So, Noah Bierman reports that the Zakim Bridge is going dark, supposedly to save money for the Turnpike Authority.  But it's really a little "fuck you" from the turnpike authority’s executive director, Alan LeBovidge, as the lights go down on his tenure, and the authority itself is dissolved by the legislature.  "Symbolic gestures" just don't get much better than this. 

Bierman's reporting is another matter.  In his rush to melodrama, he gets it all wrong.  First of all, the Zakim, with its breathtaking views of the Boston Sand and Gravel Co. is hardly "one of Boston’s most iconic symbols."  It's only been around since 2002, for Pete's sake, and there are a lot of other icons about to compete with.  And, just like fictional breathtaking views of the ICA, you can't get this view of the Zakim...


...from anywhere but a helicopter. 

The Brooklyn Bridge it ain't.  Nor is it "nearly as identifiable with Boston as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris," as Bierman retahdedly claims. 

To prove his point, Bierman breathlessly recounts that Bruce Springsteen — who is from New Jersey — played "Thunder Road" — an admittedly great song that ends with the lines "It's a town full of losers/ And I'm pulling out of here to win"  at the dedication of the bridge, as 2,000 people — two whole thousand??? — "marveled at the melding of modern engineering and aesthetics." 

Indeed.

LeBovidge's gesture, which he deliciously denies is a gesture (although allowing "anything’s symbolic if you want), is all Boston, baby.  He claims he's just trying to "stave off insolvency."  Admirable.  I'm sure the five grand a month the turnpike estimates it'll save will make a big dent in their GAZILLION DOLLAR DEBT.

I'm gonna miss these guys.  But I'm sure whatever unholy leviathan replaces the turnpike authority will be at least as entertaining.