East Somerville station

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For the former Boston and Maine Railroad station, see Sullivan Square station § History.
East Somerville
East Somerville station construction from Cross Street, July 2021.JPG
East Somerville station under construction in July 2021
LocationWashington Street at Joy Street
Somerville, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°22′49.56″N 71°5′15.66″W / 42.3804333°N 71.0876833°W / 42.3804333; -71.0876833Coordinates: 42°22′49.56″N 71°5′15.66″W / 42.3804333°N 71.0876833°W / 42.3804333; -71.0876833
Line(s)Medford Branch
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Construction
Bicycle facilities"Pedal and Park" bicycle cage
Disabled accessYes
History
OpeningMay 2022
Services
Preceding station MBTA.svg MBTA Following station
Gilman Square
toward Medford/​Tufts
 Green Line
E branch
 Lechmere
toward Heath Street
Former services (Prospect Hill station)
Preceding station Boston and Maine Railroad Following station
Winter Hill
toward Concord, NH
 Boston – Concord, NH Boston
Terminus

East Somerville station is an under-construction light rail station on the MBTA Green Line in Somerville, Massachusetts. It is being constructed as part of the Green Line Extension and is planned to open in May 2022. Upon opening, the station will be served by the E branch. The station will consist of one island platform, which will serve the E branch's two tracks.

History[]

Railroad station[]

Prospect Hill station in 1897

The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) opened between its namesake cities in 1835. Passenger service initially ran express between the two cities, but local stops were soon added.[1] One of the first was Milk Row, just south of Washington Street (then known as Milk Row after the nearby farms).[2][3]: 81  Opened in 1835, it was the first railroad station in Somerville (which separated from Charlestown in 1842).[4][5] All grade crossings on the line in Somerville were eliminated by 1852; the railroad passed over Washington Street on a bridge.[6]

In 1870, the Lexington Branch was routed over the B&L east of Somerville Junction, increasing service to Somerville Junction, Winter Hill, Milk Row, and East Cambridge stations. The Central Massachusetts Railroad began operations in 1881 with the Lexington Branch and B&L as its Boston entry.[7][8] The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) acquired the B&L in 1887 and soon made improvements to a number of B&M stations in Somerville. Milk Row was replaced with Prospect Hill off Alston Street, slightly to the north, around the time of the acquisition.[9][10][3]: 468  The former Milk Row station building remained extant but unused until at least 1895.[11]

The Prospect Hill station building was disused by 1924 as passenger volumes dwindled, though trains continued to stop.[12] In 1926, the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) began work on North Station plus an expansion of its freight yards. The B&M soon proposed to abandon East Cambridge and Prospect Hill stations in order to realign the ex-B&L into the new North Station.[13] Although the closure of East Cambridge was protested, Prospect Hill had largely been replaced by streetcars to Lechmere station and its closure was unopposed.[14][15] The Public Utilities Commission approved the closures in March 1927.[16] The stations closed at some point between then and May 22, when trains were rerouted over the new alignment.[17] The bridge over Washington Street was rebuilt as part of the realignment project.[18] The former station building remained in disuse until at least 1933, but was later demolished.[19]

Green Line station[]

The station under construction in March 2021

Early plans called the station Brickbottom after the neighborhood of the same name. 2014 plans announced it as Washington Street station, with an expected opening in December 2017.[20] The MBTA announced in December 2016 that the opening would be delayed until 2021 in the wake of cutbacks, and that the name of the station would be changed to East Somerville, reflecting the name of the neighborhood.[21]

Artwork at the station will include Domino Frame, In Tension by Nader Tehrani, an aluminum foam sculpture.[22] The concrete station platform was poured in August 2020.[23] The platform canopy was in place by June 2021.[24]

Original plans called for the D Branch to be extended to Medford/Tufts.[25][26] However, in April 2021, the MBTA indicated that the Medford Branch would instead be served by the E Branch.[27] By March 2021, the station was expected to open in December 2021.[28] In June 2021, the MBTA indicated an additional delay, under which the station is expected to open in May 2022.[29]

References[]

  1. ^ Harlow, Alvin Fay (1946). Steelways of New England. Creative Age Press. pp. 92–93.
  2. ^ Gordon, Edward W. (September 2008). "Union Square Revisited: From Sand Pit to Melting Pot" (PDF). Somerville Historic Preservation Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 13, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Samuels, Edward Augustus; Kimball, Henry Hastings (1897). Somerville, past and present : an illustrated historical souvenir commemorative of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the city government of Somerville, Massachusetts – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ PRESERVATION STAFF REPORT for Determination of Preferably Preserved (PDF) (Report). Somerville Historic Preservation Commission. September 25, 2018. p. 1.
  5. ^ The Somerville Journal Souvenir of the Semi-centennial, 1842-1892. Somerville Journal. 1892. p. 7 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Draper, Martin, Jr. (1852). "Map of Somerville, Mass". J.T. Powers & Co.
  7. ^ Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 55. ISBN 9780685412947.
  8. ^ Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. p. 227. ISBN 0942147022.
  9. ^ "Real Estate". Boston Globe. May 29, 1887. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Municipal Affairs in Several Cities". Boston Evening Transcript. June 9, 1886. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Fire in Old Milk Depot". Boston Globe. September 4, 1895. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ ""To Let" Sign on Railroad Station at Prospect Hill". Boston Globe. July 19, 1924. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Protest Giving Up Three Stations". Boston Daily Globe. November 10, 1926. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  14. ^ "Oppose B. & M. Abandonment". Boston Daily Globe. January 11, 1927. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  15. ^ "Oppose Closing East Cambridge Station". January 12, 1927. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  16. ^ "Five B. & M. Stations Will Be Abandoned". Boston Daily Globe. March 16, 1927 – via Newspapers.com. (second page) open access
  17. ^ "New Boston & Maine Line to be Used Sunday". Boston Globe. May 17, 1927. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  18. ^ "Costa Awarded $1500 in Railroad Improvement". Boston Globe. September 30, 1927. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "How would you like to live in a railroad station". Boston Globe. July 15, 1933. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  20. ^ "Washington Street and Union Square Stations: November 6, 2014" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  21. ^ Dungca, Nicole (December 7, 2016). "New Green Line stations are delayed until 2021". Boston Globe. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  22. ^ "GLX Community Working Group Monthly Meeting #39". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. February 2, 2021.
  23. ^ "GLX Community Working Group Monthly Meeting: August 4, 2020". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 4, 2020.
  24. ^ Wagner, Jeff (June 1, 2021). "GLXC Construction Update". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 26.
  25. ^ "MBTA Light Rail Transit System OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE PLAN" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. January 6, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2017.
  26. ^ "Travel Forecasts: Systemwide Stats and SUMMIT Results" (PDF). Green Line Extension Project: FY 2012 New Starts Submittal. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. January 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2017.
  27. ^ DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (April 9, 2021). "The MBTA is planning to open part of the Green Line Extension this October". Boston Globe. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  28. ^ "Report from the General Manager" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 29, 2021. p. 20.
  29. ^ Dalton, John (June 21, 2021). "Green Line Extension Update" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 19.

External links[]

Media related to East Somerville station at Wikimedia Commons

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