Dedham has two waterfronts. This fall, they're at very different stages. On the Charles River end of Bridge Street in Riverdale, the two best-known riverside rooms are dark. Each site has approved or proposed plans for a restaurant and public river access, and none of it exists yet. On Mother Brook in East Dedham, the town finished a new riverside path in August, and the arts center next to the brook is adding a December market. If you want a riverside hour between now and the new year, Mother Brook is where you can have one.
Two Rooms on the Charles, Both Dark
Waterford's Family Restaurant at 2 Bridge Street has closed. Boston Restaurant Talk reported the closure on September 22. It noted that Waterford's opened in 2013 in the space that used to be the Irish Ale House, serving a mix of Irish dishes and classic American food: seafood soup, clam chowder, fish and chips, chicken curry. The same report quoted the restaurant's own Facebook post, "We look forward to seeing you all when we reopen," which hints at a new concept for the space without naming one.
The Planning Board approved a plan for that property on February 11, 2026. The Town's announcement describes a four-story building with 26 condominium units and a 60-seat restaurant.
Just up the street is the former Moseley's on the Charles banquet hall site. It's been in the planning process longer, and the plans have grown along the way. The Needham-Dedham Times reported on September 3 that the Planning Board approved two buildings there 5-0 in February 2025: 49 units at 50 Bridge Street and 37 across the street at 49-57 Bridge Street. The revised applications ask for 63 and 45. Each building would be four stories with ground-floor commercial space, 2,596 square feet at No. 50 and 3,427 square feet at Nos. 49-57.
| Address | What was there | What's planned | Where it stands this fall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Bridge Street | Waterford's Family Restaurant, opened 2013, reported closed September 22, 2026 | 26 condos, a 60-seat restaurant, a public canoe dock | Approved February 11, 2026. A request to change dock access hours and parking was on the September 23 agenda |
| 50 Bridge Street | Former Moseley's on the Charles banquet hall | 63 apartments, 2,596 sq. ft. of commercial space, riverfront park | Revised plan under Planning Board review; hearings continued from September 9 to September 23 |
| 49-57 Bridge Street | Former Moseley's parking lot | 45 apartments, 3,427 sq. ft. of commercial space | Reviewed together with No. 50 |
On Bridge Street, River Access Comes With the Buildings
What ties this stretch together is that every new piece of public riverfront on the Charles end of Bridge Street is part of a building project. The canoe dock at 2 Bridge Street comes with the condo and restaurant approval. Its public access hours and parking were still being adjusted at the September 23 meeting, as the Needham-Dedham Times previewed.
The park on the former Moseley's site works the same way. The Town's September 2026 summit describes the revised project as including a 12,000-square-foot waterfront public park, and it lists the project as under review this fall. The plans presented in December 2024 showed what a park there could look like: a Riverbank Park at 50 Bridge Street, with ramps and steps down from the street to the water and native plantings where the asphalt now meets the river. Those plans also included a 70-seat restaurant using Moseley's former liquor license.
So the park, the dock and both restaurants arrive when the buildings do. Back at a June 2024 scoping session, Planning Board member James F. McGrail called the project "a tremendous opportunity for the Riverdale neighborhood and the town as a whole," according to the session minutes cited by the Needham-Dedham Times. That still depends on a vote that hadn't been reported as of late September.
The Town's own paddling guide is a few steps behind, too. The open space and water trail map describes Town Landing Launch at 70 Bullard Street as restored for canoe and kayak launches, and says paddlers can head downstream "toward the restaurants on Bridge Street." It also lists the Needham Street Launch at 407 Needham Street, which has a parking lot and is frequently used by paddlers. Both launches are still on the map. The restaurants that downstream paddle used to end at are closed for now.
Mother Brook Got Its Park First
On the east side of town, the river project is finished. On August 19, town and state officials held a ribbon cutting for the Sawmill Lane Pollinator Pathway at 21 Sawmill Lane, a one-acre town-owned parcel along Mother Brook.
According to the Town's project page, the plans for the parcel included:
- A stone-dust path connecting to Condon Park
- 11 native tree saplings and 117 shrubs and wildflowers
- A rain garden that filters stormwater before it reaches Mother Brook
- A bench for watching wildlife
- A community seed-sharing library
- A walkable art exhibit on the Sawmill Lane Bridge
The work was funded by a $30,395 award from the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game's Community Biodiversity Grant program. Dedham was one of 12 communities chosen from more than 200 applicants in the program's first year. Compare that to Bridge Street, where the riverfront park depends on a two-building, 108-apartment project still under review. The Mother Brook path needed only a small grant and a parcel the town already owned.
The bridge art is up now and on a clock. Mother Brook Arts & Community Center announced the 2026 Art Walk selections in June: 40 local artworks printed as 2-by-2-foot weatherproof vinyl stickers, on display through 2026. That leaves about two months to see them. The Town's August update said some educational signage and more riverbank seed planting were still to come, so the site may keep changing over the fall.
The Arts Center Has the Season's Biggest Riverside Date
Bridge Street's riverside rooms used to host the kind of crowd that now has nowhere to gather there. On Mother Brook, the arts center down the brook from the new path is taking on that role this winter.
Mother Brook Arts & Community Center is starting a new one-day Winter Market on Saturday, December 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The center says it's inspired by the longtime twice-a-year Open Studios. Spring Open Studios will still happen separately in April 2027. Here's what the center lists:
- 75 artists with open studios, including the metalsmith group Ore Metal Studio and the collective Full Tilt Print Studios
- More than 20 fine craft vendors throughout the building
- Lunch from the Bibimbap food truck
- Seasonal flowers from the mobile floral bar Moon Gate Garden
- Free drop-in art activities for all ages
The market is indoors and goes on rain or shine. There's free parking onsite, with overflow lots on High Street, and donation and sponsorship proceeds support the center. If you go early in December, you can also walk the bridge art before it comes down at year's end.
Smaller events start sooner. The center's events calendar has a porcelain earring workshop on Saturday, October 31. A family pottery wheel workshop runs Saturdays through December 12, and daytime life drawing continues through December 16.
Dates Between Now and the End of the Art Walk
The fall calendar on this side of town also includes Dedham Day, which was postponed from September 27 because of inclement weather. The Town's Dedham Day page lists the 36th Annual Dedham Day and Cow Plop, run by Dedham Parks & Recreation with the Friends of Dedham Recreation, for Saturday, November 7, at Barnes Memorial Field on Eastern Avenue.
- Saturday, October 31. Porcelain earring workshop at Mother Brook Arts & Community Center.
- Saturday, November 7, noon to 4 p.m. Dedham Day at Barnes Memorial Field, with BBQ, rides and games, local vendors, music, face painting, crafts, community demonstrations and the Cow Plop. A sensory-friendly hour runs from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and rides start at noon. The rain date is November 8.
- Saturday, December 5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Winter Market at Mother Brook Arts & Community Center.
- Saturday, December 12. Last session of the family pottery wheel workshop.
- Through December 31. The 40-piece Art Walk on the Sawmill Lane Bridge, next to the new pollinator pathway at 21 Sawmill Lane.
If you live near either river and want to know how Bridge Street's plans or the new Mother Brook path might affect your corner of Dedham, The Muncey Group follows these projects closely and is glad to talk them through. Schedule a Consultation whenever it suits you.
