Newton Centre station

Newton Centre station is a light rail station on the MBTA Green Line D branch, located in the Newton Centre village of Newton, Massachusetts. A former commuter rail station, it was converted for light rail use and reopened on July 4, 1959, along with the rest of the line. The 1891-built station and express office are part of the Newton Railroad Stations Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Newton Centre
Newton Centre station in March 2016
General information
Location70 Union Street
Newton Centre, Newton, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°19′46″N 71°11′33″W
Line(s)Highland branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 52
Construction
Bicycle facilities15 spaces
AccessibleYes
History
Opened1852 (Charles River Branch Railroad)
Rebuilt1891; 1958–1959
Previous namesNewton Center
Passengers
20131,891 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Newton Highlands
toward Riverside
 Green Line Chestnut Hill
toward Union Square
Former services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station
Newton Highlands
toward Riverside
 Highland branch Chestnut Hill
toward Boston
Newton Centre Railroad Station
Built1891
ArchitectShepley, Rutan & Coolidge
Architectural styleRichardsonian Romanesque
NRHP reference No.76002137
Added to NRHPMarch 25, 1976
Location

History
Newton Centre station shortly after the 1907 track lowering

The first station at the site opened in 1852 on Langley Road as a part of the Charles River Railroad.[2] The Boston and Albany Railroad commissioned a building which design was started by H. H. Richardson in 1886, the year of his death, and which design was finished by Richardson’s successor firm of Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge. The new station, built by the Norcross Brothers firm of Worcester, opened in 1891.[3] The station was heavily modified in 1905–07 when the line was lowered below grade to eliminate street crossings.[3] The Highland branch was closed in 1958 and quickly converted for streetcar use; streetcar service began in July 1959.

The station building was rented out as commercial space; by 1962, it housed a clothing store.[4] The station building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as part of the Newton Railroad Stations Historic District. At that time, it housed a sales training agency.[5][6] It was used as travel industry training school beginning around 1977 and a coffee shop beginning around 1988.[7][8][9][10] A Coffee Connection store replaced that coffee shop in the early 1990s.[11] [12] It became a Starbucks store in 1994, when the chain bought out Coffee Connection, and closed in 2008.[13][14] A restaurant was open in the building from 2010 to 2022.[15][16][17]

In the early 2000s, the MBTA modified key surface stops with raised platforms for accessibility as part of the Light Rail Accessibility Program. The renovation of Newton Centre was completed around 2002.[18][19] Around 2006, the MBTA added a wooden mini-high platform on the inbound side, allowing level boarding on older Type 7 LRVs. These platforms were installed at eight Green Line stations in 2006–07 as part of the settlement of Joanne Daniels-Finegold, et al. v. MBTA.[20][21] In October 2012, the MBTA changed the station name from Newton Center to Newton Centre to match the village name.[22][23]

References
  1. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  2. "Discover Historic Newton Centre" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-20. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  3. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 198. ISBN 9780942147087.
  4. "Few Trains, But Stations Still Busy". Boston Globe. February 16, 1962. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Dobbs, Judy D.; Rieske, Dennis C. (March 23, 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form". National Park Service.
  6. "Director of Marketing [Advertisement]". The Gazette. October 27, 1965. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Learn to be a Travel Agent [Advertisement]". The Boston Globe. April 17, 1977. p. I-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Travel School of American honored [Advertisement]". The Boston Globe advertising section. December 10, 1978. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Our Graduates Are Seen In Some of the Finest Hotels... WORKING! [Advertisement]". The Boston Globe. September 6, 1981. p. 58 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Kenneally, Christopher (January 18, 1990). "Early Morning Boston". Boston Globe Calendar. pp. 10, 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "[Classified ad]". The Boston Globe. November 17, 1991. p. A47 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Wake Up and Smell Our Coffee [Advertisement]". The Boston Globe. October 17, 1993. p. A120 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "The bean stalk: Deal leaves coffee mavens uneasy". The Boston Globe. March 31, 1994. pp. 1, 27 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Dahl, David (October 26, 2008). "Newton Centre Starbucks is shuttered". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 29, 2008.
  15. Thomas, Sarah (May 25, 2010). "Deluxe Town Diner takes another step toward opening in Newton". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012.
  16. Reibman, Greg (December 8, 2010). "Deluxe Station Diner set to open in Newton Centre". Wicked Local Newton. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016.
  17. "Jamie's on Union". Jamie's on Union. August 21, 2022. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023.
  18. "Subway Service". Ridership and Service Statistics. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. October 2003. p. 2.19 – via Internet Archive.
  19. "Executive Summary" (PDF). Program of Mass Transportation. Boston Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. January 2004. p. 2-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2012.
  20. "Settlement Agreement" (PDF). Joanne Daniels-Finegold et al. v. MBTA. April 10, 2006. pp. 10–11.
  21. "Green Line Stations Upgraded to Improve Accessibility" (PDF). TRANSReport. Boston Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. June 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2011.
  22. "Newton Center Station". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012.
  23. "Newton Centre Station". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012.

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