Memorial Drive runs along the north bank of 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...

 in Cambridge, Massachusetts

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...

. It is designated as U.S. Route 3

U.S. Route 3

U.S. Route 3 is a north–south United States highway that runs from its southern terminus in Cambridge, Massachusetts through New Hampshire to its terminus near Third Connecticut Lake at the Canadian border, where the road continues north as Quebec Route 257.In New Hampshire parts of US 3 are...

 or Massachusetts Route 3 for its entire length, and Massachusetts Route 2 over the portion west of the Boston University Bridge

Boston University Bridge

The Boston University Bridge , and commonly referred to as the BU Bridge, is a steel truss bridge with a suspended deck carrying Route 2 over the Charles River, connecting Boston to Cambridge, Massachusetts. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials route...

.

Formerly Charles River Road, it was renamed in 1922, when Charles River Park was taken over by the Metropolitan District Commission. It is named in honor of those who died in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

Memorial Drive, like the other parkways along the Charles River Esplanade, is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (formerly the Metropolitan District Commission). In keeping with the recreational mission, the section of Memorial Drive from Western Avenue to the split at Mount Auburn Hospital at Mount Auburn Street is closed to motor vehicles on Sundays in the summer to allow for pedestrian and non-motorized users. The closure is in effect from 11:00am to 7:00pm starting the last Sunday of April until the 2nd Sunday of November.

A median near Massachusetts Avenue requires executing a so-called Michigan left

Michigan left

A Michigan left is an at-grade intersection design which replaces each left turn with a permutation of a U-turn and a right turn. The design was given the name due to its frequent use along Michigan roads and highways since the late 1960s. In other contexts, the intersection is called a median...

 for certain turns.

In 2003 a 2-mile section of Memorial Drive was reconstructed as part of the DCR's Historic Parkways Initiative.

See also

• Storrow Drive
  Storrow Drive
  Storrow Drive is a major cross town expressway in Boston, Massachusetts, running south and west from Leverett Circle along the Charles River. It is a parkway—it is restricted to cars; trucks and buses are not permitted on it...
  
  , the City of Boston side of the river.
• Charles River Bike Path
  Charles River Bike Path
  The Charles River Bike Path is a mixed-use path in the Boston, Massachusetts area. It follows both shores of the Charles River from Boston, Massachusetts to Norumbega Park in Newton, passing through Watertown and Waltham...
  
  
• List of crossings of the Charles River