The Atlantic Avenue Elevated was an
elevated railway
An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks ...
around the east side of
Downtown Boston
Downtown Boston is the central business district of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The city of Boston was founded in 1630. The largest of the city's commercial districts, Downtown is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters; ...
, Massachusetts, providing a second route for the
Boston Elevated Railway
The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) was a streetcar and rapid transit railroad operated on, above, and below, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Founded in 1894, it eventually acquired the West End Street Railwa ...
's Main Line Elevated (now the
MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
's
Orange Line) around the
Washington Street tunnel. It was in use from 1901 to 1938, when it was closed due to low ridership, later being demolished.
History
The Atlantic Avenue El was conceived as a part of a greater mass transit proposal by the
Boston Transit Commission
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...
in 1896. After the success of the
Tremont Street subway
The Tremont Street subway in Boston's MBTA subway system is the oldest subway tunnel in North America and the third oldest still in use worldwide to exclusively use electric traction (after the City and South London Railway in 1890, and the Bud ...
(now the
Green Line) the Commission began looking at options for a unified system that would serve all of downtown Boston and reach out into the growing suburbs. As conceived, there would be two corridors through which elevated trains would run: the Washington Street tunnel – the heart of today's
MBTA Orange Line
The Orange Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) as part of the MBTA subway system. The line runs south on the surface from Oak Grove station in Malden, Massachusetts through Malden and Me ...
subway – under Washington Street from a portal at Oak Street to
the then-existing subway portal north of Haymarket Square, and an all-elevated line which would run along
Atlantic Avenue. At the time, Atlantic Avenue was the heart of the fishing and maritime industries in Boston, and home to ferry terminals. Both the Washington Street subway and Atlantic Avenue El would service trains from the Main Line El (the elevated section of the old Orange Line, now demolished).
When the Atlantic Avenue El first opened – shortly after the Main Line itself – in August 1901,
the Main Line went through the Tremont Street subway, changing between elevated and
subway at the
Pleasant Street incline
The Pleasant Street incline or Pleasant Street portal was the southern access point for the Tremont Street subway in Boston, Massachusetts, which became part of the Green Line after the incline was closed. The portal and the section of tunnel co ...
(in the south) and the
Canal Street incline
The Canal Street incline (also Canal Street portal) was a ramp connecting two transit tunnels in Boston with surface and elevated lines. It was located in the Bulfinch Triangle between North Station and Haymarket Square in two blocks bounded by Ca ...
(in the north). The low-level trolley platforms were altered with temporary high-level platforms to allow elevated trains to unload passengers. Where the original
Washington Street Elevated
The Washington Street Elevated was an elevated segment of Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway system, comprising the southern stretch of the Orange Line. It ran from Chinatown through the South End and Roxbury, ending ...
(the south part of the Main Line) turned west from
Washington Street onto Castle Street (now Herald Street), it had a full three-way junction (Tower D) with the Atlantic Avenue El, which began by heading east between Motte Street (also part of Herald Street) and the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
's approach tracks for
South Station
South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...
.
The El turned north after a block onto Harrison Avenue, continuing to Beach Street, where it turned east for its first station, Beach Street, on the block just east of Harrison Avenue. The El turned north on
Atlantic Avenue, with its second station, South Station, located just north of East Street, with transfers to the
South Station
South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...
intercity and commuter terminal, and, beginning in 1916, to the Cambridge–Dorchester tunnel (now the
Red Line). Next was Rowes Wharf, at Broad Street and High Street, with a transfer to the
Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad
The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad was a narrow-gauge passenger-carrying shortline railroad between East Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts, from 1875 to 1940. Part of the railroad's right of way now forms the outer section of the Massachus ...
via a
ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
from
Rowes Wharf
The current incarnation of Rowes Wharf (built 1987) is a modern development in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is best known for the Boston Harbor Hotel's multi-story arch over the wide public plaza between Atlantic Avenue and the Boston Harb ...
to
East Boston
East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and do ...
.
Continuing along Atlantic Avenue, the next station, at State Street, was named State Street, and had, beginning in 1904, a transfer to the East Boston tunnel (now the
Blue Line). After merging with Commercial Street, Battery Street Station, just north of Battery Street, provided access to Boston's
North End. Just south of Battery Street, on the east side, was the
Boston Elevated Railway
The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) was a streetcar and rapid transit railroad operated on, above, and below, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Founded in 1894, it eventually acquired the West End Street Railwa ...
