Bowdoin station
Bowdoin | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East Boston Tunnel | |||||||||||
Platforms | 1 wedge-shaped island platform | ||||||||||
Tracks | 1 balloon loop | ||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||
Structure type | Underground | ||||||||||
Accessible | No | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
Opened | March 18, 1916[1] | ||||||||||
Closed | January 3, 1981–January 11, 1982 March 3, 1982–April 20, 1982[1] | ||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1924, 1968 | ||||||||||
Passengers | |||||||||||
FY2019 | 2,127 boardings (weekday average)[2] | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Location | |||||||||||
Bowdoin station (
Bowdoin opened in 1916 as part of an extension of the
Station design
The station is located under
: 62Bowdoin station has a single wedge-shaped
The fare lobby, slightly higher in elevation than the platform, is located in the center of the station. A ramp leads from the fare lobby to the east end of the platform, with stairs connecting the west end of the westbound side of the platform to the lobby. Stairs and an up escalator lead from the lobby to the surface.[3]: 65 The station floor is terrazzo, and the walls brown enameled brick. The walls of the track area plus the ceilings are the painted concrete of the tunnel structure. Trim and fittings are primarily stainless steel; columns on the platform are covered with white enamel tile and trimmed with stainless steel.[3]: 65
History
Streetcar station
The
Bowdoin was built with a wedge-shaped
Construction of the station began on March 2, 1914; 247 men were employed for the work. Several buildings had to be underpinned to allow the loop to be built underneath them. Construction of the station was completed on December 4, 1914, with finish work following.[11] On March 13, 1916, service was extended to the new Scollay Under, with streetcars looping empty around the Bowdoin loop.[15] Bowdoin station opened on March 18.[1][14] All streetcar lines from East Boston looped at Bowdoin except for a Central Square, Cambridge–Orient Heights line, while several Cambridge streetcar lines terminated at Scollay Under.[16][12]
Modifications
Though originally planned to use high-floor rapid transit trains, the East Boston Tunnel opened with streetcars serving low-platform stations.[17]: 19 Large bi-loading streetcars (with high floors but capable of loading from low platforms), which incorporated many attributes from metro cars used on the Main Line El, began use in 1905.[17]: 118–119 [18]: 14 However, neither these nor the large center-entrance cars introduced in 1917 (which were designed for multiple unit operation) could fully handle the crowds.[18]: 43
In 1921, the Boston Transit Department (BTD) – the successor to the BTC – began work at Maverick Square to convert the East Boston Tunnel to high-floor metro trains.[19] The next year, the BTD board approved the construction of high-level platforms at Atlantic Avenue, Devonshire, Scollay Under, and Bowdoin.[20] Construction of concrete high-level platforms 40 inches (1.0 m) above the rails at Bowdoin began in December 1923 or January 1924. A section of low-level platform was left to serve streetcars during construction.[21] Temporary wooden platform sections were put in place to allow service to begin on April 21, with the permanent concrete sections completed by July 12. The Bowdoin platform was also extended 28 feet (8.5 m) east from August 27 to December 12.[22]
Rather than modify the tunnel, the BERy elected to build smaller-than-usual rapid transit cars which could operate in a tunnel designed for streetcars—particularly around the tight loop at Bowdoin.
The newly formed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) assigned colors to the four MBTA subway lines in 1965, with the East Boston Tunnel and Revere Extension becoming the Blue Line.[1] The station was modernized in 1967–1968 as part of a $9 million systemwide station improvement program.[24] The original entrances at the west end of the station were replaced with a glassy entrance under a tilted concrete slab, set into a shallow depression to reduce the costs of installing the escalator.[4][3]: 65 The new headhouse, near the middle of the station, was designed by Josep Lluís Sert as part of a project for a never-built Catholic chapel nearby.[4][25][26] Illustrations showing the history of Bowdoin Square were added to the station signs.[27][28] Bowdoin was closed during part of the renovations and reopened on March 7, 1968.[29] The station was surveyed in 1984 and 1987 for potential inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places; it was concluded that the 1924 and 1968 reconstructions had left little of the original station, and that it was of minor significance within the system.[3]: 65
Closures and reopening
In the early 1980s, the MBTA suffered from a serious budget crisis, which resulted in service cuts.
