The Boston Globe Editorial Board published this editorial on 11/18/99.


A BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL

Hope for Northern Avenue Bridge

As Fort Point Channel loses its industrial character, the old Northern Avenue Bridge becomes more important as a historical artifact. Mayor Menino was wrong to veto the designation of the bridge as a landmark last week. The Massachusetts Historical Commission needs to save it from demolition.

The mayor overturned a unanimous vote by the city's Landmarks Commission in favor of the bridge. Menino's rationale was that ''landmark designation ... would only force upon the city an unfunded mandate and limit the city's flexibility to address long-term transportation needs, including federal requirements of the US Coast Guard to keep the Fort Point Channel open to navigation.''

Menino, justly proud of his record as a preservationist, did not use such lame excuses to prevent the destruction of other similarly important structures. As for the navigation argument, the Flynn administration was well aware of the need to keep the channel open when it agreed to save the old bridge in 1989 as a condition for receiving federal aid for the new span a few yards up the channel.

And two solid plans were presented to the Boston Redevelopment Authority - by the Beal Cos. and Architectural Heritage Inc. - that would have saved the old bridge, opened it to navigation, and allowed space for shops or offices. Instead, the BRA selected Forest City Enterprises and told it to downsize a grandiose plan for totally new construction.

The mayor's veto is not the final word. The state Historical Commission, agent for the federal government under a 1966 law, can instruct the city to save the bridge or risk losing federal highway aid. Preservationists need to consider whether legal action is warranted.

In the new waterfront district, the bridge provides a human-scale walkway for people looking to avoid the congestion and truck traffic on the new bridge. The steel girders of the old bridge are reminders of the early 20th century, when trains, trucks, and horse-drawn wagons hauled the goods of the world to inland New England. If the Northern Avenue Bridge goes, the waterfront loses part of its history and much of its soul.

This story ran on page A26 of the Boston Globe on 11/18/99.

©Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.



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