Roslindale Substation
The Roslindale Substation is a historic electrical substation building at 4228 Washington Street in the center of the Roslindale village of Boston, Massachusetts. The brick Classical Revival building was constructed in 1911 by the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy), a predecessor to today's MBTA. The monumental building is 80 feet (24 m) long, 50 feet (15 m) wide, and 46 feet (14 m) high. The building was designed by Robert S. Peabody of Peabody and Stearns, and built by Stone & Webster. The building was use by the Boston Elevated and its successors to provide AC to DC conversion for street cars until 1971. It is one of four (out of seven originally built) substations built by the BERy to survive.[2]
Roslindale Substation | |
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Location | 4228 Washington Street, Roslindale, Boston, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | 42°17′11″N 71°7′41″W |
Built | 1911 |
Architectural style | Classical Revival |
Website | https://thesubstation.space/ |
NRHP reference No. | 13000621[1] |
Added to NRHP | August 27, 2013 |
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.[1]
Renovation and current use
The building was vacant from 1971 until 2013, when the City of Boston sold it to two local non-profit groups, Historic Boston Incorporated[3] and Roslindale Village Main Street,[4] a former affiliate of the National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Streets program. The non-profits purchased an adjacent parcel of land, and entered into an agreement with a private developer, the Peregrine Group,[5] who would build apartments on the adjacent parcel[6] and restore the substation building.[7][8] Temporary use of the renovated substation began in 2017, and a long-term tenant, the Turtle Swamp Beer Garden,[9] was in operation from 2019 to 2021. Workhub at the Substation,[10] a co-working space, began operations in the basement of the building. After the beer garden announced its closing, Workhub revealed plans to take over the ground floor space.[11]
![](../I/Roslindale_substation_with_scaffolding%252C_September_2016.jpg.webp)
In spring 2022, the ground floor was again turned into a beer hall[12] run by a rotating selection of local breweries.[13]
External links
See also
References
- "Roslindale Substation". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "NRHP nomination for Roslindale Substation". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
- "Roslindale Substation". Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Substation Redevelopment". Roslindale Village Main Street. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Peregrine Group". Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Parkside on Adams". Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- Sutherland, Amy. "Power Play". Preservation Magazine. No. Summer 2021. National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Parkside on Adams (Roslindale Substation)". Macrostie Historic Advisors. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Roslindale Beer Garden". Turtle Swamp Brewing. Archived from the original on 2021-08-16. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Workhub at the Substation". Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- "Co-working space in basement of Roslindale Substation to expand into space the beer garden is leaving - and will keep serving beer on weekends". Universal Hub. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- "Beer Hall--The Substation". Roslindale Substation. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- "Roslindale Substation formally re-opens as co-working space/beer hall with a pop-up bookshop". Universal Hub. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.