John W. Weeks Bridge

John W. Weeks Bridge
The Weeks Bridge in March 2006
Coordinates	42°22′07″N 71°07′05″W / 42.36853°N 71.11807°W / 42.36853; -71.11807Coordinates: 42°22′07″N 71°07′05″W / 42.36853°N 71.11807°W / 42.36853; -71.11807
Carries	pedestrians
Crosses	Charles River
Locale	Boston, Massachusetts to Cambridge, Massachusetts
Characteristics
Design	arch bridge[1]
Material	concrete
History
Designer	Andrew Canzanelli[2]
Opened	1927

The John W. Weeks Bridge, usually called the Weeks Footbridge (or simply Weeks Bridge), is a pedestrian bridge over the Charles River connecting Cambridge, Massachusetts with the Allston neighborhood of Boston. John W. Weeks was a longtime U.S. Representative, and later Senator, from Massachusetts, as well as Secretary of War in the Harding and Coolidge administrations.

Weeks Bridge was opened in 1927 to carry pedestrian traffic between the Harvard Business School's newly built Allston campus and the Business School's former home, Harvard's traditional campus in Cambridge. Its concrete underbelly conceals tentacles of the University's steam, electrical, and communications networks.^[3]

The bridge is a popular vantage point from which to enjoy the Head of the Charles Regatta. An abrupt bend in the river prompts most boats to crowd through the bridge's center span, and collisions have occurred when coxswains cannot make themselves heard above the cheering of the crowd.^[4]

In recent years it has become a tradition among Harvard students (mostly freshmen) to jump from the center of the bridge into the Charles river.

A panorama view of the footbridge. The Eliot House cupola can be seen in the background.

References