Kendall (MBTA station)
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Kendall/MIT station (signed as Kendall) is an underground
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 ...
station in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
. It serves 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 ...
Red Line, Located at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway, it is named for the primary areas it serves - the Kendall Square business district and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
(MIT). Opened in March 1912 as part of the original Cambridge subway, Kendall/MIT has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks. The ''
Kendall Band The ''Kendall Band'' is a three-part musical sculpture created between 1986 and 1988 by Paul Matisse, who is the grandson of French artist Henri Matisse and stepson of surrealist artist Marcel Duchamp.Christopher Reed"Pure Fabrication". ''Harvard M ...
'', a public art installation of hand-operated musical sculptures, is located between the tracks in the station with controls located on the platforms. Kendall/MIT station is
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.e ...
. With 17,018 weekday boardings by a FY2019 count, Kendall/MIT has the fourth highest ridership among
MBTA subway The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates rapid transit (heavy rail), light rail, and bus rapid transit services in the Boston metropolitan area, collectively referred to as the rapid transit, subway, or the T system. The c ...
stations.


History

The Cambridge subway opened from
Park Street Under ''Park Street Under'' is a sitcom set in a fictional subterranean bar in the Park Street subway station in Boston, Massachusetts. It was produced starting in 1979 by Boston television station WCVB-TV. This was a rare example in the United State ...
to
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
on March 23, 1912, with intermediate stops at
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and Kendall. From the early 20th century through the 1970s, the MBTA operated a powerhouse above ground in Kendall Square, including rotary converters (also called cycloconverters) to transform incoming AC electrical power to 600 volts DC power fed to the
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 ...
to run the subway. An old-fashioned cycloconverter consisted of an AC motor coupled to a huge, slowly rotating
flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device which uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy; a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, ass ...
coupled to a DC generator, hence the name. Despite the development of compact low-maintenance
semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...
-based power
rectifier A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The reverse operation (converting DC to AC) is performed by an Power ...
s, the long-obsolete electromechanical technology still occupied prime real estate in the heart of Kendall Square. The MBTA powerhouse was demolished, and replaced with an office building located at the convergence of Broadway and Main Street.


Name changes and reconstruction

The MBTA renamed the station three times in a seven-year period. On August 7, 1978, the station was renamed as Kendall/MIT to indicate the nearby presence of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
. On December 2, 1982, Columbia station was renamed , and Kendall/MIT was renamed as Cambridge Center/MIT after the adjacent
Cambridge Center Cambridge Center is a development complex located in the Kendall Square section of Cambridge, Massachusetts, along Broadway and Main streets. The project was started in 1979 and continues in progress to this day. Currently, Cambridge Center is ho ...
development, although most station signs were not changed. There were many complaints that the MBTA had suddenly changed the name without public input, and that the new name would be confused with the next Red Line station at Central Square. On June 26, 1985, the name was reverted to Kendall/MIT as part of a series of station name changes. During the 1980s, the MBTA rebuilt Kendall/MIT and other Red Line stations with longer platforms for six-car trains and with elevators for accessibility. The rebuilt station was dedicated in October 1987 and six-car trains began operation on January 21, 1988. Temporary artworks, including an entire fake cafe, were hosted at the station during the renovation as part of the
Arts on the Line Arts on the Line was a program devised to bring art into the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) subway stations in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Arts on the Line was the first program of its kind in the United States and became th ...
program. The main southbound headhouse is being reconstructed as part of the Kendall Square Initiative development project. The new headhouse will have two angled glass entrances and a pair of glass elevators, with an angular canopy supported on thin columns. Utility work began in July–August 2020, with excavation beginning in October. Part of the old headhouse was closed in November 2020 for construction of the interim headhouse. The temporary southbound headhouse opened on January 22, 2022. The main northbound headhouse is also being reconstructed as part of the adjacent 325 Main Street project. The new glass headhouse will have
redundant elevators Redundant elevators are additional elevators installed to guarantee greater accessibility of buildings and public transportation systems in the event that an elevator malfunctions. The United States Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund descr ...
, and the roof will be part of an elevated public plaza.


