2018: The Frances Appleton Bridge in Boston Makes Its Debut

August 31, 2018

A new pedestrian bridge in Boston was formally opened. Construction on the Frances Appleton Bridge, which crosses a major parkway known as Storrow Drive, began in 2016.

This bridge was named after Boston-born Frances “Fanny” Appleton (1817-1861). She was married to literary giant Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) from 1843 until her death, and they had six children altogether. A month after Fanny Longfellow’s death due to severe burns in an accidental fire, her deeply grieved husband put pen to paper to describe his feelings about her. He wrote, “[She] never came into a room where I was without my heart beating quicker, nor went out without my feeling that something of the light went with her.”

The bridge bearing her name is slightly south of the Longfellow Bridge, which spans the Charles River and accommodates motor vehicles; pedestrians; and bicyclists. It was opened in 1907 and officially named after Henry Wadsworth Longfellow two decades later.

The Frances Appleton Bridge, designed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act’s requirements for maximum slopes, is wheelchair-accessible. This bridge is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Photo Credit: Ahecht (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

For more information on the Frances Appleton Bridge, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Appleton_Bridge