Alewife Brook Reservation

Alewife Brook Reservation
Massachusetts State Park
The Little River running through Alewife Brook Reservation
Named for: Alewife Brook
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Middlesex
Location Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge, Arlington, and Somerville, Massachusetts
 - coordinates
Area 120 acres (49 ha)
Biomes stream, wetland, park
Managed by Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Nearest city Cambridge, Massachusetts
Location of Alewife Brook Reservation in Massachusetts
Website : Alewife Brook Reservation

Alewife Brook Reservation is a Massachusetts state park located in Cambridge, Arlington, and Somerville. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Contents

Description

Alewife Brook Reservation is a 120-acre (0.49 km2) urban wild. A large proportion of the park is wetland, including the Little River, though there is also a wooded upland and meadow area. The reservation serves as a habitat for numerous indigenous and migratory birds. Common species include osprey, great blue heron and the woodcock, whose unusual mating ritual may sometimes be observed by visitors. Additionally, the park's ponds (Little Pond and Blair Pond) provide spring spawning grounds for anadromous herring, which migrate from the Atlantic Ocean via the Mystic River and Alewife Brook, a tributary which, in turn, drains the Little River.

The reservation is adjacent to the Alewife Station at the northern end of the MBTA Red Line in Cambridge. The Minuteman Bikeway terminates at the reservation and the Fitchburg Cutoff Path runs through it.

History

The Fitchburg Railroad main line in 1843 was the first rail link constructed through the swampy area in western Cambridge. It still serves as the MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line. The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad was branched off in 1846, with the curving connection still visible today, passing under Alewife Brook Parkway, along the west side of the Alewife Station parking garage, and proceeding northwest along the right-of-way of the present-day Minuteman Bikeway. The Watertown Branch Railroad was opened in 1851, branching from the Fitchburg and curving south behind what is now the Fresh Pond Shopping Center on the east side of Alewife Brook Parkway (then merely swampland). By 1852, several spurs were serving local freight customers, including ice houses on the south side of Spy Pond.[1]

In 1870, the Boston and Lowell Railroad bought the Lexington and constructed a connection from the Alewife area through what is now Davis Square to Somerville Junction. Most of this connection is now the Somerville Community Path and Alewife Linear Park, but at the west end passed through what is now Alewife Center, and met up with the Lexington after curving past the stub ends of Fairmont and Lafayette Streets. This new connection also had a southerly fork known as the Fitchburg Cutoff, passing just north of the present-day Alewife Station, crossing the now-removed Fitchburg-Lexington connection, and joining the Fitchburg mainline. A pre-reservation map from 1903[2][3] shows these railroads criss-crossing the reservation, as well as Alewife Brook proceeding farther south to drain Fresh Pond. The swampy area is largely undeveloped, compared to the surrounding neighborhoods.

The reservation was originally planned by landscape designer Charles Eliot in conjunction with the Alewife Brook Parkway, although it has been substantially altered since its initial set-aside. It forms part of Boston's Metropolitan Park District, established in 1893. The Alewife Brook was straightened and channelized next to the parkway between 1909 and 1912, with road construction completed by 1916. Landscaping was performed by the famed Olmsted Brothers firm.

Started in 2011, the City of Cambridge is constructing a 3.4-acre storm water management wetland in the reservation, just west of Alewife Station. The wetland will store and gradually release collected storm water runoff from nearby parts of Cambridge, including the Huron and Concord Avenue areas. A basin and native plantings will slow the flow of runoff and remove pollutants and nutrients before they enter the Little River. When completed in the spring of 2013, the area will include an amphitheater, interpretive signage, overlooks and boardwalks, and will link the bike paths on either side. Habitats, ranging from deep marsh to riparian forest, will be created.[4]

Recreational opportunities

Bike path

A bike path project for the Reservation has received $4.5M from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The "Minuteman Bike Path connector" will link the Mystic River bike path to the Minuteman Bikeway and Alewife Station.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ See File:Middlesex Canal (Massachusetts) map, 1852.jpg
  2. ^ http://www.friendsofalewifereservation.org/1903_alewife_map.htm
  3. ^ http://docs.unh.edu/MA/bstn03nw.jpg
  4. ^ http://www.cambridgema.gov/citynewsandpublications/news/2011/12/majorprogressinalewifereservationstormwaterwetlandconstruction.aspx
  5. ^ "Project Summary:ARLINGTON- CAMBRIDGE- SOMERVILLE- ALEWIFE GREENWAY CORRIDOR RESTORATION". http://www.recovery.gov/Transparency/RecipientReportedData/Pages/RecipientProjectSummary508.aspx?AwardIDSUR=90890&AwardType=Grants. Retrieved 2010-09-05. 

External links

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