Davis station (MBTA)
| Company type | Rapid transit station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | Somerville, Massachusetts , United States |
| Products | Subway and bus transit services |
Davis station is a subterranean rapid transit stop on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Red Line, situated within Davis Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. This fully accessible facility includes one island platform serving the Red Line trains and a dedicated surface-level busway. It commenced operations in 1984 as part of the Red Line Northwest Extension project.
Station design
The station features a single underground island platform aligned along an east-west axis beneath Davis Square. Two concrete brutalist-style headhouses are positioned at College Avenue to the east and Holland Street to the west. These structures are linked by a fare mezzanine, which incorporates a skylight to allow natural illumination. Elevators connect the mezzanine with both the platform and the College Avenue entrance, ensuring full accessibility.
Next to the eastern headhouse lies an off-street busway that accommodates several MBTA bus routes – – while inbound buses that do not terminate at Davis utilize nearby surface streets for stops. A secure "Pedal and Park" bicycle cage offering 165 parking spaces is located just east of the eastern headhouse.
Railroad station
Transit service to the area now known as Davis Square originated with a horsecar line operated by the Somerville Horse Railroad, which opened in 1858 running from Union Square, Somerville, via Elm Street and Somerville Avenue. This line was extended to reach Lechmere Square by 1864. The carhouse was situated near the intersection of Dover Street and Elm Street. By 1895, this route had been electrified; streetcar service was replaced by trolleybuses in 1941, which were later converted to bus routes 87 and 88.
In 1870, the Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) took control of the Lexington Branch and constructed a cutoff connecting Lake Street to Somerville Junction, which began operation on December 1, 1870. The Elm Street station was located between Elm (currently College Avenue) and Holland Streets. In 1876, William Robinson conducted tests of his track circuit signaling system at this location.
Service over this cutoff was initiated by the Massachusetts Central Railroad in 1881 but was suspended between 1882 and 1884; the B&L leased it in 1886. During the mid-1880s, the station was renamed West Somerville. The B&L was absorbed by the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1887. Both streetcar and railroad services contributed significantly to commercial and residential growth in Davis Square throughout the late nineteenth century.
Attempts to remove grade crossings at College Avenue and Holland Street began in the early 1900s; however, these crossings remained operational despite ongoing safety issues. In 1915, to improve conditions, the West Somerville station building was relocated west of Holland Street. Although commonly referred to as Davis Square by that time, its official designation stayed as West Somerville. Ticketing and baggage handling services were discontinued in 1924.
Between 1926 and 1927, B&M rerouted passenger trains over new tracks east of Alewife Brook Parkway to bypass grade crossings, leading to closure of West Somerville station on April 24, 1927. Despite resistance from local stakeholders, this change eliminated passenger stops at North Cambridge, West Somerville, and Somerville Highlands. The former passenger line through Davis Square was repurposed exclusively for freight traffic as part of the Fitchburg Cutoff, which was upgraded to handle heavy freight servicing a new yard in Somerville. The abandoned station building suffered damage from a fire in 1929 and again during a riot in 1938, and it no longer exists.
In 1935, Somerville sought federal assistance through a Works Progress Administration initiative to separate grades; nevertheless, grade crossings persisted well into the mid-20th century, causing accidents and delays for freight trains.
Red Line station
During the 1970s, community members and local leaders successfully urged the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to add a Red Line subway stop at Davis Square in Somerville. Freight operations along the Fitchburg Cutoff passing through Davis Square, which had diminished by the mid-1970s, ceased completely in April 1980. The Davis station officially opened on December 8, 1984, sparking considerable growth and revitalization in the surrounding neighborhood.
Davis and Porter stations were pioneers within the MBTA system as they were constructed with full accessibility features from the outset, rather than being retrofitted later. In June 1993, Margaret McCarthy, a blind advocate for tactile platform warning strips, tragically died after falling onto the tracks; this incident led the MBTA to implement tactile warning strips at every subway station.
In April 2020, a $6.6 million contract was awarded for design work focusing on accessibility enhancements at Davis and stations. Early proposals included installing two new elevators at surface level, two platform elevators, and new mezzanine walkways to connect these elevators. By 2021, design progress had reached 30%, with revisions reducing platform elevator additions to one and including replacement of two existing elevators. By 2022, design completion was at 75%, approaching finalization by November 2023.
Arts on the Line
Davis station was a participant in the Arts on the Line initiative during the Red Line Northwest Extension, marking the first U.S. program to incorporate artwork directly into subway stations in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This groundbreaking effort set a precedent for transit-related public art nationwide.
The station showcases four of the original twenty art pieces:
- Ten Figures by James Tyler – Life-sized cement sculptures positioned throughout Davis Square
- Children's Tile Mural by Jack Gregory and Joan Wye – A mural composed of tiles crafted by children that decorates the mezzanine wall; years later, local artists located many of these original tile creators as adults
- Poetry by various poets – Verses embedded into bricks on the platform floor
- Sculpture with a D by Sam Gilliam – A large-scale, colorful abstract sculpture
In May 2008, nine additional community art panels were installed at platform level to further enrich local involvement and enhance station visual appeal.