Northampton station (MBTA)

Northampton station was an elevated rapid transit station located above Washington Street at Massachusetts Avenue in the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It served the Washington Street Elevated, part of the MBTA's Orange Line, from 1901 until 1987.

For the MBTA Orange Line station, see Massachusetts Avenue station. For the San Diego Trolley station, see Massachusetts Avenue station (San Diego Trolley).
Northampton
Northampton station in the 1970s
General information
LocationWashington Street at Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates42.3363°N 71.0772°W / 42.3363; -71.0772
Line(s)Washington Street Elevated
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 1, 8
Construction
Bicycle facilities2 spaces (Silver Line)
AccessibleYes (Silver Line)
History
OpenedJune 10, 1901[1]
July 20, 2002 (Silver Line)
ClosedApril 30, 1987[1]
Passengers
20121,142 (weekday average boardings)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Lenox Street
toward Nubian
 Silver Line Worcester Square
toward South Station
Silver Line Worcester Square
toward Downtown Crossing
Former services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Dudley Square
toward Forest Hills
 Orange Line
Closed 1987
 Dover
toward Oak Grove
Location

Massachusetts Avenue station, a street-level bus station on the Washington Street branch of the MBTA Silver Line bus rapid transit service, opened on the site in 2002. It is served by the SL4 and SL5 Silver Line routes as well as several local MBTA bus routes. Like all Silver Line stops, Massachusetts Avenue is accessible.

History
The southbound Silver Line shelter at Massachusetts Avenue in 2011

The Washington Street Elevated, including Northampton station, opened as part of the Main Line Elevated on June 10, 1901.[1] It was originally built with a short center island platform, similar to Dover station to the north. Like most of the other Elevated stations, both were designed in a Beaux Arts style by Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr.[3] Mere months after opening, both stations had their platforms extended for four-car trains; the platforms at Northampton were extended again in 1908 to six-car length.[3] Unlike Dover station, which was completely rebuilt in 1912, Northampton station received no substantial modifications other than the extended platform.[4]

The Main Line Elevated was renamed the Orange Line in 1965. Northampton station was closed on April 30, 1987, when the Washington Street Elevated was closed and the Orange Line was rerouted to the west along the Southwest Corridor.[1] Because it retained its original style, the station building at Northampton was selected for preservation.[5] It was detached from the elevated structure and moved to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine in 1988.[6] Around 1989, a gas station at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Columbus Avenue was built to resemble the former station.[7]

Silver Line service on Washington Street began on July 20, 2002, replacing the route 49 bus. Service levels doubled on October 15, 2009 with the introduction of the SL4 route.[1]

References
  1. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  2. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  3. Zaitzevsky, Cynthia R. (July 1986). "Written Historical and Descriptive Data" (PDF). National Park Service / Historic American Engineering Record. p. 31.
  4. Cheney, Frank; Sammarco, Anthony M. (2000). When Boston Rode The El. Arcadia Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 9780738504629.
  5. Elder, Andrew; Fox, Jeremy C. (2013). Boston's Orange Line. Arcadia Publishing. p. 69. ISBN 9781467120470.
  6. Poftak, Steve (December 7, 2012). "Where Do MBTA Cars Go When They Die?". Boston Magazine.
  7. Ackerman, Jerry (September 25, 1989). "For Registry inspectors, analyzing accidents starts with bits and pieces". Boston Globe. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.

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