Additions to the Charles River Esplanade had been made during the 1930s only by omitting an important part of the project, a proposed highway from the Longfellow Bridge to the Cottage Farm (Boston University) Bridge, which had provoked tremendous protest. After Helen Storrow, the wife of the now deceased James Storrow, supported a group opposed to the highway, it was dropped; part of the funding was to have come from a million-dollar gift from her.
The Charles River Esplanade expansion in the 1930s involved removing a crucial element of the original plan, namely a proposed highway connecting the Longfellow Bridge and Cottage Farm (Boston University) Bridge. This decision was influenced by public opposition and Helen Storrow's support for a group opposing the project.