's Lincoln Wharf Power Station. At Keany Square, the Atlantic Avenue Elevated met the
Charlestown Elevated
The Charlestown Elevated was a segment of the MBTA Orange Line rapid transit line that ran from the Canal Street Incline in downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Charlestown to a terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. It opened in June 1901 and ...
, the north part of the Main Line, at a full three-way junction (Tower C), with the Charlestown El heading west on Causeway Street and into the subway, on the one hand, and north over the
Charlestown Bridge
The Charlestown Bridge, officially named the North Washington Street Bridge, is located in Boston and spans the Charles River. As the river's easternmost crossing, the bridge connects the neighborhoods of Charlestown and the North End. Comple ...
, on the other. The
Union Freight Railroad
The Union Freight Railroad was a freight-only railroad connecting the railroads coming into the north and south sides of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Almost its entire length was along Atlantic Avenue and Commercial Street. For most of it ...
ran underneath the El on
Atlantic Avenue and Commercial Street, carrying freight between the lines terminating in
North Station
North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtrak ...
and
South Station
South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...
.
In 1908, the
Washington Street tunnel opened, rerouting the Main Line. At this time, the Tremont Street subway was switched back to streetcar-only service. As a consequence, the southern junction (Tower D) was reconfigured, with the Main Line heading north from it on the east side of
Washington Street to the Oak Street incline into the tunnel.
Decline
![1942 Demolition](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/1942_Demolition.jpg)
Service patterns originally included through service over the Main Line and additional
Washington Street Elevated
The Washington Street Elevated was an elevated segment of Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway system, comprising the southern stretch of the Orange Line. It ran from Chinatown through the South End and Roxbury, ending ...
service looping via the tunnel one way and the El the other way. On January 4, 1919, the BERy increased service through the tunnel from three-minute to two-minute headways. Atlantic Avenue service was reduced to a North Station–South Station
shuttle, with Beach Street station closed. On January 15, 1919, the
Boston Molasses Disaster
The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster, was a disaster that occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.
A large storage tank filled with of molasses, weighing approximat ...
damaged the elevated structure north of Battery Street. Shuttle service resumed on March 29; Sullivan–Dudley service was added on June 14 but ended later in the year.
On December 6, 1919, the BERy began operating Dudley–South Station service, with trains running through the Washington Street Tunnel to North Station then over the Atlantic Avenue Elevated to South Station. Additional North Station–South Station shuttles were added on January 17, 1920. From 1920 to at least 1922, service from June to September was operated as Sullivan–Dudley to accommodate summer ferry ridership.
[ ] Beginning in September 1922, regular service ran Dudley–North Station.
On July 22, 1928, a northbound train derailed on the tight curve at Harrison and Beach due to excessive speed and crashed into the abandoned Beach Street station. Two passengers were killed in the wreck – the first time that passengers were killed in an accident on the Main Line Elevated. Regular service resumed on July 24.
Boston's waterfront lost importance during the 20th century. The 1904 opening of the East Boston tunnel cut heavily into East Boston ferry ridership, as did the 1934 opening of the
Sumner Tunnel.
Ferry ridership from elsewhere in Boston Harbor also declined sharply, and many maritime industries moved away from Atlantic Avenue.
A 1926 state report on rapid transit expansion recommended the conversion of the Atlantic Avenue Elevated to an elevated highway.
The last day of service on the Atlantic Avenue Elevated was September 30, 1938.
It sat unused for several years and was torn down in 1942 for
scrap metal
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...
for
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The
Central Artery
The Central Artery (officially the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway) is a section of freeway in downtown Boston, Massachusetts; it is designated as Interstate 93, US 1 and Route 3.
The original Artery, constructed in the 1950s, was named after ...
, an elevated highway, was built in the 1950s along Atlantic Avenue and was demolished in 2003 as part of the
Big Dig
The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T Project), commonly known as the Big Dig, was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery of Interstate 93 (I-93), the chief highway through the heart of the city, into the 1.5-mile (2.4& ...
.
References
{{MBTA
Orange Line (MBTA)
Railway lines opened in 1901
Railway lines closed in 1938