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Circa 1908. "West Boston Bridge, Boston, Massachusetts." The "Salt-and-Pepper Bridge" over the Charles River. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.
A/K/A the Longfellow Bridge. Currently undergoing a major renovation, involving the disassembly of each of the salt-and-pepper shaker towers, stone-by-stone, all the way to the water line, to be cleaned and repaired off-site, and then re-assembled. And "MS" is correct: this photo is taken from the Boston side of the Charles River, in the approximate location of where the Mass. Eye & Ear Infirmary (part of Mass. General Hospital) now sits. Today, Storrow Drive runs (on fill, obviously) under the two spans of the Longfellow immediately to the right of the two shorter towers at this end of the Bridge. That quaint little house is long gone.
Actually I think the picture was taken from the Boston side looking over at Cambridge. So the marsh is the future location of MIT, and the houses are in Boston's Back Bay along what is now Storrow Drive.
Amazing to see. There is a big swampy clearing where Mass General and the park is now and a lot of buildings right against the Charles in Cambridge where Memorial Drive is now. Those would have had some great views.
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