The Boston Public Library has posted a collection of Newton post cards using Flickr. Several of the pictures show how the Charles River used to look in its run through Newton.
This looks like the dam at Upper Falls (the Silk Mill Dam):
You can compare this to my recent picture of the dam at Upper Falls from my paddling trip through Hemlock Gorge:
It was interesting to see what the area around Horseshoe Dam looked like prior to the construction of Route 9, as seen in this picture: