The Charles River Dam is a flood control structure on the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles bac ...

in Boston, Massachusetts, located just downstream of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, near Lovejoy Wharf, on the former location of the

Warren Bridge The Warren Bridge connected downtown Boston, Massachusetts with Charlestown from its construction in the 1820s until its demolition in 1962. It was replaced by the Charles River Dam in 1978. The Warren Bridge was requested in 1823 and charte ...

History

The Charles River Dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The structure also includes the "Colonel Richard Gridley Locks", named for General George Washington's first army engineer. Built and operational in 1978, the three locks can be crossed by pedestrians as well as bicyclists. It is part of the popular Boston Harborwalk. The dam contains three individual locks, with one wider than the other two to accommodate the occasional passing of a larger vessel. The structure also includes a

fish passage A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as move ...

. Six diesel-powered, 2700 horsepower turbo-charged engines drive six pumps with a combined capacity of about per minute or 8140 cubic feet per second (CFS). The dam controls the surface level of the river basin as well its tributaries upstream, including the

Back Bay Fens The Back Bay Fens, often called The Fens, is a parkland and urban wild in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was established in 1879. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to serve as a link in the Emerald Necklace park system, the Fe ...

and Muddy River and to prevent

sea water Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has appro ...

from entering the Charles River freshwater basin during high tides. It replaced the 1910 Charles River Dam upstream, now the site of the Boston Museum of Science . The 1910 dam includes two locks (one under the Science Museum parking garage). Both locks are now kept open for navigation. The older dam could not keep sea water out and a layer of salt water accumulated at the bottom of the fresh water basin, contributing to pollution and fish migration problems. CharlesRiverDamLock

The dam's walkway is the site of the "Charlestown Bells", an interactive art installation by

Paul Matisse Paul Matisse (born 1933) is an artist and inventor known for his public art installations, many of which are interactive and produce sound. Matisse also invented the Kalliroscope. Early life and education Paul Matisse is the son of New York ga ...

, consisting of a set of chimes mounted on the railing that passers-by can strike. The work was refurbished in 2013 after it had fallen into disrepair. The Charles River Dam was once in the shadow of the former Charlestown High Bridge located upstream. It was replaced by the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge just upstream.

References

External links

* Crossings of the Charles River Dams in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Boston Dams completed in 1978 {{US-dam-stub