Coolidge Corner station is a light rail stop on 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 ...

Green Line C branch The C branch, also called the Beacon Street Line or Cleveland Circle Line, is one of four branches of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Green Line (MBTA), Green Line light rail system in the Boston, Massachusetts metropolitan area. ...

, located at the intersection of

Beacon Street Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and its western suburbs Brookline and Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway–Kenmore, the Boston Uni ...

and Harvard Street in the

Coolidge Corner Coolidge Corner is a neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts, centered on the intersection of Beacon Street and Harvard Street. The neighborhood takes its name from the Coolidge & Brother general store that opened in 1857 at that intersecti ...

neighborhood of

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

. With 3,440 daily boardings by a 2011 count, it had more than twice the ridership of any other surface station on the branch.

History

Horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, wh ...

service on the Beacon Street line began between Coolidge Corner and downtown Boston on June 1, 1888. Electrified service began between Allston and downtown Boston via Coolidge Corner on January 3, 1889. Service was extended west from Coolidge Corner to

Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

on January 12, and from Allston to the next day. On February 3, 1900, 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 ...

(BERy) established Coolidge Corner as a designated transfer point, where passengers could transfer between the Reservoir and Oak Square branches. The town approved the construction of shelters at the stop in November 1900, and they were completed in 1901. Each is long with a -long canopy, made of

white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

with a tile roof. Similar shelters were built around 1912 at

Brookline Village Brookline Village is one of the major commercial and retail centers of the town of Brookline, Massachusetts. Located just north of Massachusetts Route 9 and west of the Muddy River, it is the historic center of the town and includes its major c ...

, but demolished in 1938. A 1911-built electrical substation designed by

Peabody and Stearns Peabody & Stearns was a premier architectural firm in the Eastern United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the firm consisted of Robert Swain Peabody (1845–1917) and John Goddard Stearns J ...

is located in Coolidge Corner on Webster Street. In the early 2000s, the MBTA modified key surface stops with raised platforms for

accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

. Portable lifts were installed at Coolidge Corner around 2000 as a temporary measure. The platform modifications – part of a $32 million modification of thirteen B, C, and E branch stations – were completed in 2001. The MBTA added wooden mini-high platforms, allowing level boarding on older Type 7 LRVs, at eight Green Line stations in 2006–07 as part of the settlement of '' Joanne Daniels-Finegold, et al. v. MBTA''. Coolidge Corner and were originally to have one mini-high platform apiece as well; however, portable lifts were added at the stations instead.

References

External links

MBTA – Coolidge CornerStation from Harvard Street from Google Maps Street View
{{MBTA Subway Stations Green Line (MBTA) stations Railway stations in Brookline, Massachusetts