Jackson Square
Main entrance to Jackson Square station in 2016
General information
Location1500 Columbus Avenue
Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°19′22″N 71°06′00″W / 42.3229°N 71.1000°W / 42.3229; -71.1000
Line(s)Southwest Corridor
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 14, 22, 29, 41, 44
Construction
Structure typeBelow grade
Bicycle facilities8 spaces
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedMay 4, 1987[1]
Passengers
FY20195,284 boardings (weekday average)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Stony Brook
toward Forest Hills
 Orange Line Roxbury Crossing
toward Oak Grove
Location

Jackson Square station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Orange Line rapid transit station located on Centre Street near Columbus Avenue in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The station opened in 1987 as part of the Southwest Corridor project. It is served by MBTA bus routes 14, 22, 29, 41, and 44, which operate into an off-street busway located adjacent to the station.

History

Railroad station

The new bridge over Centre Street in 1896

The Boston and Providence Railroad opened through Roxbury in June 1834. Local stations were gradually added; trains began serving Heath Street around the 1850s.[3]: 154 [4] In 1867, the Massachusetts legislature ordered the railroad to build a new station building at New Heath Street, slightly to the north.[5] The new station was completed in 1872.[6][7] It was a one-story wood building located on the west side of the tracks north of Heath Street (rather than at New Heath Street).[8][9]

Starting in 1891, the Old Colony Railroad (acquired in 1893 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad) raised the section of its main line through Jamaica Plain (extending from Massachusetts Avenue to Forest Hills) onto a 4-track stone embankment to eliminate dangerous grade crossings. The project involved the replacement of the five NYNH&H stations in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain; the new elevated stations opened on June 1, 1897.[10][11]

On November 22, 1909, the Washington Street Elevated was extended south from Dudley Square (now Nubian Square) to Forest Hills.[1] Although the five NYNH&H stations in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain continued to operate, they were ultimately unable to compete with the Elevated.[11] Heath Street station closed in the early 1930s.

Orange Line station

A train at Jackson Square in 2016

In the 1960s, plans took hold to extend I-95 into downtown Boston along the NYNH&H's right-of-way and to replace the Washington Street Elevated (after 1967 known as the Orange Line) with a rapid transit line running in the new highway's median. Although the project was halted by highway revolts in 1969 and the February 11, 1970 announcement by Governor Francis W. Sargent of a moratorium on new highway construction within the Route 128 corridor, and eventually cancelled by Governor Sargent in 1972, the right-of-way had already been cleared. This empty strip of land (known as the Southwest Corridor) was eventually developed into the Southwest Corridor Park, and the Orange Line was moved to a new alignment along the Corridor in 1987 despite the cancellation of the project originally calling for its relocation. This included a new rapid transit station, Jackson Square, at Centre Streetsouth of the former NYNH&H station. The Washington Street Elevated was permanently closed on April 30, 1987, and the new southern half of the Orange Line, including Stony Brook, opened on May 4.[10][1]

In 2004, the MBTA added murals as well as better lighting and new sidewalks after a spree of violent crimes near the station. The improvements at the station were designed to reduce criminal activity as well as provide a more welcoming atmosphere for transit riders.[12][13] Additional murals were added in December 2007.[14] The entire Orange Line, including Jackson Square station, was closed from August 19 to September 18, 2022, during maintenance work.[15]

The MBTA plans to add a second platform elevator, rebuild the existing elevator, and make other repairs to the station. A $4.7 million design contract for Jackson Square and Massachusetts Avenue was awarded in April 2020.[16][17] Design was completed in 2023, and bidding for a $19.4 million construction contract was opened in November 2023. Construction is expected to last from March 2024 to spring 2026.[18][19] The MBTA also plans to convert the currently-southbound-only busway to bidrectional bus traffic as part of construction of bus lanes on Columbus Avenue in 2025–26.[20][21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  2. ↑ "A Guide to Ridership Data". MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation. June 22, 2020. p. 9.
  3. ↑ Kennedy, Charles J. (Summer 1962). "Commuter Services in the Boston Area, 1835-1860". The Business History Review. 36 (2): 153–170. doi:10.2307/3111453. JSTOR 3111453. S2CID 154294514.
  4. ↑ "The Ovation to Gen. Corcoran". Boston Evening Transcript. August 29, 1862. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Chapter 336: An Act Requiring The Boston And Providence Railroad Company To Erect A Station House In Roxbury". Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Court. 1867. p. 727.
  6. ↑ "Annual Meeting of the Boston & Providence Railroad Company". The Boston Globe. November 21, 1872. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Report of the Board of Directors of the Boston and Providence Railroad Corporation for the Year Ending September 30, 1872. Boston and Providence Railroad Corporation. November 20, 1872. p. 6.
  8. ↑ Bromley, Walter Scott; Bromley, George Washington (1888). "Part of Ward 22, Boston" (Map). Atlas of the city of Boston : Roxbury, Mass. : volume three. 1:600. G.W. Bromley & Co. Plate 32.
  9. ↑ "Plate 91" (Map). Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1:600. Sanborn Map Company. Vol. 3. 1888.
  10. 1 2 Heath, Richard (January 25, 2013). "A HISTORY OF FOREST HILLS" (PDF). Jamaica Plain Historical Society. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Rocheleau, Matt (November 26, 2012). "Raising the railroad in Forest Hills". Boston Globe. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Jackson Square Station Improvements Are Completed" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 10 December 2004. Archived from the original on 13 December 2004.
  13. ↑ "Envisioning Peace: Local youths draw upon talents to improve MBTA stop" (Press release). Hyde Square Task Force. 15 July 2004. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011.
  14. ↑ "Jackson Square Station Art Project Complete" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 6, 2007.
  15. ↑ "A Rider's Guide to Planning Ahead: Upcoming Orange & Green Line Service Suspensions" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 2022.
  16. ↑ Schwarz, John (April 13, 2020). "MBTA Contract Nos. A90PS02, A90PS04, & A90PS05: Architectural and Engineering Services for Station and Accessibility Improvements" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  17. ↑ Horan, Tim (January 2022). "Jackson Square Station Accessibility and Infrastructure Improvements: Recorded Project Overview" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  18. ↑ "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—November 2023" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. November 27, 2023. p. 10.
  19. ↑ "Notice to Bidders: MBTA Contract No. A90CN12, Jackson Square Station Accessibility Improvement" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. November 15, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Tremont/Columbus Avenue Phase 2 Bus Lanes Project" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 12, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Phase 2 of Tremont/Columbus Bus Lanes at 30% Design" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 14, 2023.

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