Craig and Stuart's Excellent Big Dig Walk, 2.28.2004 -- Page 1

Craig and I decided to take a walk along the route of Boston's Big Dig and the old Centeral Artery on a warmish afternoon in late February 2004. Work on removing the old elevated highway had been ongoing for a couple of months, and it wouldn't be long before the entire structure was gone. We wanted to check out the remains of the highway before it was too late. We chose a path starting at South Station, and winding up to Charlestown for our exploratory tour. These pages show some of the photos I took as we made our way along the path of the Big Dig.

Before heading out, we called Somerville's own Ron Newman for tips about the best places to look for interesting vistas. He gracefully offered a great number of good ideas, many of which we used. Thanks Ron!

Click on a photo to get a larger verion of the shot.

After leaving the Red Line at South Station, we walked northward. The first bit of Big Diggery we encountered was this building. What is it? Some kind of vent building? Discussion on ne.transportation suggests that it is an air intake building for the Big Dig. Here's another shot of the mystery building surrounded by skyscrapers.

Ron suggested that we visit the observation deck at 470 Atlantic Ave. The observation deck is not very well advertised, except by this inconspicuous sign at the building's entry. We went in the building, signed in, and the guard pointed us to the elevator to the 14th floor. What we found there totally rocked! The 14th floor observation deck is a large room, currently largely unfinished. Large, plate-glass windows look out in all four directions, offering great views of the harbor on one side, and the Big Dig on the other. The best part is that you can go out onto an outdoor roof deck on the south side of the building. That's where I took this shot of Big Dig construction and Rowes Wharf.

From the roofdeck we saw this view of the Boston Fire Department building and Big Dig construction. Here's another shot of the mystery building, this time from the other end. If you look closely, you can see cars traveling on the new roadway underneath the building.

Here's a shot showing a new exit from the underground road, a section of Atlantic Ave, and one of the remaining bits of the old elevated expressway: an exit ramp (on the left, next to the One International Place building) and a section of the main roadway on the right. We would later take a walk up this section of the old expressway to take some photos. Here's a view of the Barking Crab restaurant and the new Federal Courthouse from the other side of the outdoor observation deck.

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After leaving the Red Line at South Station, we walked northward. The first bit of Big Diggery we encountered was this building. What is it? Some kind of vent building? Discussion on ne.transportation suggests that it is an air intake building for the Big Dig.	Here's another shot of the mystery building surrounded by skyscrapers.


Ron suggested that we visit the observation deck at 470 Atlantic Ave. The observation deck is not very well advertised, except by this inconspicuous sign at the building's entry. We went in the building, signed in, and the guard pointed us to the elevator to the 14th floor. What we found there totally rocked!	The 14th floor observation deck is a large room, currently largely unfinished. Large, plate-glass windows look out in all four directions, offering great views of the harbor on one side, and the Big Dig on the other. The best part is that you can go out onto an outdoor roof deck on the south side of the building. That's where I took this shot of Big Dig construction and Rowes Wharf.


Here's a shot showing a new exit from the underground road, a section of Atlantic Ave, and one of the remaining bits of the old elevated expressway: an exit ramp (on the left, next to the One International Place building) and a section of the main roadway on the right. We would later take a walk up this section of the old expressway to take some photos.	Here's a view of the Barking Crab restaurant and the new Federal Courthouse from the other side of the outdoor observation deck.