{"nrhp_refnum":"86001852","name":"Needham Street Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Needham St. at Charles River","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.30646289600003,"lon":-71.21707231599999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-09-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-span stone-arch bridge carrying Needham Street over the Charles River at Newton Upper Falls, on the Newton–Needham line in Massachusetts. A datestone gives 1875 as its completion year.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the bridge is a well-preserved example of a once common bridge type. It is also associated with a known engineering firm, Wheeler and Blaisdell. Unlike other stone-arch bridges over the Charles, it was never widened and remains one of the best examples of stone-arch construction in the Boston area.","narrative":"Carrying Needham Street across the Charles River at Newton Upper Falls, this three-span stone-arch bridge was completed in 1875, as its carved datestone records. It measures 95 feet overall, with three elliptical arches of 27 feet each, a roadway 40 feet wide and a total length of 150 feet including wingwalls. The street was laid out that year to link Newton Highlands and Centre Street with Upper Falls and the town of Needham, and the bridge was accepted by Needham's selectmen and Newton's highway committee in November 1875. It was designed by Hiram Blaisdell and William Wheeler, young civil engineers from Concord who also designed stone bridges in their home town and Lyons Bridge in 1876. Other stone-arch bridges across the Charles were widened in the early twentieth century, but this one has not been altered. It is valued as a well-preserved example of a once common bridge type and for its link to a known engineering firm.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Wm. Wheeler & Hiram Blaisdell","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition is given as excellent, with no alterations and not moved. It carries a busy commercial artery between Route 128 and an industrial commercial strip.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:02.011207-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/68/7920/63792068/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001852.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001852/fb0d3e288c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001852/fb0d3e288c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_NeedhamStreetBridge.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_NeedhamStreetBridge.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792068","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needham_Street_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6986555"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/needham-street-bridge-86001852/"}