Most traffic over Boston’s Northern Avenue Bridge – the city’s last steel-framed operable swing bridge – has been diverted to a new fixed-span bridge just 150 feet away. Schwartz/Silver was engaged by the City of Boston to study transforming the historic structure, which is no longer utilized by cars or pedestrians.

In this study, the deck of the fixed span is raised by nearly nine feet, and the bridge’s three bays are used for one-way vehicular travel, pedestrians, and a new Fort Point Channel community art gallery. The wharf below would include a public marina and the Boston Bridge Museum.