Lechmere station is a
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
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 ...
(MBTA)
Green Line light rail station in
Lechmere Square
Lechmere Square ( ) is located at the intersection of Cambridge Street and First Street in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was originally named for the Colonial-era landowner Richard Lechmere, a Loyalist who returned to England at the beginnin ...
in
East Cambridge, Massachusetts
East Cambridge is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Referred to in modern times as Area 1, East Cambridge is bounded by the Charles River and the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston on the east, the Somerville border on the north, Bro ...
. It is located on the east side of
Monsignor O'Brien Highway near First Street, adjacent to the
NorthPoint development. The
accessible
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. ...
elevated station has a single
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
, with headhouses at both ends. It opened on March 21, 2022, as part of the
Green Line Extension
The Green Line Extension (GLX) was a construction project to extend the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line light rail system northwest into Somerville and Medford, two inner suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. The p ...
(GLX). Lechmere station is served by Green Line
D branch and
E branch service
The first transit in East Cambridge was a station on the
Boston and Lowell Railroad
The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine R ...
, which served the neighborhood from the mid-19th century to 1927.
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 through Lechmere Square began around 1861, using the
Craigie Bridge to reach Boston, and was electrified in the 1890s. The
Lechmere Viaduct
The Lechmere Viaduct is a concrete arch bridge connecting the West End neighborhood of Boston to East Cambridge, Massachusetts. Opened in 1912, the viaduct carries the MBTA's Green Line over the Charles River. It is adjacent to the Charles Ri ...
was opened in 1912 with an incline to Lechmere Square, allowing streetcars from lines on Cambridge Street and Bridge Street to reach 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 ...
.
In 1922, 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 Rai ...
opened a prepayment transfer station at Lechmere, separating the surface streetcars from the subway routes. This surface station had a loop for subway cars, with cross-platform transfers to the surface routes, and a small yard inside the loop. The surface streetcars were replaced by
trolleybuses
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
and later diesel buses in the 1930s to 1960s, while the subway routes became the Green Line in 1965.
Extensions northwest from Lechmere station were first proposed in the 1920s, though planning did not begin until the early 21st century. A new elevated Lechmere station was to be built as part of the NorthPoint development, but it was instead added to GLX planning in 2007. The MBTA agreed in 2012 to open the station by 2017, and a construction contract was awarded in 2013. Cost increases triggered a wholesale reevaluation of the GLX project in 2015. A scaled-down station design was released in 2016, with a design and construction contract issued in 2017. The surface station was closed on May 24, 2020, for Green Line Extension construction; the busways at the old station remained open as a transfer point between
MBTA bus
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates List of MBTA bus routes, 170 bus routes in the Greater Boston area. The MBTA has a policy objective to provide transit service within walking distance (defined as ) for all residents ...
routes and Lechmere– shuttle buses until the new station opened.
Station design
![North entrance to Lechmere station north headhouse, March 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/North_entrance_to_Lechmere_station_north_headhouse%2C_March_2022.JPG)
Lechmere station is located on the east side of
O'Brien Highway
Route 28 is a nominally south–north state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, running from the town of Eastham via Boston to the New Hampshire state line in Methuen. Following the route from its nominally southern end, Route 28 i ...
at Lechmere Square, adjacent to the
North Point
North Point is a mixed-use urban area in the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern District of Hong Kong. Located in the northeastern part of Hong Kong Island, the area is named after a cape between Tin Hau, Hong Kong, Causeway Bay and Tsat Ts ...
development. The two-track Green Line viaduct runs approximately southeast–northwest through the station area. The station has a single curved
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
, long and wide, located over the block between East Street and North First Street.
The platform is high for accessible boarding on current light rail vehicles (LRVs) and can be raised to for level boarding with Type 9 and future Type 10 LRVs. While the other GLX stations have -long platforms with provisions for extension, the platform at Lechmere was built to its maximum length because it would be more difficult to extend in the future.
A canopy covers the full length of the platform; it is two spans wide, rather than the single span used on the narrower platforms at the other GLX stations.
Headhouses are located north of North First Street and south of East Street. The north headhouse has
two elevators and stairs to the platform; the south elevator has one elevator and stairs.
A bus loop for
MBTA bus
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates List of MBTA bus routes, 170 bus routes in the Greater Boston area. The MBTA has a policy objective to provide transit service within walking distance (defined as ) for all residents ...
routes , , , and is located off Water Street north of the north headhouse. A
bike station
A bicycle parking station, or bicycle garage, is a building or structure designed for use as a bicycle parking facility. Such a facility can be as simple as a lockable bike cage or shed or as complex as a purpose-built multi-level building: the ...
between the headhouses has space for 182 bicycles; racks for 72 additional bicycles are located next to the north headhouse.
