army officer who served in the American Civil War as Colonel of the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After the Civil War, he was nominated and confirmed for appoin ...

. To do so, Anderson was helped by the huge family fortune of his wife,

Isabel Weld Perkins Isabel Anderson (March 29, 1876 – November 3, 1948), , was a Boston heiress, author, and society hostess who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums. Life Early life Born at 284 Marlborough Street in Boston's B ...

. According to the Metropolitan Park Commission of 1913:

Construction

The bridge was designed by the architectural firm of Wheelwright, Haven and Hoyt and completed under the direction of John R. Rablin, chief engineer for the Metropolitan District Commission.

Rehabilitation

From 2012 to 2016

MassDOT The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1, 2009, by the 186th Session of t ...

rehabilitated the Anderson Memorial Bridge at a cost of $25million.. The project repaired the arches and replaced the parapets, sidewalks, lighting, and the bridge deck. The bridge now has three lanes of traffic (two northbound and one southbound) and one bicycle lane.

Characteristics

Anderson Memorial Bridge is constructed of reinforced

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

accented by

red brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

. The bridge's spandrel walls and panels are fashioned to give the illusion of rough-hewn

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

. It has a

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover— George I, George II, Ge ...

design with neoclassical influences that visually connect it to the other bridges that span the Charles as well as the nearby buildings of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. Architectural author

Douglas Shand-Tucci Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

writes: The bridge stands next to the

Weld Boathouse Weld Boathouse is a Harvard-owned building on the bank of the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is named after George Walker Weld, who bequeathed the funds for its construction. History Weld Boathouse is the second of two boathou ...

and was designed with "a high enough arch to admit the passage of all sorts of pleasure craft." It may be noted that both the bridge and the boathouse (built in 1906) were funded by heirs to the fortune of 19th century magnate

William Fletcher Weld William Fletcher Weld (April 15, 1800 – December 12, 1881) was an American shipping magnate during the Golden Age of Sail and a member of the prominent Weld family. He later invested in railroads and real estate. Weld multiplied his family's f ...

In literature

Anderson Memorial Bridge is the site of

Quentin Compson Quentin Compson is a fictional character created by William Faulkner. He is an intelligent, neurotic, and introspective son of the Compson family. He is featured in the classic novels ''The Sound and the Fury'' and ''Absalom, Absalom!'' as well as ...

's suicide in William Faulkner's classic novel ''

The Sound and the Fury ''The Sound and the Fury'' is a novel by the American author William Faulkner. It employs several narrative styles, including stream of consciousness. Published in 1929, ''The Sound and the Fury'' was Faulkner's fourth novel, and was not immedi ...

.'' This is commemorated by a small brass plaque, the size of one brick, that is located on the brick wall of the Eastern (Weld Boathouse) side of the bridge, just north of the middle of the bridge span, about eighteen inches from the ground in a small alcove. It reads: "QUENTIN COMPSON Drowned in the odour of honeysuckle. 1891-1910"

References

{{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Anderson Memorial Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream =

Eliot Bridge The Eliot Bridge is a bridge over the Charles River between Cambridge, Massachusetts and Allston, Boston, Massachusetts. It connects Soldiers Field Road in Allston with Gerry's Landing Road, Memorial Drive, Greenough Boulevard, and the Fresh Po ...