Hynes Convention Center station

Coordinates: 42°20′52″N 71°05′16″W / 42.3478°N 71.0878°W / 42.3478; -71.0878
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Hynes Convention Center
55
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
AccessibleNo
History
OpenedOctober 3, 1914 (1914-10-03)
Rebuilt2022–2025 (planned)
Previous namesMassachusetts (1914–1965)
Auditorium (1965–1990)
Hynes Convention Center/ICA (1990–2006)
Passengers
FY20197,041 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Kenmore
toward Boston College
 Green Line Copley
toward Government Center
Kenmore
toward Cleveland Circle
 Green Line
Kenmore
toward Riverside
 Green Line Copley
toward Union Square
Former services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Kenmore
toward Watertown
 Green Line Copley
toward Park Street
Location
Map

Hynes Convention Center station is an underground

Boston, Massachusetts. The station is named for the Hynes Convention Center, which is located about 700 feet (210 m) to the east along Boylston Street. It has two side platforms serving the two tracks of the Boylston Street subway, which are used by the Green Line B branch, C branch, and D branch. The main entrance to the station from Massachusetts Avenue leads to a fare lobby under the 360 Newbury Street
building.

Construction of the station (originally named Massachusetts) began in December 1912; it opened in October 1914 along with the Boylston Street subway for use by the

Massachusetts Turnpike Extension
; it was partially demolished.

The newly-created MBTA renamed the station Auditorium in 1965, followed by Hynes Convention Center/ICA in 1990 and finally Hynes Convention Center in 2006. A pedestrian tunnel to the southbound bus shelter was opened in 1964, and the Boylston Street entrance was reopened in 1965. Both were closed in the 1980s, though the Boylston Street entrance is still used during the Boston Marathon and major events at the convention center.

Averaging just under 9,000 weekday boardings in a 2013 count, Hynes is the busiest non-

accessible MBTA station. A renovation to the station, planned as part of air rights development over the adjacent Massachusetts Turnpike
, will make the station accessible and reopen the Boylston Street entrance at all times. The project is expected to be completed in 2025 at a cost of $45.7 million. A separate development project is proposed to include restoration of the pedestrian tunnel.

Station layout

See caption.
Diagram of the station layout, showing platforms and tracks (green), fare lobbies (yellow), and surface corridors (orange). Unused corridors to the southbound bus shelter and the former surface station are also marked (in blue).

The station is oriented approximately east–west; it lies oblique to the Back Bay street grid inside the block bounded by Massachusetts Avenue on the southwest, Newbury Street on the northwest, Hereford Street on the northeast, and Boylston Street on the southeast. Just east (inbound) of the station, the Boylston Street subway curves slightly to the north to run under Boylston Street; to the west, a curve slightly to the south aligns the tunnel under Newbury Street.[2]

The station has two

55 stop near the station.[5]

A normally closed secondary entrance from Boylston Street leads to a smaller fare lobby over the east end of the platforms.

Patriot's Day to handle the spectators from the Boston Marathon (when Copley station is closed), as well as for large events like Anime Boston at the convention center.[6][7] For some events, it is opened for exiting passengers only.[8][9][10] The planned station renovations include permanently reopening the entrance.[11]

History

Construction

An isometric photograph of a below-ground concrete structure.
Massachusetts station in 1914, before the surface station was constructed

Plans made in 1907 for a westward extension of the Tremont Street subway called for a line along the south shore of the Charles River, called the Riverbank Subway. Though it was originally planned to have no intermediate stops, in 1910 the Boston Transit Commission (BTC) voted to add stations at Charles Street, Dartmouth Street, and Massachusetts Avenue.[12] However, public opinion quickly shifted to a route under Boylston Street, which was developing rapidly.[12] In July 1911, the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill providing for the construction of several tunnels, including the Boylston Street subway. New stations were to be located at Copley Square – a major civic center – and the Massachusetts Avenue thoroughfare.[2]

Subway construction began in March 1912.[13][14] On September 24, 1912, the BTC acquired an easement through the Boston Cab Company building for the construction of Massachusetts station.[15] The Hugh Nawn Company, a major local contractor, began work on the station on December 21, 1912.[3] The BTC determined that the Cab Company building was not structurally sound; it purchased the structure on April 3, 1913 and demolished it soon after, allowing construction on the west part of the station to proceed.[15]

