Charles River separates downtown Boston from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Boston is in the foreground of the photo, Cambridge is in the upper left part of the image. The photo was taken on a beautiful day in June. Perfect weather for sailing, as you can see. Also featured in the image is Charles River Esplanade – great place for walking and cycling, and hunting for squirrels. Just kidding. But seriously, there are lots of squirrels around Charles River Esplanade :) It is separated from Back Bay East by Storrow Lagoon.

Charles River is only 80 miles long. Its source is in Hopkinton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Native American name of the river, Quinobequin, translates to bending river or river that turns back on itself.

I personally took this photo, and it is one of my best stock photos of Boston.

Longfellow Bridge

Longfellow Bridge is the arch bridge visible in the photo. Before renaming, Longfellow Bridge was known as Cambridge Bridge. Which makes sense, because it connects Cambridge, Massachusetts to downtown Boston (specifically: Beacon Hill area). Its construction took 6 years, and it was opened on August 3, 1906. The bridge is 1,767.5 feet (538.7 m) long. The bridge name honors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet. He was one of Fireside Poets from New England. His 1845 poem “The Bridge” was inspired by West Boston Bridge, the structure that stood in location of Longfellow Bridge between 1793 and 1907. West Boston Bridge didn’t actually stand in the exact same location. It was closed in 1899 (replaced by temporary bridge), and used as construction site storage facility while Longfellow Bridge was under construction.

Boston Charles River aerial view

In the far background of the photo you can see a bunch of factories, smokestacks, silos and industrial structures. This is the infrastructure in Everett, Massachusetts. The smokestacks belong to Mystic Generating Station. It is the largest power station in the state of Massachusetts. It can be powered by natural gas or petroleum.

The photo was taken from Prudential Tower Skywalk Observatory. A place definitely worth visiting if you enjoy studying urban tissue of a city. You can use this photo in your projects without watermark. It is available in Pond 5: Boston stock photo, priced $5.