Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge

The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill memorial bridge at night is a sight to see. It shows the creativity of architects as it's such a great bridge design although quite short of a bridge it is still very nice at night.

DiIf you're not going to AC Slater him or Kelly Kapowski him, then Zak-him.

An absolutely incredible bridge with beautiful lighting that has become one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable sites in Boston, and sights in Boston, for that matter, with its beautiful blue neon lights.

It did a great thing for Boston when it popped onto the scene not too long ago, and has gone a long way (although the bridge only goes a short way) to make downtown even more recognizable, and it's one of my favourite things in town.

It takes people from downtown into North Boston and back, and I love using it. I didn't cost too much money either. It's also one of the widest cable bridges in the world.

AN ABSOLUTELY MUST DO! The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge is called "The Zakim" for short. It is a ultra modern futuristic multi lane cable bridge that was completed in 2003. The Zakim looks like the strings of a musical instrument - A Giant Harp. It spans across the Charles River & brings commuters in & out of Boston. This main connector bridge replaced the 1950's Charlestown High Bridge. You can visit The North End, Downtown Boston, Faneuil Hall, The Financial District, Logan Airport, The Seaport & many other popular places utilizing this bridge. It is Beautiful during the daytime but becomes Magical at Nighttime when it is all lit up. What is so Great about the Zakim is that they can change the colors of the bridge to reflect & coincide with Special Events & Holidays too. It is SO COOL!
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Beautiful bridge and a glorious morning for a walk to work at Mass Eye & Ear from the Courtyard Hotel which is right there at the end of the bridge! I travel for a living and seldom get to sitesee so this was a rare treat to wake up to!

Driving over the Zakim Bridge heading into Boston never gets old. I love the design that invokes the city's maritime heritage. The bridge makes the traffic on Rt. 93 a little more bearable (and there's always traffic). It's the city's grand entrance with the iconic TD Garden on the right. It's even more a treat when going over the bridge at night with the beautiful colored lights along the base. One of those distinctive landmarks that makes you feel you're in Boston.

This is a fantastic Memorial Bridge.

It spans across the Charles River.

Believe it or not it's one of the widest cable stayed bridges in the world.

The bridge is absolutely gorgeous and can be seen from all points north south east and west of downtown Boston.

They change the lighting which in turn redefines the Boston skyline according to the color.

A lot of people do not understand but this is actually part of the Big Dig so something fantastic actually came out of the Big Dig.

If you're ever in Boston make sure to check it out it is a fabulous sight and definitely something you want to see.

I give the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge a Solid 5 Stars.

Wow, is this a beautiful bridge. In a big city like Boston that already has several different sections of lovely skyline (the Pru and the Hancock, Seaport, the Financial District), it would be easy to miss the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge since it's over towards North Boston and Chelsea.

The Zakim bridge is a cable-stayed bridge similar to others (Charleston SC's Ravenel bridge comes immediately to mind) with a striking open design. It is 1432 feet long and clears the Charles River below by 40 feet. At the southern end, it enters into the Tip O'Neill Tunnel and at the northern end, the elevated highway.

According to the wikpedia article, it opened in 2003 and somehow only cost $105 million which seems like a bargain.

This bridge sits close to downtown Boston, and I drove through it as I approached the city from the north. From the bridge, there are many pathways that take you to different parts of the city, and some can get a little confusing.
The bridge is an impressive sight, which was a nice welcome into the city. The drive is smooth, and the traffic was moderate. I can imagine this bridge gets very packed during rush hour, which it was not when I drove through it.
My only regret was not being able to include this bridge in my shot of the city. But I may return through this way again, as now friends want to see the same sights in the near future.

This looks like a great place to chill during Spring and summer. It reminded me of Chicago's riverwalk. It's very close to the Museum Of Science, in case you want to visit everything in one go.

The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (abbreviated Zakim Bridge) is more than a bridge connecting downtown Boston to the Charlestown area. The Zakim Bridge is a bridge connecting Boston's history to its future. Near the shores of the Charles River where the Zakim Bridge carries US 1 and Interstate 93 are historical points of interest that include Bunker Hill, the USS Constitution, North End, Boston Massacre Site, and a volumous number of other historical attractions. On and near the Zakim Bridge are Boston's future displayed in modern engineering, bridges that change highways into a form of public art, and tunneled highways that create greenways throughout the downtown. The Zakim Bridge is a landmark of the future and today.

The Zakim Bridge opened up in 2003 as part of the world famous Big Dig project. A major part of the project was rebuilding US 1/Interstate 93 through downtown Boston. Downtown was feeling the negative effects of what many people consisidered the monstrosity of the Central Artery. The Central Artery was an unsightly structure that carried an elevated US 1/Interstate 93 over downtown Boston. It separated the North End from the rest of downtown. Likewise it's 1950s Highway design was long outdated creating a constant rush hour. North of downtown, the outdated elevated Highway led into the outdated Charlestown High Bridge. This was unacceptable. Boston took action! In 2003, the Big Dig created a Boston of the future. The elevated Highway was demolished and relocated US 1/Interstate 93 underground. The final piece of the planning was bringing the highway across the Charles River. The result was that north of downtown, US 1/Interstate 93 shot up from underground toward the sky on a cable-stayed bridge. The Charlestown High Bridge would be demolished.

When I was in Boston, I had the privilege of walking near the bridge while walking along Causeway Street and from the nearby Charlestown Bridge. During my stay in Boston, I also had the opportunity cross the bridge on a Gray Line tour bus. From the window I took in the Charles River below bordering the TD Garden Arena toward the Cambridge shoreline. The time it took to cross the bridge was quick. This bridge truly is a landmark. It's neat that when I walked on Causeway Street I am looking at the TD Garden Arena with two nearby towering white Y-shaped concrete towers surrounded by cables. The white Y-shaped towers and cables were designed to bring attention to the nearby Bunker Hill Monument and the white cables are supposed to bring attention to the nearby USS Constitution. Is this an interesting fact? The following paragraph discusses more facts.

The Zakim Bridge is an engineering marvel. Supposedly it is the first asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge in America. What asymmetrical means in the case of the bridge is that one of the towers is taller than the other. The south tower is 295 feet where the north tower is 323 feet. It also has the honor of being one of the widest cable-stayed bridges. The bridge is supported by a 745 foot steel center span. It is 270 feet high. The bridge carries 10 lanes of traffic. At night it changes colors. The cost of building it was 105 million dollars. This bridge is named after Leonard Zakim and the people who fought for Boston at Bunker Hill who believed in building human bridges between Boston's diverse population and neighborhoods. The final fact that I will bring up is that when there is minimal traffic, it is most likely faster to cross the bridge than to have read this paragraph.

The Zakim Bridge has made Boston a better place. From a transportation and architecture standpoint it is a commendable achievement. Leonard Zakim would be proud because it has successfully built a human and transportation bridge between the regions diverse population and neighborhoods.