''Kendall Band''

Between 1986 and 1988, artist
Paul Matisse Paul Matisse (born 1933) is an artist and inventor known for his public art installations, many of which are interactive and produce sound. Matisse also invented the Kalliroscope. Early life and education Paul Matisse is the son of New York g ...
installed ''
Kendall Band The ''Kendall Band'' is a three-part musical sculpture created between 1986 and 1988 by Paul Matisse, who is the grandson of French artist Henri Matisse and stepson of surrealist artist Marcel Duchamp.Christopher Reed"Pure Fabrication". ''Harvard M ...
'', an interactive musical sculpture, at Kendall/MIT. Located between the Red Line tracks at the station, it cost $90,000 to construct under the
Arts on the Line Arts on the Line was a program devised to bring art into the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) subway stations in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Arts on the Line was the first program of its kind in the United States and became th ...
program. It consists of three musical devices - ''
Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samos, Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionians, Ionian Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher and the eponymou ...
'', ''
Kepler Johannes Kepler (; ; 27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws o ...
'', and ''
Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...
'' - controlled by levers located on both subway platforms. Although Matisse maintained it for several decades, it ultimately fell into disrepair. A group of MIT students began restoration in 2010, with ''Pythagoras'' rendered partially functional in May 2011.


Circumferential service

Kendall/MIT 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 among ...
– 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 ...
(BRT) line designed to connect the existing radial MBTA rail lines to reduce overcrowding in the downtown stations. Under draft plans released in 2008, new surface-level BRT platforms would have been constructed on Main Street at Kendall/MIT. The project was cancelled in 2010 In 2012, the state studied the feasibility of sending some Framingham/Worcester Line trains to North Station via the
Grand Junction Railroad Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...
, including the possibility of a new commuter rail station at Kendall. The possible station would have consisted of a single platform between Main Street and Massachusetts Avenue, and was estimated to cost $7.5 million. After objections from the City of Cambridge over potential traffic problems due to the
grade crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also ...
s on the Grand Junction, the MBTA declined to pursue implementation of the proposed service. In 2014, it was revealed by the state that the stop would be part of the proposed
Indigo Line The Indigo Line was a proposed service of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority that would have incorporated parts of the former Grand Junction Railroad, the Seaport District's Track 61, a spur to the Riverside station and other MBTA ...
system with frequent DMU service, but that plan was canceled in 2015 for financial reasons. A 2019 report indicated that daily boardings at the station would double to 30,000 by 2040, increasing the need for relief service on the Grand Junction and other corridors.


Bus connections

Four
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 stop at Kendall/MIT using a traffic lane that loops from Broadway inbound to Main Street outbound; all except the CT2 terminate there. *: –
Ruggles station Ruggles station is an intermodal transfer station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) rapid transit, bus, and commuter rail services and is located at the intersection of Ruggles and Tremont str ...
*: –University Park or Kendall/MIT *:
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 ...
–Kendall/MIT *: Spring Hill–Kendall/MIT The
EZRide The EZRide shuttle is a bus service run by the Charles River Transportation Management Association, a nonprofit organization. It operates from North Station in Boston, Massachusetts to Fort Washington (Massachusetts), Fort Washington/Cambridgeport ...
Cambridge–North Station private shuttle service stops at Kendall at all times. Although not part of the MBTA system, it is open to the general public and is shown on MBTA maps. The CambridgeSide Galleria provides a free shuttle bus from Kendall/MIT.


References


External links


MBTA - Kendall
*Google Maps Street View
outbound headhouseinbound headhousesecondary entrances
{{MBTA Subway Stations Red Line (MBTA) stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1912 Massachusetts Institute of Technology student life Arts on the Line Railway stations in Cambridge, Massachusetts 1912 establishments in Massachusetts Railway stations in Massachusetts at university and college campuses Railway stations located underground in Massachusetts MBTA subway stations located underground