Public artwork at the station includes ''Field Notes'' by Randall Thurston – a set of panels on the elevator shafts depicting birds and vines. Some panels on station signs have artwork of poetry overlaid with images of birds; others have historical images and interpretive text.
History
East Cambridge station
![East Cambridge station, 1905](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/East_Cambridge_station%2C_1905.JPG)
The
Boston and Lowell Railroad
The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine R ...
(B&L) opened between its namesake cities in 1835. Passenger service initially ran express between the two cities, but local stops were soon added.
One of the first was East Cambridge which was located near the Prison Point Bridge by 1846.
By 1865, it was moved north to the foot of Third Street, closer to development on Dog Island (East Cambridge).
The station was popular with employees from Somerville commuting to the factories of East Cambridge; among its more famous users was
Benjamin Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is best ...
.
In 1870, the
Lexington Branch
Lexington may refer to:
Places England
* Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington
Canada
* Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario
United States
* Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name
* Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...
was routed over the B&L east of
Somerville Junction
Magoun Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Lowell Street south of Magoun Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform ...
, increasing service to Somerville Junction,
Winter Hill,
Milk Row, and East Cambridge stations. The
Central Massachusetts Railroad
The Central Massachusetts Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. The eastern terminus of the line was at North Cambridge Junction where it split off from the Middlesex Central Branch of the Boston and Lowell Railroad in North Cambridge an ...
began operations in 1881 with the Lexington Branch and B&L as its Boston entry.
The
Fitchburg Railroad
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main l ...
also had an East Cambridge station (primarily served by
Lexington Branch
Lexington may refer to:
Places England
* Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington
Canada
* Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario
United States
* Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name
* Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...
trains) located at Linwood Street, just over the Somerville border, in the mid-19th century.
In 1926, the
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, B ...
(B&M), which had acquired the B&L in 1887, began work on
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 ...
plus an expansion of its freight yards. The B&M proposed to abandon East Cambridge station in order to realign the ex-B&L into the new station. Although most inner stations were largely replaced by streetcars and automobiles at this time, East Cambridge was still used by both industrial workers and by those headed to the
Middlesex County Courthouse, and the proposed closure was locally opposed. The Public Utilities Commission approved the closure of East Cambridge and nearby
Prospect Hill in March 1927; one train was rescheduled for ten minutes earlier to accommodate court attendees. The stations closed at some point between then and May 17, when trains were rerouted over the new alignment. The former alignment remained in use for freight for decades thereafter. A portion of the abandoned embankment near the former station location dates from between 1855 and 1868.
Surface station
Early streetcar service
![Passenger shelter at Lechmere Square, January 1915](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Passenger_shelter_at_Lechmere_Square%2C_January_1915.jpg)
The
Cambridge Railroad
The Cambridge Railroad (also known as the Cambridge Horse Railroad) was the first street railway in the Boston, Massachusetts area, linking Harvard Square in Cambridge to Cambridge Street and Grove Street in Boston's West End, via Massachusett ...
was granted permission in 1860 to run
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 ...
tracks over the
Craigie Bridge from East Cambridge to Boston.
Service began from
Harvard Square
Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The term "Harvard Square" is also used to delineate the busin ...
along Cambridge Street to
Lechmere Square
Lechmere Square ( ) is located at the intersection of Cambridge Street and First Street in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was originally named for the Colonial-era landowner Richard Lechmere, a Loyalist who returned to England at the beginnin ...
around 1861, and from Lechmere Square over the bridge into Boston by 1862.
In 1864, the company built a line from
Union Square in Somerville along Somerville Avenue and
Bridge Street to the existing tracks at Lechmere Square, allowing through service from Elm Street (now
Davis Square
Davis Square is a major intersection in the northwestern section of Somerville, Massachusetts where several streets meet: Holland Street, Dover Street, Day Street, Elm Street, Highland Avenue, and College Avenue. The name is often used to refer ...
) to Boston.
The Cambridge Street line was converted to electric streetcar service by Cambridge Railroad successor
West End Street Railway
The West End Street Railway was a streetcar company that operated in Boston, Massachusetts and several surrounding communities in the late nineteenth century.
Originally an offshoot of a land development venture, the West End rose to prominence ...
in 1891; the Somerville Avenue line and an 1888-built line to Davis Square via Highland Avenue were electrified and extended to Clarendon Hill in 1893–1895.
The West End was leased to 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 Rai ...
(BERy) in 1897.
The three streetcar lines running through Lechmere Square began running into 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 ...
via 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 ...
upon its September 3, 1898, opening.
The trip from Lechmere Point over the bridge was slow and prone to delays, causing congestion in the subway.