Construction was complicated by the soil conditions, as the site was shoreline until the filling of the Back Bay in the 19th century.[16] Wooden and concrete piles were driven through seven feet (2.1 m) of silt to provide a firm foundation for the station, and for future air rights development atop it.[3] The station was built adjacent to the Boston and Albany Railroad cut to the south; one railroad track had to be supported on piles during construction.[3] Although the station was constructed below grade, much of the top of the station was exposed; an alley was constructed on top. Some of the dirt removed during construction was used to fill the Charles River Esplanade near Cottage Farm, while the rest was dumped at sea.[3]

As built, the station was 350 feet (110 m) long and a maximum of 90 feet (27 m) wide.[3] The platforms were constructed three inches (76 mm) above the rails to serve streetcars, but sufficient overhead space was left if later conversion to high platforms for use with metro stock was desired.[3] The station was constructed of reinforced concrete with granolithic platforms and floors. The ceilings and upper walls were finished with white plaster; the lower walls were white terrazzo with red-and-white tile borders.[13] A waiting room for passengers transferring to surface streetcars was located on Massachusetts Avenue next to the main station entrance.[13] The Boylston Street subway, including Massachusetts station, opened on October 3, 1914.[14][13]

Surface station

A one-story concrete structure and a seven-story office building
The surface transfer station and the Boston Transit Building in November 1919

In 1917, the Massachusetts General Court passed legislation allowing the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) to construct prepayment streetcar transfer areas (where passengers paid upon entering the transfer area, rather than on board the streetcar) at existing subway and elevated stations.[17] Soon after, BERy asked the Boston Transit Commission to build such a structure at Massachusetts station.[18] In November 1917, the Public Service Commission approved BERy's plans to construct the transfer station as a bridge between Newbury Street and Boylston Street over the B&A tracks.[19]: 6 

A reinforced concrete building was built with two tracks and a 27-foot-wide (8.2 m) island platform. Staircases connected it to both subway platforms and the fare mezzanine, with faregates providing access from Newbury and Boylston streets. Streetcars from either direction on both Massachusetts and Boylston could reach the transfer station, then either loop back to their original or continue in the other three directions.[19]: 38  Construction began on February 4, 1918, and demolition of buildings was completed by April 5.[19]: 39 

The surface station opened on November 29, 1919.[20][21] The BERy estimated that the number of daily transfers at the location would increase from 20,000 to 30,000.[22] The transfer station was served by streetcars on the Harvard–Dudley line that ran on Massachusetts Avenue, and the Ipswich Street line (Park Street–Chestnut Hill) which ran on Boylston Street. The Ipswich Street line was cut back from Park Street on June 13, 1925, with Massachusetts station as the new eastern terminal.[23] The Harvard–Dudley route was split into Harvard–Massachusetts (later route 76) and Massachusetts–Dudley (later route 47) lines on July 27, 1930.[24]: 64 

In 1917, a private firm began construction on an Arthur Bowditch-designed office building above the main headhouse.[25][26] The seven-story building was completed in October 1919.[27][28] In January 1920, the BERy moved its offices into the building, as its lease at 101 Milk Street was expiring.[27][29] The BERy used the upper floors of the building, then known as the Transit Building, as its offices until 1926.[25] Later known as 360 Newbury Street, the building has served a variety of tenants; its late-1980s renovation was designed by Frank Gehry.[30]

Bus replacement

A subway platform with an overhead sign reading "Out to Boylston St. and Mass Ave.
The outbound subway platform in 1962

The first bus route to serve the station was a

55), still terminating at the surface station, in July 1934.[23][37]

Buses replaced streetcars on route 76 at off-peak hours from February 10, 1940, to May 2, 1942, and again after March 30, 1946.[24]: 127  The route was converted to bus at all times on September 12, 1949 and to trolleybus on April 22, 1950.[38][24]: 128  The Boylston Street end of the surface station was modified in late 1949 to accommodate the trolleybuses.[39] Route 47 was replaced with buses off-peak on April 17, 1948, and fully on September 12, 1953.[35]: 8 [24]: 64  Route 76 was converted back to diesel bus on April 1, 1961.[35]: 8 [38] Route 54 was cut back to Copley Square in December 1960; route 55 was extended east to Copley in December 1976.[35]: 51, 52 

