Route 16 is an east-west
state highwayState highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state government in a country that is divided into states :...
in
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
. Much of Route 16 is a multi-lane
parkwayIn the United States, Parkways are defined as follows:#A type of road##A broad landscaped thoroughfare; especially : one from which trucks and other heavy vehicles are excluded.##A roadway in a park : a landscaped thoroughfare connecting parks...
, although it is not limited access for any significant length of road. Segments of Route 16 are also known as the
Mystic Valley ParkwayMystic Valley Parkway is a short parkway in Arlington, Medford, Somerville, and Winchester, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and forms part of Route 16....
, the
Alewife Brook ParkwayAlewife Brook Parkway is a short parkway in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
, and the
Revere Beach ParkwayRevere Beach Parkway is a historic parkway in the northern suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. It begins at the Fellsway in Malden, where it continues west as Mystic Valley Parkway and ends at the junction of Revere Beach Boulevard and Winthrop Parkway in Revere. In between, the parkway passes...
, among other names.
Route 16 runs north and west of the
City of BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
, beginning at the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
at
Revere BeachRevere Beach is a public beach in Revere, Massachusetts. Located about 4 miles north of downtown Boston, the beach, founded in 1896, is the first public beach in the country. In the past, it was known as the Coney Island of New England...
, where it intersects with
Route 1ARoute 1A is a south-north state highway in Massachusetts. It is an alternate route to U.S. 1 with three signed sections and two unsigned sections where the highway is concurrent with its parent...
and
60Route 60 is an east-west state highway running through the northern suburbs of Boston.-Route description:The eastern end of Route 60 is in Revere, at the junction of Route 1A and Route 16. From there, it runs through Malden, Medford, Arlington, and Belmont before ending at U.S. Route 20 in...
at Timothy J. Mahoney Circle in Revere.
The route proceeds west by a winding path through several mixed-used
industrial, commercial, and residentialZoning is a device of land use regulation used by local governments in most developed countries . The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
areas in the cities of Everett and Malden until it intersects
Interstate 93Interstate 93 is an Interstate Highway in the New England section of the United States. Its southern terminus is in Canton, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area, at Interstate 95; its northern terminus is near St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at Interstate 91.For most of its length, Interstate 93...
in
MedfordMedford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, just a few miles north of Boston. In the 2000 census, Medford's population was 55,765...
.
Route 16 is an east-west
state highwayState highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state government in a country that is divided into states :...
in
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
. Much of Route 16 is a multi-lane
parkwayIn the United States, Parkways are defined as follows:#A type of road##A broad landscaped thoroughfare; especially : one from which trucks and other heavy vehicles are excluded.##A roadway in a park : a landscaped thoroughfare connecting parks...
, although it is not limited access for any significant length of road. Segments of Route 16 are also known as the
Mystic Valley ParkwayMystic Valley Parkway is a short parkway in Arlington, Medford, Somerville, and Winchester, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and forms part of Route 16....
, the
Alewife Brook ParkwayAlewife Brook Parkway is a short parkway in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
, and the
Revere Beach ParkwayRevere Beach Parkway is a historic parkway in the northern suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. It begins at the Fellsway in Malden, where it continues west as Mystic Valley Parkway and ends at the junction of Revere Beach Boulevard and Winthrop Parkway in Revere. In between, the parkway passes...
, among other names.
From the shore to the Pike
Route 16 runs north and west of the
City of BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
, beginning at the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
at
Revere BeachRevere Beach is a public beach in Revere, Massachusetts. Located about 4 miles north of downtown Boston, the beach, founded in 1896, is the first public beach in the country. In the past, it was known as the Coney Island of New England...
, where it intersects with
Route 1ARoute 1A is a south-north state highway in Massachusetts. It is an alternate route to U.S. 1 with three signed sections and two unsigned sections where the highway is concurrent with its parent...
and
60Route 60 is an east-west state highway running through the northern suburbs of Boston.-Route description:The eastern end of Route 60 is in Revere, at the junction of Route 1A and Route 16. From there, it runs through Malden, Medford, Arlington, and Belmont before ending at U.S. Route 20 in...
at Timothy J. Mahoney Circle in Revere.
The route proceeds west by a winding path through several mixed-used
industrial, commercial, and residentialZoning is a device of land use regulation used by local governments in most developed countries . The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
areas in the cities of Everett and Malden until it intersects
Interstate 93Interstate 93 is an Interstate Highway in the New England section of the United States. Its southern terminus is in Canton, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area, at Interstate 95; its northern terminus is near St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at Interstate 91.For most of its length, Interstate 93...
in
MedfordMedford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, just a few miles north of Boston. In the 2000 census, Medford's population was 55,765...
. It then veers north, traveling beside the
Mystic RiverThe Mystic River is the name of a short river in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Its name derives from the Wampanoag word "muhs-uhtuq", which translates to "big river". It lies to the north of and flows approximately parallel to the lower portions of the Charles River.Mystic...
upstream, and passing near Medford Square, the
downtownDowntown is a term primarily used in North America to refer to a city's core or central business district, usually in a geographical, commercial, and community sense....
area of that city. This portion of Route 16 is also part of the
Mystic Valley ParkwayMystic Valley Parkway is a short parkway in Arlington, Medford, Somerville, and Winchester, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and forms part of Route 16....
.
