Covered Bridge Thread
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 06-09-2009
Posts: 2,953
From: Clinton, Mass
I've been researching The Bull Run Restaraunt since I visited their bridge today.
It has a great online presence and a pretty extensive history. (The tavern's been there since 1740)
Paul Revere might have banged on their door as Shirley's the westernmost town in Middlesex County.
I'm infatuated with the place because they use whole numbers for prices on the menu such as 22 instead of 21.99
J. Geils is playing Saturday but the good seating's booked.
Here's their Archives page that's pretty interesting with some cool old photos & stories
Here's what a menu with prices should look like
Expensive but hey, it's a classy place! See:
Here's the 411 on the bridge:
When Lee Guercio, Sr expanded the original Bull Run Tavern to add the 300-seat Sawtelle Supper Room in 1970, parking became an issue.
The solution was to add parking on his property across Mulpus Brook.
Lee & Mary decided to make the drive a scenic one by commissioning a local architect to build an old-fashioned covered bridge capable of handling passenger cars.
Our Covered Bridge stands today; it is a replica of an Eli Whitney lattice design appropriate to the Colonial era.
Once completed, Lee wanted everyone to know the expense of this enduring icon in Shirley fell entirely to him.
To this day, you can see his signature sign atop the structure as you drive across. It reads:
"THIS BRIDGE BUILT WITHOUT STATE OR FEDERAL FUNDS!"
It has a great online presence and a pretty extensive history. (The tavern's been there since 1740)
Paul Revere might have banged on their door as Shirley's the westernmost town in Middlesex County.
I'm infatuated with the place because they use whole numbers for prices on the menu such as 22 instead of 21.99
J. Geils is playing Saturday but the good seating's booked.
Here's their Archives page that's pretty interesting with some cool old photos & stories
Here's what a menu with prices should look like
Expensive but hey, it's a classy place! See:
Here's the 411 on the bridge:
When Lee Guercio, Sr expanded the original Bull Run Tavern to add the 300-seat Sawtelle Supper Room in 1970, parking became an issue.
The solution was to add parking on his property across Mulpus Brook.
Lee & Mary decided to make the drive a scenic one by commissioning a local architect to build an old-fashioned covered bridge capable of handling passenger cars.
Our Covered Bridge stands today; it is a replica of an Eli Whitney lattice design appropriate to the Colonial era.
Once completed, Lee wanted everyone to know the expense of this enduring icon in Shirley fell entirely to him.
To this day, you can see his signature sign atop the structure as you drive across. It reads:
"THIS BRIDGE BUILT WITHOUT STATE OR FEDERAL FUNDS!"
New Member
Joined: 10-31-2010
Posts: 29
From: NW arkansas
From Bennington I rolled up to Arlington, Vt.
Arlington Green covered bridge (1852) spans Batten Kill.
I spotted this topless bridge spanning Batten Kill on my way to the next covered one.
I tried to get Dawn to give me a topless shot at the topless bridge.
She said I'd find those shots in 1984-1986 Easyriders Magazine.
I've been looking through my old ERs but I'm missing a few issues from those years
Last bridge on Sunday's tour is Chiselville (1870) spanning the Roaring Branch of Batten Kill.
I drove up to East Dorset Vt to pay my respects and visit the Bill W. house again.
Stacks of about 25 LOS chips from 90 days to 41 years.
This guy help save anyone else in here's life?
I drove about 20 miles of dirt road through the Green Mountain National Forest on the way back.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...,0.292854&z=12
It was very fun & spooky driving it at night.
That 1 road probably has enough interesting features and side trips for an entire day of picnicing, swimming and hiking.
I'll be back.
Arlington Green covered bridge (1852) spans Batten Kill.
I spotted this topless bridge spanning Batten Kill on my way to the next covered one.
I tried to get Dawn to give me a topless shot at the topless bridge.
She said I'd find those shots in 1984-1986 Easyriders Magazine.
I've been looking through my old ERs but I'm missing a few issues from those years
Last bridge on Sunday's tour is Chiselville (1870) spanning the Roaring Branch of Batten Kill.
I drove up to East Dorset Vt to pay my respects and visit the Bill W. house again.
