Arch Street Bridge.pdf
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions 3/10 for completing this form. FORM F − STRUCTURE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Photograph Locus Map Recorded by: Bonnie Parsons Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Date (month /year): November 23, 2010
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 11B-A Easthampton NTH.903 Town/City: Northampton Place (neighborhood or village): Leeds Address or Location: Arch Street Name: New Haven
and Northampton Railroad Overpass at Arch Street Ownership: Public Private Type of Structure (check one): ___ boat or ship ___ canal ___ carousel ___ dam ___ fort ___ gate ___ kiln ___
lighthouse ___ pound ___ powderhouse ___ street ___ tower ___ tunnel ___ wall ___ windmill ___other (specify) Railroad overpass Date of Construction: ca. 1867 Source: date of completion
of railroad line Architect, Engineer or Designer: Materials: granite Alterations (with dates): Rails removed and rail bed became a rail trail. Condition: good Moved: no yes Date: Acreage:
under one acre Setting: The overpass is located in a residential area.
INVENTORY FORMF CONTINUATION SHEET NORTHAMPTON ARCH STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet
1 NTH.903 Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. Use as much space as
necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets. DESIGN ASSESSMENT Describe important design features and evaluate in terms of
other structures within the community. The Arch Street overpass is a stone arch approximately 17 feet high from pavement to overpass top, 24 feet deep measured along the inner face of
the arch, and 40 feet wide from outer edge of wing to outer edge of wing. The arch is made of rough-faced granite blocks of varying size. There may be several blocks of stone other than
granite in the mix, but the majority of the blocks are a grey granite. A row of keystones frames the arch; the balance of the stonework is made up of rows of random-sized blocks. All
the stones are mortared together. At each side of the arch on both sides of the overpass wing walls curve toward the roadway and are laid in stepped, parapet fashion. Between the wing
walls is a compacted earth berm that carries the rail trail to and away from the stone arch over the street. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Explain the history of the structure and how it relates
to the development of the community. From the Form F of 1980, “This large stone arch was built to carry the tracks of the Williamsburg division of the New Haven and Northampton Railroad
over Arch Street just south of its junction with Florence Road. This branch railroad opened in 1867 and tied the industrial villages of Williamsburg as well as Leeds and Florence in
Northampton to the main railroad line running north-south along the Connecticut River. The arch is similar in material, shape and design to the Beaver Brook Arch located off River Road,
which is also for the the Williamsburg division of the New Haven-Northampton Railroad.” BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES