Prudential station

Coordinates: 42°20′44″N 71°04′54″W / 42.34556°N 71.08167°W / 42.34556; -71.08167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Prudential
55
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedFebruary 16, 1941[1]
Rebuilt2002–2003
Previous namesMechanics (1941–1964)
Passengers
FY20193,242 boardings (weekday average)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Symphony
toward Heath Street
E branch
 Copley
toward Medford/​Tufts
Location
Map

Prudential station is an underground

Boston, Massachusetts. Prudential station is accessible, featuring low raised platforms and elevator service to the Huntington Arcade of the Prudential Center
shopping mall at the base of the Prudential Tower.

History

Streetcars on Huntington Avenue at Mechanics Hall in 1920
Mechanics station shortly before opening

The first tracks on Huntington Avenue east of

Arborway – the E branch as it would run for eight decades – was fully in place.[3]
Service was shifted to the Boylston Street Portal in 1914.

By the 1930s, auto traffic through Copley Square and Boylston Street (which, unlike Huntington Avenue, lacked dedicated medians for trolleys) caused major delays to streetcars. Mechanics station (named for nearby

Symphony station were opened on February 16, 1941, as the two new stations of the Huntington Avenue subway project.[1] The project was constructed by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression and allowed streetcars from Huntington Avenue to go underground through Copley Square, cutting 15 minutes off trip times.[3]

Mechanics station was renamed Prudential on December 3, 1964 upon completion of the Prudential Tower.[1] In the 1970s, the headhouse on the inbound side was replaced during a widening of Huntington Avenue.[4] The station was closed on Sundays for some time beginning on February 1, 1981 due to budget cuts.[5] The station was made accessible in 2002–2003 as part of the construction of 111 Huntington Avenue nearby.[6][7]

For many years, Prudential and

Charlie Card
electronic fare collection system at Prudential and Symphony, allowing fares to be paid at the station entrances as with other underground stations on the system.

References

  1. ^ a b c Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  2. ^ "A Guide to Ridership Data". MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation. June 22, 2020. p. 8.
  3. ^ a b c Greer, Michael (6 December 2002). "Streetcars in Jamaica Plain: A History". Jamaica Plain Gazette. Jamaica Plain Historical Society. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Surface Lines Report". Rollsign. Vol. 9, no. 8/9. Boston Street Railway Association. August–September 1972. Via Tremont Street Subway NHL documentation.
  5. ^ "T changes start today". The Boston Globe. February 1, 1981. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. ^ "2007 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence: The Prudential Center Redevelopment" (PDF). Bruner Foundation. 2007.
  7. ^ "THE VIOLA: AN ICONIC MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT". The Peebles Corporation. November 7, 2014. p. 5. Archived from the original on October 25, 2018.

External links

Media related to Prudential station at Wikimedia Commons

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