Construction of the
Lechmere Viaduct
The Lechmere Viaduct is a concrete arch bridge connecting the West End neighborhood of Boston to East Cambridge, Massachusetts. Opened in 1912, the viaduct carries the MBTA's Green Line over the Charles River. It is adjacent to the Charles Ri ...
and
Causeway Street Elevated began in 1907 to provide the streetcar routes a more direct route into the subway. The BERy considered building a station at Lechmere Square at the north end of the viaduct but rejected the idea in 1911.
The viaduct opened on June 1, 1912, though some local streetcar lines continued to use the Charles River Dam Bridge.
The incline at the north end of the viaduct, which connected to the surface streetcar tracks, occupied half the block between Lechmere Square and Second Street.
Lechmere station
![Lechmere station under construction, March 1922](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Lechmere_station_under_construction%2C_March_1922.jpg)
Although it substantially reduced travel times between Lechmere and North Station, the Lechmere Viaduct and Causeway Street Elevated soon became insufficient for the service the BERy needed. Unlike the
Commonwealth Avenue,
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
Huntington Avenue
Huntington Avenue is a secondary thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, beginning at Copley Square, and continuing west through the Back Bay, Fenway, Longwood, and Mission Hill neighborhoods. Huntington Avenue is signed as Route 9 ...
lines, the Cambridge Street and Bridge Street lines did not have dedicated medians, so automobile traffic caused delays on the surface lines, which in turn propagated into the subway. Additional capacity in the subway was also needed – more than could be provided by small streetcars suitable for operation in mixed traffic.
In 1917, transit consultant John A. Beeler was hired by the Massachusetts Public Service Commission to analyze the struggling BERy. Among Beeler's recommendations was for the Tremont Street Subway to be converted to a
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
service, with surface lines terminating at transfer stations (as had been done with the
Main Line El and
Cambridge–Dorchester line
The Red 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 and east underground from Alewife station in North Cambridge through Somerville and Ca ...
). He proposed that the northern transfer station be at Lechmere Square, with elevated rapid transit platforms and surface loops for streetcars.
In September 1921, the BERy applied to the
Massachusetts Public Utilities Commission (PUC), successor to the Public Service Commission, for authority to build a transfer stations at Lechmere Square and
Braves Field
Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the B ...
. The Lechmere Square proposal included taking of land by eminent domain. The city of Cambridge objected to the design, particularly the construction of a loop track on Third Street. The PUC approved the proposal in November 1921, but the city sought an injuction to prevent construction of the Third Street track. The
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...
upheld the BERy's position, allowing construction of the track, in May 1922 – by which time the construction of the rest of the terminal was already well underway.
![Lechmere station nearing completion, 1922](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Lechmere_station_nearing_completion%2C_1922.jpg)
The station occupied the triangular parcel bounded by Cambridge Street, Bridge Street, and Second Street. It had a
balloon loop
A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains.
Bal ...
for subway trains (which were still made of streetcars, rather than true rapid transit cars), with
cross-platform transfer
A cross-platform interchange is a type of interchange between different lines at a metro (or other railway) station. The term originates with the London Underground; such layouts exist in other networks but are not commonly so named. In the Un ...
s between streetcars and subway trains. Terminating streetcars used a pair of tracks off Cambridge Street, with a covered platform for passengers to then wait for subway trains. Streetcars then looped under the viaduct at Lechmere Square and picked up passengers using two tracks off Bridge Street, where a waiting room was located on the platform. Harvard-bound streetcars ran on a single track on Gore Street and Third Street to reach Cambridge Street; streetcars arriving from Somerville used the same Third Street track to reach Lechmere station. A second loop and several storage tracks were located inside the main subway train loop.
Unlike the Boston portion of the subway system, which was funded by the cities and built by contractors, Lechmere station was funded and built entirely by the BERy at a cost of $100,000 ().
Lechmere station opened on July 10, 1922.
The new terminal was expected to be used by 24,000 passengers daily in each direction and to increase daily seated capacity through the subway by 8,754 passengers.
Initial subway service to Lechmere was a shuttle service to
Pleasant Street, which was intended as a temporary terminal until a more suitable western terminal could be found.
[ ] Service ran with three-car trains every three minutes at peak and two-car trains every four minutes at other times.
The forced transfer was unpopular with some riders who formerly had a one-seat ride to downtown Boston.
Modifications and service changes
On January 2, 1923, some off-peak trips were extended through the
Boylston Street Subway to the surface station at ; all-day service began on October 10. Most trips were extended along the
Beacon Street line to on December 14, 1929. The Washington Street service was cut back to Kenmore in June 1930 but resumed that September. On February 7, 1931, all regular Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street service was extended from Park Street to Lechmere, and the existing shuttle services to Lechmere were replaced with Kenmore–Park Street shuttles.
