Anderson Memorial Bridge (commonly but incorrectly called Larz Anderson Bridge) connects Allston, a neighborhood of Boston, and Cambridge

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

. The bridge stands on the site of the Great Bridge

Great Bridge (Cambridge)

The Great Bridge over the Charles River connected Cambridge, Massachusetts, to what is now known as Allston, Boston, Massachusetts. The Great Bridge was built in 1660-1662 at what was then called Brighton Street, and was the first bridge to span the Charles. A toll was authorized in 1670...

 built in 1662, the first structure to span the Charles River

Charles River

The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...

. It brings Boston traffic (from North Harvard Street) into Harvard Square

Harvard Square

Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. It is the historic center of Cambridge...

 (via JFK Street) and was finished in 1915.

Name

Often assumed to be named after Larz Anderson

Larz Anderson

Larz Anderson III was a wealthy American businessman and diplomat who briefly served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan ....

, the bridge was actually built by him as a memorial to his father, Nicholas Longworth Anderson

Nicholas Longworth Anderson

Nicholas Longworth Anderson was a United States Army officer who served in the American Civil War as Colonel of the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.-Biography:...

. To do so, Anderson was helped by the huge family fortune of his wife, Isabel Weld Perkins

Isabel Weld Perkins

Isabel Weld Perkins , mostly known as Isabel Anderson or Mrs. Larz Anderson after her marriage, was a Boston-area heiress and author who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums. She is interred in the St...

. According to the Metropolitan Park Commission of 1913:

Construction

The bridge was designed by the architectural firm of Wheelwright, Haven and Hoyt

Edmund M. Wheelwright

Edmund March Wheelwright was one of New England's most important architects in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and served as city architect for Boston, Massachusetts from 1891-1895....

 and completed under the direction of John R. Rablin, chief engineer for the Metropolitan District Commission.

Rehabilitation

The MassDOT as part of its Accelerated Bridge Program will rehabilitate the Anderson Memorial Bridge in 2012-2015. The project will repair the arches and replace the parapets, sidewalks, lighting, and the bridge deck. Early estimates place the cost at $15.8 million.

Characteristics

Anderson Memorial Bridge is constructed of reinforced concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 accented by red brick. The bridge's spandrel walls and panels are fashioned to give the illusion of rough-hewn stone

Rock (geology)

In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...

. It has a Georgian Revival

Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

 design with neoclassical

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

 influences that visually connect it to the other bridges that span the Charles as well as the nearby buildings of Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

.
Architectural author Douglas Shand-Tucci writes:
The bridge stands next to the Weld Boathouse

Weld Boathouse

Weld Boathouse is a Harvard-owned building on the bank of the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is named after George Walker Weld, who bequeathed the funds for its construction.-History:...

 and was designed with "a high enough arch to admit the passage of all sorts of pleasure craft." It may be noted that both the bridge and the boathouse (built in 1906) were funded by heirs to the fortune of 19th century magnate William Fletcher Weld

William Fletcher Weld

William Fletcher Weld was a shipping magnate during the "Golden Age of Sail". He later invested in railroads and real estate. Weld multiplied his family's fortune into a huge legacy for his descendants and the public.-Early life:...

.