Green Street station
| Company type | Rapid transit station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts , United States |
| Products | Orange Line rapid transit service |
Green Street station (marked as Green) is a rapid transit station situated in Boston, Massachusetts, serving the MBTA's Orange Line within the southern part of Jamaica Plain. It ranks as the Orange Line station with the lowest ridership, averaging 3,055 weekday boardings in fiscal year 2019. The facility is fully compliant with accessibility standards.
Station design
Positioned approximately east of Jamaica Plain’s central commercial area along Centre Street, the station’s headhouse is located at street level above the trenched Southwest Corridor, bordered by Green, Amory, Gordon Streets, and Woolsley Square. Extending southward from the headhouse is the Orange Line’s island platform. Nearby lie three mainline tracks utilized by MBTA Commuter Rail and Amtrak services.
Art gallery
The Green Street station incorporates retail space at street level, which has historically been dedicated to art galleries since the late 1990s. In 1998, local artist James Hull launched "The Gallery @ Green Street" through an arrangement with the MBTA that allowed rent-free use of the space, featuring exhibitions of contemporary and student art. Hull subsequently enhanced the venue by adding air conditioning and restroom facilities.
In December 2006, this location became home to the Axiom Center for New and Experimental Media, a nonprofit collective of artists that hosted rotating exhibitions centered on cutting-edge technology. Following Axiom’s closure in July 2012, the Boston Cyberarts Gallery assumed stewardship of the space.
Jamaica Plain station
Service by the Boston and Providence Railroad to Jamaica Plain station commenced in 1842 at the site now occupied by Green Street station; commuter rail operations persisted nearly continuously for about one hundred years. A new station structure was inaugurated in 1871.
Starting in 1891, the Old Colony Railroad, which had taken over B&P and was subsequently acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NYNH&H), elevated its main line through Jamaica Plain on a four-track stone embankment to remove grade crossings. This undertaking involved constructing five new stations across Roxbury and Jamaica Plain; existing stations at Roxbury Crossing, Jamaica Plain, and Forest Hills were replaced with elevated facilities, while new stations were introduced at Heath Street and Boylston Street. The elevated Jamaica Plain station opened on June 1, 1897.
Although these NYNH&H local stops remained operational for more than thirty years after the Washington Street Elevated extended southward, they failed to compete effectively with the Elevated service. Consequently, due to declining patronage, all remaining stations including Jamaica Plain closed on September 29, 1940.
Elevated station
On November 22, 1909, the Washington Street Elevated line was extended southward from Dudley Square, adding new stops at Egleston and Forest Hills. These stations offered direct transfers to streetcar lines serving Roxbury, Dorchester, and Jamaica Plain, with Forest Hills also providing connections to NYNH&H commuter rail services. Due to heavy passenger demand near this extension, an additional station at Green Street was introduced on September 22, 1912.
Beginning December 5, 1960, the MTA implemented a "modified express service" during morning peak hours on the Elevated line: alternating trains skipped Green Street along with three other stations. This arrangement was discontinued in September 1961 to minimize wait times at the bypassed outdoor stops.
Modern station
During the 1960s, proposals to extend I-95 into Boston’s downtown area along the NYNH&H corridor included plans to replace the Washington Street Elevated (later known as the Orange Line) with a rapid transit route situated within the highway median. This plan entailed demolishing numerous residences and clearing the Southwest Corridor through Roxbury and Jamaica Plain extending to Green Street. However, opposition to highway construction in 1969 and a 1970 moratorium on new highway projects declared by Governor Francis W. Sargent led to the project's cancellation in 1972. The cleared land was subsequently transformed into Southwest Corridor Park. Despite the original highway plan being abandoned, the Orange Line was rerouted along this corridor in 1987. This relocation included constructing a new rapid transit station at Green Street to replace the former NYNH&H facility; the Washington Street Elevated and its Green Street stop ceased operation on April 30, 1987, while the new station and eight additional southern Orange Line stations commenced service on May 4.
Green Street station was not intended as a hub for bus transfers and does not feature an off-street busway. Since July 1, 2012, when route 48 was discontinued, no MBTA bus routes have served this station. The entire Orange Line, including Green Street station, was temporarily closed from August 19 to September 18, 2022, for scheduled maintenance activities.