![Outbound transfer station at Lechmere, September 1927](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Outbound_transfer_station_at_Lechmere%2C_September_1927.jpg)
In 1923, the BERy constructed a brick-and-steel canopy over the northbound (outbound) surface tracks.
On October 18, 1924, a prepayment entrance was added to the north end of this shelter. This allowed passengers boarding streetcars (who had not come from the subway) to wait in the station rather than at the next stop.
The final streetcars still using the Charles River Dam were
night cars, which were routed onto the viaduct on July 26, 1924.
Bridge Street was widened into the
Northern Artery in 1928. The widening was on the south side of the street – except at Lechmere Square, where it was diverted to the north to avoid the streetcar shelter. A track on Bridge Street next to the station, not used for revenue service since the night car diversion in 1924, was kept in service to store extra streetcars during events at the new
Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (late ...
.
Bus service to Lechmere station began on May 9, 1932.
The first route ran to
Lafayette Square via Cambridge and Columbia streets, with a supplemental
short turn
In public transport, a short turn, short working or turn-back is an earlier terminus on a bus or rail line that is used on some scheduled trips that do not operate along the full length of the route.
Short turns are practical in scheduling when t ...
route on Cambridge Street to Webster Street operated during peak hours. The outbound surface track used by Cambridge Street cars was rebuilt and set in concrete paving to accommodate buses. A Lechmere–Arlington Center bus route was established on July 9, 1932.
The Central Square route and its short turn variant were discontinued on October 14, 1933.
By that time, the Cambridge Street side of Lechmere station had also been paved, with one of the surface car tracks removed.
![Lechmere 1936 track layout](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Lechmere_1936_track_layout.svg)
The Harvard–Lechmere streetcar line was converted to trackless trolley (
trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
) on April 11, 1936 – the first route in what would become
an extensive trackless trolley system.
However, the tracks on Cambridge Street were kept for non-revenue use, as Commonwealth Avenue streetcars were stored at
Bennett Street Carhouse
Harvard station is a rapid transit and bus transfer station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Located at Harvard Square, it serves the MBTA's Red Line subway system as well as MBTA buses. Harvard averaged 18,528 entries each weekday in FY2019, ma ...
.
In 1937, part of the inbound shelter was bricked in as a waiting room. The remaining portion of the Charles River Dam tracks was removed in the late 1930s.
Commonwealth Avenue line streetcars were transferred to the expanded Reservoir Carhouse on May 6, 1940, and the Cambridge Street tracks were abandoned.
Most overnight storage of streetcars in the Lechmere yard also ended at that time, though it resumed from September 14, 1942, to late 1953.
In 1940–41, the BERy reassigned its public-facing route numbers.
The Harvard–Lechmere route was designated as
route 69, Arlington Center–Lechmere as
route 80, and the Clarendon Hill–Lechmere routes as (via Somerville Avenue) and (via Highland Avenue). On September 3, 1941, the BERy began paving around the remaining surface car tracks at Lechmere station. This allowed for the conversion of routes 87 and 88 to trackless trolley on November 8, 1941.
The surface tracks at Lechmere station were abandoned, leaving just the loop and yard tracks for subway service.
The BERy opened a 325-space parking lot on the south side of Cambridge Street on April 23, 1941; it was enlarged to 358 spaces in 1950.
![PCCs and trackless trolley at Lechmere - 1960 postcard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/PCCs_and_trackless_trolley_at_Lechmere_-_1960_postcard.jpg)
The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) replaced the BERy in 1947.
Although MTA management generally favored buses over trackless trolley, bus route 80 was converted to trackless trolley on September 12, 1953.
On November 3, 1961, midday service to Lechmere was replaced with a –Lechmere shuttle, with the Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street lines cut back to Park Street and while the shuttle was running. The
Riverside Line
Metrolink's Riverside Line is a commuter rail line running from Los Angeles Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles to Riverside along the Union Pacific Railroad. It runs weekday peak commuter hours only, with very little midday and reverse co ...
(opened in 1959) was extended from to Lechmere on November 25, 1961; the Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street lines were cut back at all times, while the shuttle was discontinued.
On May 25, 1962, the MTA abandoned non-revenue tracks that connected the Canal Street Inline with Everett Shops (the agency's heavy maintenance facility) and Charlestown Neck Carhouse (where many maintenance railcars were stored). A ramp was built inside Lechmere Yard so that streetcars could be loaded onto trucks for transfer to Everett. Some work cars were also stored in Lechmere Yard.
Routes 69, 80, 87, and 88 were all converted from trackless trolley to diesel bus on March 31, 1963.
