Egleston station

Egleston station

Company type	Rapid transit station (former)
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	November 22, 1909 (1909-11-22) in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Defunct	April 30, 1987 (1987-04-30)
Headquarters	Boston , United States

Egleston functioned as a rapid transit stop in Boston, Massachusetts, serving the Washington Street Elevated portion of the MBTA's Orange Line. Positioned above Egleston Square at the intersection of Washington Street and Columbus Avenue within the Roxbury district, it was operational from November 1909 until April 1987, when the Orange Line was redirected to run through the Southwest Corridor.

Construction

The Boston Elevated Railway initially constructed the Washington Street Elevated line between downtown Boston and in 1901. Following approval in January 1904, work began in May 1906 to extend the line further. By August 1906, the elevated structure had reached Egleston Square; however, station building was postponed until 1907 due to design complications. The extension officially opened on November 22, 1909, featuring Egleston as the sole new intermediate stop at that time; an additional station at was introduced later in 1912.

Architecture

Egleston’s architectural style bore similarities to earlier stations designed by architect A.W. Longfellow Jr., such as Dover and Northampton, with copper-clad facades, although Longfellow likely did not design this particular station. The station incorporated structural advancements, notably being the first on the Elevated to utilize reinforced concrete. Its waiting room was suspended beneath the steel framework, creating a more spacious area compared to earlier stations. To support anticipated higher passenger volumes and eight-car trains, Egleston featured side platforms instead of the shorter island platform configuration used previously.

Transfer station

Designed to serve as a transfer point for streetcar lines from Jamaica Plain and Dorchester, Egleston aimed to reduce overcrowding at Dudley station. Initially, stairways from the station’s waiting area led directly into Egleston Square and onto Washington Street’s median, requiring many commuters to cross active traffic lanes. To mitigate persistent congestion issues, the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) constructed an off-street prepayment transfer facility on the east side of the intersection. This included an escalator and connecting bridge to the waiting room and opened on January 20, 1918, after construction began in 1916.</ref>

Closure

Although streetcar operations continued for several decades, gradual conversion to bus service occurred: route 42 to Dudley transitioned in September 1949; routes 29 to Mattapan and 40 to Arborway followed in 1955. Route 43—the final streetcar running through the Tremont Street subway via the Pleasant Street incline—was shortened from Egleston to Lenox Street in June 1956 and fully replaced by buses by 1962.

On December 5, 1960, during morning peak hours, the MTA implemented a modified express ("skip-stop") service on the Elevated; southbound trains bypassed Egleston while northbound trains skipped Northampton. This skip-stop arrangement was discontinued in September 1961 to decrease wait times at outdoor stations that were bypassed.

With reconstruction of the Southwest Corridor from 1979 to 1987 relocating the Orange Line underground, Egleston along with the Washington Street Elevated ceased operations on April 30, 1987; the replacement Orange Line began service on May 4, 1987.

In October 2020, the MBTA commenced installation of center-running bus lanes along Columbus Avenue featuring platforms near Weld Street just east of Egleston Square to accommodate routes , , and . These dedicated lanes became operational on November 1, 2021.