{"nrhp_refnum":"89002253","name":"Medford Pipe Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Over the Mystic River, between S. Court St. and Mystic Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Medford","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.418322112000055,"lon":-71.11162779499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-01-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 48-foot-long, 10-foot-wide steel and concrete pedestrian footbridge that carries water mains across the Mystic River in downtown Medford, Massachusetts, in a small park north of South Street. It was built in the late 19th century for the Metropolitan Water Board.","why_significant":"The bridge is part of the northern low and high service water distribution system planned by the Metropolitan Water Board in 1898, linking Chestnut Hill Reservoir and Spot Pond. It is also presented as an excellent example of combining decorative and industrial design. It retains a high degree of integrity with few changes since completion.","narrative":"Medford Pipe Bridge is a graceful arched footbridge over the Mystic River in downtown Medford, set in a small park that belongs to the Mystic River Greenbelt. Measuring 48 feet long and 10 feet wide, it holds water mains inside a steel plate girder frame topped by a decorative patterned railing and walkway. The New Jersey Steel and Iron Company of Trenton built the bridge, Cheney and Trumbull built the concrete abutment, and Frederic P. Stearns directed the work for the Metropolitan Water Board. The mains, a 20-inch high service pipe and a 43-inch low service pipe, ran between Chestnut Hill Reservoir and Spot Pond as part of the board's northern distribution system planned in 1898. Carrying the pipes over the water was judged cheaper and easier than tunneling beneath it. The bridge was listed for its design, which joins decorative and industrial elements, and for its high integrity. The nominated area covers only the bridge and its abutments.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"New Jersey Steel and Iron Company, Trenton, NJ (bridge); Cheney and Trumbull (concrete abutment); Frederic P. Stearns, Metropolitan Water Board Engineer (project direction)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition described as good. The mains' cross connection with the Mystic Works is out of service, and the bridge is not actively connected to the water system at this time.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.949143-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/70/7920/63792070/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89002253.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002253/0ca54d244e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002253/0ca54d244e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MedfordMA_MedfordPipeBridge.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:MedfordMA_MedfordPipeBridge.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792070","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medford_Pipe_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6805319"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/medford-pipe-bridge-89002253/"}