In early 1964, the north end of the yard was paved. This allowed buses on routes 80, 87, and 88 to reach the inbound busway directly from Bridge Street, eliminating the jog on Third and Cambridge streets.
MBTA era
The
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
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 ...
(MBTA) replaced the MTA in August 1964. On August 26, 1965, the MBTA assigned color names to the rapid transit lines, with the Tremont Street Subway-based streetcar lines becoming the
Green Line. The western branches were assigned letters A through E in 1967. The Commonwealth Avenue line became the
B branch, the Beacon Street line the
C branch, and the Riverside Line the
D branch.
After the 1964 opening of a loop at , which gave the MBTA four downtown terminals for Green Line branches, the MBTA more frequently switched which lines ran to which downtown terminals to match passenger demands and other operational needs. The C branch was extended to Lechmere on March 25, 1967, joining the D branch. On March 25, 1974, the B branch was extended back to Lechmere and the D branch cut to North Station; for the next decade, the B, C, and D branches frequently were switched between Lechmere and other termini.
The practice of routing inbound buses through Lechmere Yard was ended in the late 1970s, likely when the
Boeing LRV
The US Standard Light Rail Vehicle (SLRV) was a light rail vehicle (LRV) built by Boeing Vertol in the 1970s. The Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) of the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) promoted it as a standa ...
s (which were larger and heavier than previous streetcars) began operating on the Green Line.
Around 1980, a new parking lot was opened on the north side of Bridge Street to allow for redevelopment of the old lot. On January 2, 1983, for the first time in the station's history, trains from Huntington Avenue (the
E branch) began serving Lechmere. They were extended from Park Street to Lechmere during rush hours and midday, with the D branch cut back to Government Center at those hours.
On February 11, 1983, the E branch was shut down by snow for several days; a Government Center–Lechmere shuttle ran in its stead, joined by some D branch service on March 26.
![Trains at Lechmere station, August 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Trains_at_Lechmere_station%2C_August_2018.JPG)
On January 20, 1984, a fire destroyed the wooden approach trestles to
the North Station drawbridges. A temporary terminal for the
Fitchburg Line
The Fitchburg Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system which runs from Boston's North Station to Wachusett station in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The line is along the tracks of the former Fitchburg Railroad, which was built across norther ...
and
Lowell Line
The Lowell Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts. Originally built as the New Hampshire Main Line of the Boston & Lowell Railroad and later operated as part of the Boston & M ...
– with a large tent erected next to the tracks as a waiting room – was set up just north of the bridges. Riders were bused between the temporary terminal and Lechmere station, with free fares for inbound passengers at Lechmere. All peak Lechmere service was operated as Government Center–Lechmere shuttles to handle the load.
North Station reopened on April 20, 1985, with no change to Green Line service.
Revenue equipment was stored in Lechmere Yard beginning in December 1984. The ramp, largely disused after heavy maintenance shops at opened in 1976, was removed in the late 1980s to make room for additional storage tracks.
From December 28, 1985 to July 25, 1986, additional shuttle service ran between Lechmere and Kenmore. (This provided the first direct peak service between Lechmere and much of the subway since January 1984.) Most E branch service resumed to Lechmere on July 26, 1986. The remaining Lechmere–Government Center shuttles were replaced with an extension of D branch service to Lechmere on June 21, 1997.
Around 2000,
portable lifts were added at Lechmere as a temporary
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. ...
measure, along with a wooden mini-high platform on the inbound side.
On June 25, 2004, service between Lechmere and North Station was suspended as the Causeway Street Elevated was removed, and the surface and elevated platforms at North Station were consolidated into a new underground "superstation". A Government Center–Lechmere shuttle bus was operated.
Unlike during previous bus substitutions, which took place largely during evenings and weekends, bus operations at Lechmere were modified to accommodate the number of shuttle buses needed. The shuttle buses used the inbound busway, while regular bus service used only the outbound busway, with those buses operating in the reverse of the usual direction.
Green Line E branch service to Lechmere resumed on November 12, 2005, with buses returned to their previous routing at the station.
Service past North Station was replaced with North Station–Lechmere buses from April 30 to November 4, 2011, as was rebuilt.
The same bus routings as the 2004–05 closure were used. However, after the station reopened, buses continued to use only the outbound busway. This routing was deemed safer by the MBTA due to the fewer turns, though it was "extremely inconvenient to inbound passengers".
Green Line Extension and new station
Early proposals
In June 1922, several weeks before Lechmere station opened, the BERy proposed three new radial subways. One was to run northwest from Lechmere through Somerville and South Medford. In 1924, the BERy indicated that Lechmere was "not fitted to be a permanent transfer station, and while being used as such must fail to satisfy", recommending an extension to a larger transfer station. The Report on Improved Transportation Facilities, published by the Boston Division of Metropolitan Planning in 1926, recommended conversion of the Tremont Street subway to
Maverick Square Maverick Square is a section of the neighborhood of East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is East Boston's oldest commercial center. At the heart of the square is Maverick Station, which is part of the Blue Line of the MBTA.