Stacks of about 25 LOS chips from 90 days to 41 years.
This guy help save anyone else in here's life?
I drove about 20 miles of dirt road through the Green Mountain National Forest on the way back.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...,0.292854&z=12
It was very fun & spooky driving it at night.
That 1 road probably has enough interesting features and side trips for an entire day of picnicing, swimming and hiking.
I'll be back.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 06-09-2009
Posts: 2,953
From: Clinton, Mass
I've passed this collision shop hundreds of times on my way up Rt. 13 in NH.
I've said to myself "Myself, next time I'll stop and take pix of that sweet Porsche" hundreds of times.
I finally did and there's more going on than I thought.
I used my old 3MP Olympus on full automatic until it died a couple of weeks ago.
I replaced it with another Olympus with 12MP & 15x optical zoom so it's quite a bit better.
I'm learning how to use the manual settings so took a few at a pair of covered walking bridges that I visited last year.
See post #65 for the summer look and info about them.
I've said to myself "Myself, next time I'll stop and take pix of that sweet Porsche" hundreds of times.
I finally did and there's more going on than I thought.
I used my old 3MP Olympus on full automatic until it died a couple of weeks ago.
I replaced it with another Olympus with 12MP & 15x optical zoom so it's quite a bit better.
I'm learning how to use the manual settings so took a few at a pair of covered walking bridges that I visited last year.
See post #65 for the summer look and info about them.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 06-09-2009
Posts: 2,953
From: Clinton, Mass
The wife can usually only stand a couple hours of driving per day.
We had so much fun the other day that we went 300+ miles, over 10 hours total and no squawking.
I know that stopping @ Headlines in Nashua to start the trip helped
We started the actual Covered Bridge Hunt at Squam River Covered Bridge in Ashland (1990) and Bump Bridge in Campton (1972)
Then on to Blair Bridge in Campton (1977)
Smith Bridge in Plymouth (2001) was nicely rebuilt and is in a beautiful setting
Packard Hill Bridge in Lebanon (1991) is very busy but another nicely rebuilt, pretty NH Covered Bridge
Lebanon is over 100 miles from us but that's where we ended our CBH and headed home.
We're planning another CBH in the Conway NH area within a week or so and might stay overnight somewhere in the White Mountains area.
Love my Wooden Covered Bridges and the the wife likes them too.
What a great excuse to drive around from scenic place to scenic place
We had so much fun the other day that we went 300+ miles, over 10 hours total and no squawking.
I know that stopping @ Headlines in Nashua to start the trip helped
We started the actual Covered Bridge Hunt at Squam River Covered Bridge in Ashland (1990) and Bump Bridge in Campton (1972)
Then on to Blair Bridge in Campton (1977)
Smith Bridge in Plymouth (2001) was nicely rebuilt and is in a beautiful setting
Packard Hill Bridge in Lebanon (1991) is very busy but another nicely rebuilt, pretty NH Covered Bridge
Lebanon is over 100 miles from us but that's where we ended our CBH and headed home.
We're planning another CBH in the Conway NH area within a week or so and might stay overnight somewhere in the White Mountains area.
Love my Wooden Covered Bridges and the the wife likes them too.
What a great excuse to drive around from scenic place to scenic place
Last edited by Mowgli; Jun 10, 2011 at 01:29 PM.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 06-09-2009
Posts: 2,953
From: Clinton, Mass
400 mile round trip to New Hampshire's White Mountains Region yesterday.
Got stuck 1/2 mile up a dirt road in the boonies north of Fryeburg Maine.
It was raining with close lightning and 999,999,999,999 mosquitoes.
Waiting in the rain for AAA for an hour in shorts and a tank top sucked.
The rest of the trip was pretty cool though
Here's a taste of bridges in weird weather
more to come
.
Got stuck 1/2 mile up a dirt road in the boonies north of Fryeburg Maine.
It was raining with close lightning and 999,999,999,999 mosquitoes.
Waiting in the rain for AAA for an hour in shorts and a tank top sucked.
The rest of the trip was pretty cool though
Here's a taste of bridges in weird weather
more to come
.