The Mystic Valley Parkway continues west as Route 16 turns south in Somerville on
Alewife Brook ParkwayAlewife Brook Parkway is a short parkway in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
. This section of Route 16 soon joins U.S. Highway 3 and then
Route 2Route 2 is a major east-west state highway in Massachusetts, parts of which are sometimes known as the Cambridge and Concord Turnpike. Along with Route 9 and U.S. Route 20 to the South, these highways are the main alternatives to the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90 toll highway...
at the eastern end of the freeway portion of the Concord Turnpike. From there, Route 16 passes the large parking garage at the MBTA Alewife Station, passes by Fresh Pond, eventually leaving Routes 2 and 3 as they continue along
Fresh Pond ParkwayFresh Pond Parkway is a historic park and parkway, found in the western-most neighborhoods of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The site was built in 1899 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005....
. It then continues west through
CambridgeCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, a nexus of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Notably, Cambridge is home to two internationally prominent...
, passing by
Mount Auburn CemeteryMount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
before entering Watertown. Route 16 crosses U.S. Highway 20 in Watertown Square, then crosses the
Charles RiverThe Charles River is a river in Massachusetts, USA. It travels through 22 cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts, from Hopkinton to Boston on the Atlantic Ocean.-Route:...
. It enters
NewtonNewton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2000 census, the population of Newton was 83,829, making it the tenth largest city in the state.-Villages:...
near the village of
NonantumNonantum is one of the thirteen villages of Newton, Massachusetts, also known as Silver Lake or The Lake. The lake in question was filled with construction rubble and built over from the 1930s into the late 1950s. The neighborhood kids cleared the snow each winter and played hockey on it through...
, and eventually crosses I-90, the Massachusetts Turnpike, in
West NewtonWest Newton is a village of the City of Newton, Massachusetts and is one of the oldest of the thirteen Newton villages. The Zip Code 02465 roughly matches the village limits.-Location:...
; Pike Exit 16 here provides access to and from the east only. Still in Newton, Route 16 then crosses
Route 30Route 30 is an east-west arterial, connecting Grafton with Packard's Corner in Boston. Route 30 runs roughly parallel to the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 9, but unlike those two larger highways, takes a more meandering path from town to town...
and
Route 128Route 128, also known as the Yankee Division Highway , and originally the Circumferential Highway, is a partial beltway around Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The majority of the highway is built to freeway standards, and about 3/5 of it is part of the Interstate Highway System...
(
Interstate 95Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, paralleling the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Maine. The Massachusetts portion of the highway enters from the state of Rhode Island in Attleboro and travels in a northeasterly direction to the junction with Route 128 in...
).
From Newton to I-495
This area west of Boston, also called
MetroWestMetroWest is a cluster of cities and towns lying west of Boston and east of Worcester, in the US state of Massachusetts. The name was coined in the 1980s by a local newspaper....
, that Route 16 now travels through contains several quintessential
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
towns. The route now goes by restored antique,
colonial homes American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States, including First Period English , French Colonial, Spanish Colonial, Dutch, German Colonial and Georgian Colonial...
and town buildings.
From the Pike, Route 16 goes southwesterly past
Lasell CollegeLasell College is a college in the Newton, Massachusetts village of Auburndale.-History:The college was founded in 1851 as the Auburndale Female Seminary, a two-year college for women. During the college's first semester, founder Edward Lasell died of typhoid fever and the school was renamed Lasell...
in Newton, and through Wellesley, where Wellesley College and
Babson CollegeBabson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...
are located. The road then passes the Elm Bank Reservation in Sherborn, through Holliston, by Weston Pond, and shortly thereafter passes beneath
I-495Interstate 495 is the designation of an Interstate Highway half-beltway in Massachusetts. It was the longest auxiliary Interstate Highway of its kind—measuring 120.74 miles —until 1996, when the PA Route 9 section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was redesignated as Interstate 476, making it about ...
.
From I-495 to Lake Chaubunagungamaug
After passing I-495, the route continues to the southwest, going through Milford, Hopedale, Mendon, Uxbridge, the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and Douglas with a trip through the
Douglas State ForestDouglas State Forest is a US State of Massachusetts state forest located in Douglas. The forest is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.-Description:Douglas State Forest is a park offering numerous recreational activities...
in the last town.
Route 16 continues to its intersection with
I-395Interstate 395 is a 67-mile-long north-south Interstate Highway that begins at Interstate 95 in East Lyme, Connecticut and ends at Interstate 90 in Auburn, Massachusetts, where it becomes Interstate 290. The original designation for the freeway was Route 52...
in Webster, along the shore of
Lake ChaubunagungamaugLake Chaubunagungamaug , also known as Webster Lake, is a lake in the town of Webster, Massachusetts, United States. It is located near the Connecticut border and has a surface area of 1,442 acres . The name comes from Nipmuc, an Algonquian language, and is believed to mean, "Fishing Place at the...
, and not far from the
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
border. It ends at Route 12 just to the west.
History
Parts of Route 16 were historically maintained by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), and while the MDC no longer exists, the parkway portions of the route are still patrolled by the
Massachusetts State PoliceThe Massachusetts State Police is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state...
and maintained by the
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and RecreationThe Department of Conservation and Recreation is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is best known for its parks and parkways, formerly belonging to the Metropolitan District Commission and the Department of Environmental Management . Under Governor Mitt Romney, the MDC and...
as a remnant of the former MDC jurisdiction.