In ...
–
Warren Street, Brighton and Lechmere Square–
Brigham Circle, Roxbury rapid transit routes. Among the secondary priorities was an extension from Lechmere to North Cambridge, with several possible branches; it would have run in a dedicated median in the
Northern Artery from Lechmere to Winter Hill, alongside the B&M
Southern Division tracks to
Somerville Junction
Magoun Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Lowell Street south of Magoun Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform ...
, then followed the
Fitchburg Cutoff
The Fitchburg Cutoff (also called the Freight Cutoff) was a rail line running from Brighton Street (Hills Crossing station) in Belmont, Massachusetts, to Somerville Junction in Somerville, Massachusetts. It was constructed in two segments in 1 ...
to North Cambridge.
Variations on this plan were proposed several times during the 1930s, including subway extensions from or to replace the Lechmere Viaduct.
In 1943, the state legislature appointed a commission headed by
Arthur W. Coolidge to plan for the future of transit in the Boston region. The 1945 and 1947 reports from the Coolidge Commission recommended nine suburban rapid transit extensions – most similar to the 1926 plan – along existing railroad lines.
The proposed extension from Lechmere to
Woburn followed the same alignment as the 1926 plan, albeit using an extended elevated structure rather than a subway north of Lechmere.
The 1962 ''North Terminal Area Study'', claiming that the 1959
Highland Branch conversion showed that
PCC streetcar
The PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) is a streetcar (tram) design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful in its native country, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the ...
s were inadequate for suburban rapid transit service, recommended that the elevated Lechmere–North Station segment be abandoned. The Main Line (now the
Orange Line) was to be
relocated along the B&M Western Route with branches to Woburn or
Arlington via the Southern Division.
The 1966 ''Program for Mass Transportation'', the MBTA's first long-range plan, listed an approximately extension from Lechmere to
Washington Street as an immediate priority. A second phase of the project would extend Green Line service from Washington Street to
Mystic Valley Parkway
Mystic Valley Parkway is a parkway in Arlington, Medford, Somerville, and Winchester, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and forms part of Route 16.
Route description
The parkway runs roughly north–sou ...
(Route 16) or .
An extension from Lechmere to Somerville or Medford was listed as low priority in several 1970s and early 1980s due to the addition of
Davis station
The Davis Station, commonly called Davis, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Davis is situated on the coast of Cooperation Sea in Princess Elizabeth Land, ...
to the
Red Line Northwest Extension
The Red 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 and east underground from Alewife station in North Cambridge, Massachusetts, North Cambr ...
, which opened in 1984.
Plans in 1978 for redevelopment of the
Lechmere Canal
Lechmere Canal is a short canal in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. It opens onto the Charles River and used to be an active port for Boston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.
History
The canal was constructed in 1895, essentially by walling off an ex ...
area called for a new elevated station on the east side of the O'Brien Highway. It was to have a -wide deck, which included a busway loop for cross-platform transfers to Green Line trains.
![1978 Lechmere relocation plans](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/1978_Lechmere_relocation_plans.jpg)
In 1980, the MBTA began a study of the "Green Line Northwest Corridor" (from to Medford) with three area of focus: replacement of the Causeway Street elevated, replacement of Lechmere station, and extension beyond Lechmere.
An evaluation report for the extension was published in 1981 and updated in 1984. Alternatives recommended for further evaluation included a Green Line extension to Tufts, a Green Line extension to , and a busway to Tufts and Davis.
Later in the 1980s, the MBTA made plans to relocate Lechmere station as a precursor to an extension. A new elevated station would be located at the same site as the 1970s plans, with a new vehicle storage yard and maintenance facility to the north.
The project was not pursued due to lack of available funding.
Planning
In 1991, the state agreed to build a set of transit projects as part of the settlement of a lawsuit by the
Conservation Law Foundation
Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) is an environmental advocacy organization based in New England. Since 1966, CLF's mission has been to advocate for New England's environment and its communities. CLF's advocacy work takes place across five integr ...
(CLF) over auto emissions from the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (
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& ...
). Among these projects was a "Green Line Extension To Ball Square/Tufts University", to be complete by the end of 2011.
In 1999,
Guilford Transportation Industries
Guildford is a town in Surrey, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Guildford, the Diocese of Guildford and the Parliamentary constituency of Guildford.
Guildford, Guilford, or Gildford may also refer to:
Places
Australia
* Guildf ...
