Charles River & Boston Harbor Cruise
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow courted Frances Appleton following the death of his first wife. He made many trips from his home in Cambridge to the Appleton home on Beacon Hill crossing the West Boston Bridge. He used the bridge as a metaphor to contrast the melancholy of his widowerhood with his newfound peace in his 1845 poem, The Bridge.
In the poem, he notes the wooden piers, the smell of the ocean, and the bright furnace at Brighton reflecting off the river. The old wood-pile bridge was replaced in 1906 and the ocean tides no longer enter the Charles. In 1927, this new bridge to Cambridge was named for Longfellow.
For the 150th anniversary of another famous Longfellow poem, Sidewalk Sam painted The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere across the top.
Enjoy a relaxing cruise on Boston's first seaworthy exploration of the buildings, parks, and bridges along the Charles River.
Take in the scenery and explore the Charles River and its surround with Boston By Foot docents in partnership with the Boston Society of Architects whose knowledge of Boston's history and architecture make this cruise of Boston like no other.
Cruise under magnificent bridges aboard a Charles River Boat Company vessel and experience the architecture in Boston from a unique perspective.
Christian Menn 1998-2003
The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge is a hybrid steel concrete asymmetric cable-stayed bridge serving the I-93 river crossing. It is the first hybrid cable-stayed bridge in the country and at 183' wide is currently the widest such bridge in the world.
This bridge was designed not only to be elegant but also to be exceptionally strong. It can withstand winds in excess of 400 miles per house and hold up to a 7.9 magnitude earthquake. The largest recorded earthquake in Massachusetts occurred November 18, 1755 at about a 6.0.
