Market on a Bridge

Oh, Haymarket, how Bostonist loves your super low prices, general uncleanliness, and the gruff attitude of most of your vendors. What we really enjoy is the good bit of sauce you leave at the end of the day. But we’ve found a new spot for our fresh food, Mondays and Thursdays, so we don’t have to wait for the weekend. Walking across the Old Northern Avenue Bridge, a vibrant open air market surrounds you. If you look down, you will see sailboats moving along the Fort Point Channel, passing the fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, meats, and breads sold by local producers.

The steel-framed swing bridge, built in 1908, came this close to being demolished and replaced by a shopping mall. A development company submitted plans to the Boston Redevelopment Authority in 1999 to remove the bridge and replace it with a 3-story 150,000 sq. foot mall. In the end, protests from resident preservation groups and the necessity of massive city subsidies for the mall project saved the historic bridge. The market over the bridge is open every Monday and Thursday from 11:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., rain or shine, until November. Bostonist has been watching the movement toward more and more big franchises and shopping malls in the city (and country), so we like to hang on to some of the the authentic feeling of an open air market, especially on a historic city landmark. The Boston Public Market Association, which sponsors the market over the bridge, is currently trying to find a permanent site for a public market in the city where vendors can meet year-round to sell their goods. We'll take it inside for the winter no problem, but please keep it open-air for the summer months.

contributed by Jon Horvitz, co-founder and operator of bostonbohemian.com