(GTI) proposed to develop of disused railroad yards on the east side of Lechmere Square. GTI and the MBTA reached an agreement under which GTI would construct a new Lechmere station and maintenance facility – similar to the late 1980s proposal – as a precursor to the extension project. In return, GTI would receive rights to redevelop the site of the surface station.
The deal between the MBTA and GTI was criticized by Cambridge officials for its secrecy, while existing residents were concerned that the relocated station would require a difficult crossing of O'Brien Highway for pedestrians from East Cambridge.
After a 2005 lawsuit by the city of Somerville and the CLF, the state began planning of the
Green Line Extension
The Green Line Extension (GLX) was a construction project to extend the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line light rail system northwest into Somerville and Medford, two inner suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. The p ...
(GLX), including a second branch from Lechmere to .
By 2006, plans for the development (
NorthPoint) called for a $70 million Lechmere station to open in 2010. The elevated station was to have a half-cylinder glass canopy, with an office building
constructed over its northern end. It would initially be named "Lechmere at NorthPoint", though the developer hoped to rename it simply "NorthPoint". In 2007, the development stalled due to disagreements between the two firms involved. With the relocated station in jeopardy, the state took over station planning and incorporated it into GLX planning.
Lechmere was a proposed stop on the
Urban Ring
The Urban Ring was a proposed project of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, to develop new public transportation routes that would provide improved circumferential connections amon ...
– a circumferential
bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
line designed to connect the existing radial MBTA rail lines to reduce overcrowding in the downtown stations. Under draft plans released in 2008, the Urban Ring would have approached Lechmere Square from the north on a dedicated bridge over the
MBTA Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility
The MBTA Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility (signed as, and often known by, its former name of Boston Engine Terminal) is the primary train maintenance repair facility for the MBTA Commuter Rail system. It is located in the Inner Belt area of S ...
, continuing on Morgan Avenue and First Street. Platforms would have been located near Water Street under the relocated Green Line station. The project was cancelled in 2010.
The draft environmental impact report (DEIR) was released in October 2009. Preliminary plans in the DEIR kept the location and arched canopy of the previous design, though without the building above. The main headhouse would be located north of First Street at the north end of the platform, with only secondary egress at the southern end. A one-way southbound busway would run from Water Street to First Street, and two parking lots would replace the existing lot.
The final environmental impact report was released in July 2010. Changes from the DEIR included a redesigned headhouse, a reduction in the platform length from to , fewer parking spaces, and realignment of the busway into a loop accessed from Water Street.
In July 2010, the
Massachusetts Department of Transportation
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1, 2009, by the 186th Session of t ...
(MassDOT) announced that the project was delayed to October 2015. In November 2010, the MBTA reached an agreement with
Pan Am Railways
Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of CSX Corporation that operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former Clas ...
(formerly GTI) and the NorthPoint developers under which the MBTA would receive property on the east side of O'Brien Highway needed for the new Lechmere station; in return, Pan Am would receive the existing Lechmere station site for redevelopment. The agreement, which also included MBTA trackage rights on the
Worcester Branch and in New Hampshire, was amended in January 2011 and finalized that March. By June 2011, the planned arched canopy over the platform and tracks had been replaced with a simpler canopy over the platform. Wind shields on the platform were added to the design later that year. An additional delay, with service beginning between late 2018 and 2020, was announced in August 2011.
The City of Somerville, MassDOT, and the MBTA reached an agreement in August 2012 to open the Union Square Branch and Lechmere station by early 2017, with construction to begin in 2014. In September 2013, MassDOT awarded a $393 million (equivalent to $ million in ), 51-month contract for the construction of Phase 2/2A – Lechmere station, the Union Square Branch, and the first segment of the Medford Branch to
Washington Street station – with the stations to open in early 2017. Updated plans presented in June 2013 replaced the secondary egress with a second headhouse south of East Street. The platform was extended back to 450 feet, and the parking was moved to the north to allow development adjacent to the station. Design of the station was completed in late 2014.
Redesign
In August 2015, the MBTA disclosed that project costs had increased substantially, with Phase 2A rising from $387 million to $898 million. This triggered a
wholesale re-evaluation of the GLX project. In December 2015, the MBTA ended its contracts with four firms. Construction work in progress continued, but no new contracts were awarded. At that time, cancellation of the project was considered possible, as were elimination of the Union Square Branch and other cost reduction measures. In May 2016, the MassDOT and MBTA boards approved a modified project that had undergone
value engineering
Value engineering (VE) is a systematic analysis of the functions of various components and materials to lower the cost of goods, products and services with a tolerable loss of performance or functionality. Value, as defined, ...
to reduce its cost. Stations were simplified to resemble
D branch surface stations rather than full rapid transit stations, with canopies, faregates, escalators, and some elevators removed. Lechmere station retained its redundant elevators due to the elevation of the platform, but escalators were removed. The platform canopy was replaced with four bus-stop-style shelters.
