The twin towers of the Zakim Bridge straddle I-93 in Boston like sleek headless giants. The Bridge is an impressive structure that compels interaction, spurring one to drive it and become part of its stately elegance for at least a few 45 mph(ish) moments. From beside the TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics basketball team, we had a great view of the bridge and its never ending streams of traffic last spring.
Its full and rather unwieldy name, the Leonard P Zakim-Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, belies its streamlined beauty. The cables that enable the bridge to withstand 400 mph winds and earthquakes of a 7.9 magnitude glow blue and white at night as do the towers that clearly resemble the nearby Bunker Hill memorial. Part of the Big Dig project that included the construction of underground highways and which opened up 300 acres of land, rejoining Boston to its harbor, the bridge is named for Lenny Zakim, a civil rights activist and for the ordinary citizen heroes who fought on Bunker Hill.
I had the fun of driving it on my way in to the Bunker Hill Monument and the Boston Navy Yard one morning last spring. Yeah, I kind of missed my exit, but it was worth it to drive through that network of elegant alabaster cables.
Updated from April 29, 2010.
I havern’t heard of the Zakim Bridge, but it sure looks impressive.
I’ve seen a lot of these new-style suspension bridges lately (most recently in Toledo, Ohio), and given that I have a “thing” for bridges…I really enjoyed this post!
It is amazing how sculpture has intertwined with the design of many of our structures making them modern, clean, and exciting.
Some changes are not always for the best, but in this case bridges of today are a thing of beauty.
Not taking anything from the older ones which also have a beauty and quaintness of their own.
Graham: I got better views from outside the car than when I was actually driving across it. It’s a striking structure.
Thanks Dominique! I have that same sort of interest in bridges. I always like to drive across them (but it’s best when I get to be a passenger and can forget about traffic)!
Donald: Well said. A bridge (or building) really can be a work of art. The challenge to blend form and function can result in remarkable creativity.
I love the suspended bridges, I think it’s one of the best architecture design today and we should make more of it because of the beauty they bring to their area.