The station was closed from July 29 to September 8, 1992, during track work on the loop.[1] As the MBTA planned the Blue Line Modernization Project in the early 1990s, the agency planned to close Bowdoin in order to eliminate the tight loop. The closure would take place after the renovation of Government Center, which would re-add a long-closed entrance at the west end of the Blue Line platform.[32] In 2008, the MBTA began running six-car trains on the Blue Line.[33] Because the eastbound side of the Bowdoin platform can only fit four cars, the MBTA had originally planned to close the station when six-car trains entered service; a planned renovation of Government Center station was to add a second headhouse close to Bowdoin Square.[34] However, the station was kept open, with only four cars on each eastbound train berthed at the platform.[7]
Until at least 2011, the MBTA still planned to close the station after Government Center was renovated.[35] However, by 2013, the MBTA decided not to construct the planned west entrance at Government Center, and to instead build only a less-expensive emergency exit.[36] On December 28, 2013, the MBTA resumed night and weekend service to Bowdoin station. The change was intended to provide alternative transportation during the three-month closure of the Callahan Tunnel and subsequent two-year closure of Government Center station.[37] This was the first time since 1981 that the station was open during all operating hours.[1] In February 2016, the MBTA announced that Bowdoin would remain open at all times even after Government Center reopened on March 21.[38] Daily ridership at the station increased from 1,526 in 2013 to 2,127 in FY 2019.[39][2]
The reconstructions of Government Center in 2014–16 left Bowdoin as the only non-
Red–Blue connector
The Red–Blue connector is a proposed extension of the Blue Line under Cambridge Street to Charles/MGH station, about 0.4 miles (0.6 km) west of Bowdoin, where a transfer to the Red Line would be available. The project was first proposed in 1924, and returned to consideration in the 1978 update to the Program for Mass Transportation, although extensions from Bowdoin or Government Center to Park Street were proposed in 1926 and 1978.[42][43][44] In 1991, the state agreed to build the project by 2011 as part of the settlement of a lawsuit over auto emissions from the Big Dig project.[45] This commitment was changed to design only in 2007–08 and lifted entirely in 2015.[46][47][48]
Original plans for the connector in 1986 called for a
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
- ^ a b "A Guide to Ridership Data". MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation. June 22, 2020. p. 10.
- ^ a b c d e f Public Archaeology Laboratory (March 2010). "Appendix L: Historic Resources Reconnaissance Survey and Archaeological Resources Assessment". Red Line/Blue Line Connector Project: Draft Alternatives Analysis Technical Report (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 16, 2010.
- ^ a b c Yudis, Anthony (December 4, 1966). "'Sunken' Subway Kiosk Proposed". Boston Globe. p. 40 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Red Line/Blue Line Connector Project: Draft Environmental Impact Report (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. March 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 8, 2011.
- ^ a b Red Line/Blue Line Connector Project: Draft Alternatives Analysis Technical Report (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. March 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 16, 2010.
- ^ "Three Car Victims". Boston Globe. October 7, 1906. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8289-0173-4.
- ^ Annual report of the Boston Transit Commission for the year ending June 30, 1913. Boston Transit Commission. 1913. p. 46 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c Annual report of the Boston Transit Commission for the year ending June 30, 1915. Boston Transit Commission. 1915. pp. 44–47 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b "Boston Profits By Elevated Railway Station Improvements". Electric Railway Journal. 48 (7). McGraw-Hill: 258–263. August 12, 1916 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Bromley, George W.; Bromley, Walter S. (1917). "Plate 4". Atlas of the city of Boston : Boston proper and Back Bay : from actual surveys and official plans. G.W. Bromley & Co – via Norman B. Leventhal Map Center.
- ^ a b Annual report of the Boston Transit Commission for the year ending June 30, 1916. Boston Transit Commission. 1916. pp. 45–47 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "From Cambridge To East Boston". The Boston Globe. March 12, 1916. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Few Used New Bowdoin Sq Tunnel Immediately After its Opening". Boston Globe. March 18, 1916. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ISBN 9780738535760.