In December 2016, the MBTA announced a new planned opening date of 2021 for the extension.
A
design-build contract for the GLX was awarded in November 2017. The winning proposal included six additive options – elements removed during value engineering – including full-length canopies at all stations, as well as a second elevator in the north headhouse at Lechmere.
Station design advanced from 10% in March 2018 to 76% that December and to 100% in October 2019.
The 100% design added a second entrance to the north headhouse, providing direct access both from the busway and North First Street.
The platform length was set at , between the previous planned lengths. Unlike the pre-2015 designs, no parking lot was included.
Construction and opening
Early GLX work included the demolition of a disused MBTA facility at 21 Water Street to make room for the new Lechmere station. Notice to proceed for the early work was issued to Barletta Heavy Division on January 31, 2013, and construction started in March.
The 21 Water Street facility was demolished in August 2014. The 369-space parking lot at Lechmere was closed on June 22, 2017, for construction preparation.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the main GLX construction phase was held on June 25, 2018.
Construction began in mid-2019.
Work at Lechmere station started by September 2019; the concrete pillars for the viaduct were poured later that year, while installation of the beams supporting the trackways and platform began in January 2020. Installation of the beams through the station was completed in April 2020.
The project required a temporary service suspension while the elevated structure to the old station was replaced with the new viaduct. The final day of service to the old station was May 23, 2020, with the final revenue trip leaving early in the morning of the 24th. Demolition of the old elevated structure began within hours.
A bus shuttle between Lechmere and North Station – with dedicated
bus lane
A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, often on certain days and times, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadway ...
s on the
Charles River Dam Bridge
The Charles River Dam Bridge, officially the Craigie Bridge, also called Craigie's Bridge or the Canal Bridge, is a six-lane bascule bridge across the Charles River in the West End neighborhood of Boston. The bridge, maintained by the Massachus ...
– began on May 24, 2020. (The bus shuttle used the west busway at the former station, while local bus routes continued to use the east busway.) At that time, service was expected to resume in April 2021.
After removal of the tracks, the former yard area was repurposed for construction employee parking.
Station construction was "well underway" by early August 2020, with the headhouse shells partially built; the platform was poured around August 10.
The elevator towers for the north headhouse were erected in October 2020, followed by the tower for the south headhouse in November. Steelwork for the canopy, the artwork on the elevator shafts, and a signal instrument house were installed in March and April 2021. The bus loop was under construction by June 2021, with the plaza under the station nearly complete, and the canopy roof was installed that month. Train testing between for Lechmere and the Union Square Branch began in December 2021.
By March 2021, the station was expected to open in October 2021. This was delayed in June 2021 to a December 2021 opening, then again in October 2021 to a March 2022 opening. On February 24, 2022, the MBTA announced that Lechmere and the Union Square Branch would open on March 21, 2022, while the Medford Branch would open in "late summer". Initial Union Square service was operated by the
E branch.
In August 2022, the MBTA indicated that the Medford Branch opening was delayed to November 2022. The Green Line between Union Square and Government Center was closed from August 22 to September 18, 2022; the closure allowed for final integration of the Medford Branch, elimination of a speed restriction on the Lechmere Viaduct, and other work.
At the conclusion of the closure, the D branch was extended to Union Square, replacing the E. Medford Branch service began on December 12, 2022.
File:Green Line Extension 2014 08 21 MBTA Building at 21 Water St in Cambridge Demolition Progress 1 - Copy (14855773018).jpg, Demolition of 21 Water Street in August 2014, alt=A cinderblock building being demolished by an excavator
File:Lechmere station steel work (4), February 2020.jpg, Steel work in February 2020, alt=A large steel beam being lifted onto a viaduct
File:Aerial view of Lechmere station construction, May 2020.png, Station construction in May 2020, alt=Aerial view of an elevated light rail station under construction
File:Science Park shuttle bus at old Lechmere station Aug 2021.agr.jpg, Shuttle buses at Lechmere in August 2021, alt=Two white buses in a busway at a disused light rail station
File:Aerial view of Lechmere station construction, September 2021.jpg, Station construction in September 2021, alt=An aerial view of an elevated railway station under construction in an urban area
References
Notes
External links
MBTA – Lechmere*Google Maps Street View
inbound sidean
outbound sideof former station
new station under construction
{{MBTA Subway Stations
Green Line (MBTA) stations
Railway stations in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1922
Railway stations in the United States opened in 2022
1922 establishments in Massachusetts
MBTA subway stations located above ground