In the early 1960s, the

buskers and a food truck.[41][42]

A large dedicated

Prudential Center complex in 1965 (on what had previous been rail yards) increased the number of riders accessing the station from the Boylston Street direction. On April 19, 1965, the MBTA reopened the former headhouse on Boylston Street, diagonally across from the Prudential complex.[43]

MBTA era

Interior of a subway entrance, with a mural of a streetcar on a reflective panel
A 1977-created mural of a Harvard–Dudley streetcar inside the main entrance

The BERy was replaced by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in 1947; it was in turn replaced by the

John B. Hynes Memorial Auditorium).[20][44]

The MBTA began a modernization of the station – part of a $14 million renovation of seven subway stations – in 1975.[45] It was completed on August 31, 1977.[46] The project included two pieces of public art. A 7-foot (2.1 m)-tall metal sculpture - Constellations, by Dennis Kowal - was installed in the Boylston Street entrance in 1975.[47] A 8-by-12-foot (2.4 m × 3.7 m) silk-screened enamel mural of a Harvard–Dudley streetcar was placed inside the main entrance in 1976–77.[48] In 1980, Morgan Bulkeley installed a 45-by-18-foot (13.7 m × 5.5 m) mural on the Newbury Street face of the former streetcar station. Entitled "Tramount" after the former Trimount hill, it interweaves elements of Boston's history with geometric forms.[49][50]

The pedestrian tunnel to the southbound bus shelter was closed in the early 1980s due to security concerns.

South Boston Waterfront.[53] Largely forgotten since the entrance closed, Constellations was moved to Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2012.[54][55]

Planned renovations

Construction work next to an urban highway, with the opening to a pedestrian tunnel visible
The former pedestrian tunnel, planned for reuse, exposed during Parcel 12 construction in July 2021

Averaging just over 7,000 weekday boardings in 2013, Hynes is the busiest non-

Mass Pike on Parcel 13 next to the station. As part of the project, the developer was to be required to renovate Hynes Convention Center station with elevators for accessibility, as well as reopening both the tunnel under Massachusetts Avenue and the disused Boylston Street headhouse.[11][57]

In November 2015, MassDOT approved plans for a development called "The Viola" on the site, with construction to begin in 2019. The developer, Peebles Corporation, was to work with the MBTA to design the renovated station, but will not perform the construction work. Instead, Peebles would provide $30.5 million of the estimated $45.7 million station cost; the MBTA would obtain the remaining funds and organize the renovation.[58] The development will relocate part of the Massachusetts Avenue entrance slightly south into the new structure.[59]

As of June 2019, Peebles will have responsibility for the headhouse renovations, while the MBTA will have responsibility for the platform level.[60] In December 2019, the MBTA awarded a $11.5 million, 33-month design contract for the accessibility renovations.[61] Peebles began the permitting process for the 432,000-square-foot (40,100 m2) development, which includes a hotel and condominiums, in February 2020.[62] Design was 30% complete by May 2022; it was then placed on hold pending plans from the developer.[63][64] In 2023, with the development stalled, the MBTA resumed design work independently.[65]

A separate air rights development on the west side of Massachusetts Avenue (Parcel 12), planned to be complete in 2022, will include a new entrance to the station.[66] Construction of that project began in July 2020.[67] The existing pedestrian tunnel will require renovations for accessibility.[64]

References

  1. ^ a b "A Guide to Ridership Data". MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation. June 22, 2020. p. 8.
  2. ^ a b Boston Transit Commission (1912). Annual report of the Boston Transit Commission, for the year ending June 30, 1912. pp. 9–11 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Boston Transit Commission (1914). Annual report of the Boston Transit Commission, for the year ending June 30, 1914. pp. 37–39 – via Internet Archive.
  4. Boston Globe. p. 92 – via Newspapers.com. (second page) Open access icon
  5. ^ "2023–24 System Map". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 17, 2023.
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  7. ^ "Patriots Day/Marathon Monday events and road closings". Wicked Local. April 13, 2009.
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  9. ^ Rocheleau, Matt (April 10, 2014). "MBTA to close some stations, alter bus routes, while increasing most service for Boston Marathon". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on April 14, 2014.
  10. ^ "A Spectator's Guide To The 2015 Boston Marathon". WBUR. April 18, 2015.
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