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- ^ Annual Report of the Transit Department for the Year Ending January 31, 1922. Boston Transit Department. 1922. p. 27 – via Google Books.
- ^ Annual Report of the Transit Department for the Year Ending January 31, 1923. Boston Transit Department. 1923. p. 3 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Annual Report of the Transit Department for the Year Ending January 31, 1924. Boston Transit Department. 1924. pp. 28–29 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Annual Report of the Transit Department for the Year Ending January 31, 1925. Boston Transit Department. 1925. pp. 35–36 – via HathiTrust.
- ^ Belcher, Jonathan (January–February 2020). "MBTA Vehicle Inventory as of February 29, 2020". Rollsign. Vol. 57, no. 1–2. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 3–5.
- ^ Fourth Annual Report (Covering the period October 1, 1967 – October 31, 1968) of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 1968. p. 23 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Ask the Globe". Boston Globe. April 9, 2001. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
- OCLC 1028979643.
- ^ Alonso, Jessica (April 5, 1977). "Art from underground". Boston Globe. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Plotkin, A.S. (December 28, 1967). "New Bowdoin Snubs Old Howard". Boston Globe. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New Bowdoin Station Is Officially Opened". Boston Globe. March 7, 1968. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bowdoin, Symphony T stations closed today". Boston Globe. January 3, 1981 – via Newspapers.com. (second page)
- ^ Buell, Spencer (March 5, 2020). "Why Do We Need the Bowdoin Stop, Anyway?". Boston Magazine.
- ^ Blake, Andrew (March 20, 1994). "MBTA to begin $467 million Blue Line project". Boston Globe – via Newspapers.com. (second page)
- ^ "Six-Car Trains on the Blue Line" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. September 15, 2008.
- ^ "DEP/EOT Amended Administrative Consent Order AC0-BO-00-7001-AMENDMENT #2: 2006 Annual Report and 9th Status Report" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. June 30, 2006. p. 4.
- ^ Moskowitz, Eric (October 5, 2011). "MBTA board OK's millions for station improvements". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019.
- ^ "Government Center Station Reconstruction Project Green Line / Blue Line Project Briefing" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 13, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 30, 2013.
- ^ "Callahan Tunnel closes Friday night at 11pm" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 23, 2013.
- ^ Vaccaro, Adam (February 10, 2016). "Bowdoin T station will remain open nights, weekends when Government Center reopens". Boston Globe.
- ^ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
- ^ "MBTA Stations". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020.
- ^ "Preview of 2019 Recommendations: Presentation to the FMCB" (PDF). Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 1, 2019. p. 12.
- ^ "Plans For New Tunnel Station". Boston Globe. December 9, 1924. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Central Transportation Planning Staff (November 15, 1993). "The Transportation Plan for the Boston Region – Volume 2". National Transportation Library. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008.
- .
- ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency (October 4, 1994). "Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Massachusetts—Amendment to Massachusetts' SIP (for Ozone and for Carbon Monoxide) for Transit Systems Improvements and High Occupancy Vehicle Facilities in the Metropolitan Boston Air Pollution Control District)". Federal Register. 59 FR 50498.
- ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency (July 31, 2008). "Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Massachusetts; Amendment to Massachusetts' State Implementation Plan for Transit System Improvements". Federal Register. 73 FR 44654.
- ^ "State Implementation Plan – Transit Commitments: Status Report" (PDF). Executive Office of Transportation. July 2, 2007. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2015.
- ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency (December 8, 2015). "Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Massachusetts; Transit System Improvements". Federal Register. 80 FR 76225.
- ^ Seelye Stevenson Value & Knecht (December 1986). Bowdoin Station and Charles Street Station Connector Project Feasibility Study (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 16, 2010.
- ^ "Summary Memorandum: Tunnel Constructability Study: Update to the 2010 DEIR for the Red Line/Blue Line Connector". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. October 2018.
- ^ Stoothoff, Erik (June 7, 2021). "Red Blue Connector" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
- ^ "5. Programmatic Requirements". Red Blue Connector Concept Design Report (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. November 15, 2021. pp. 2, 3.