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The Line Light: Park Street and Boylston Street Stations
March 1 2010
By Aaron Barrera
When the Green Line began operation at Park Street and Boylston Street stations in 1897, the area was different, but still in the heart of Boston. Running below Tremont Street along the Boston Common, the subway relieved a notoriously congested corridor. The Red Line was introduced to Park Street Station in 1912, making it the only station in the system with six subway tracks.
Park Street is the western point of a four-station diamond that makes up the center of the wheel-and-spoke layout of Boston’s subway system. Park, or one of the other four (Downtown Crossing, State Street and Government Center), is the place to be to make connections from one line to another. It’s even possible to connect from the Green Line at Park Street to the Orange Line at Downtown Crossing without setting foot on the Red Line by using the below-ground concourse that connects the two stations.
To dispel any notion that these two stations are not at the heart of the city’s transportation network, it should be noted that the Transportation Building, which houses the offices for the operators of the subway, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and the transportation library for any Bay State transportation buffs, is just around the corner behind Emerson College’s array of buildings on Boylston Street.
The combined location of the two stations, nestled among the Beacon Hill neighborhood, Government Center, Downtown Crossing and Chinatown, now presents diverse and lucrative offerings for residents and visitors alike. Apart from the wide variety of restaurants, bars and cafés, there are a number of hotels ranging from budget to swanky.
Boylston borders the Theater District and what could be called the Tourist District in the area around Park, with the starting point for the Freedom Trail nearby. Here you will find walking tours led by guides clad in Revolutionary War-era garb and ticketing locations for trolley tours. The Boston Common includes walking paths, monuments and the Frog Pond, which sways from an oasis during summer months to an ice-skating rink in the winter.
Not to discourage taking the T, but Boston is a close-knit eminently walkable city. In fact, if Boylston is your get-off, it may be just as easy to walk to Park, or vice versa. It is not uncommon, say, to dine in the Theatre District and walk up Tremont Street to catch a show at the Orpheum.
Park and Boylston are the most historical stops beneath a modern, bustling Boston. Many of the underground stations feature artwork depicting scenes or providing a historical perspective on the streets and sights above. Boylston is like a living museum with an old trolley on display, abandoned tunnels just out of view and the occasional sound of a modern trolley screeching around the curve beneath the corner of Boylston and Tremont streets. You are not merely riding the subway here; you are part of its heritage.
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