A tour of the Washington St. El

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justin

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Go to Library of Congress and search for 'Boston Elevated Railway'. It's the most thorough sequential tour I've seen. Funny how, when the South End was well-served by the T, there wasn't much to serve. The removal of the El was a necessary precursor for the densification and gentrification of the past decade or so, which now lacks proper subway access.

justin
 
Wow, that was completely awesome. I had no idea the city looked that bombed out. It's no wonder they wanted to rip that down. It really is a shame though, after seeing what Chicago has done to clean up its El I can only imagine what Boston would be like if the El was still around. Having said that I can attest to the noise and dirt and I'm sure that local residents were happy to see it go, though probably more angry that only a bus has replaced it.
 
What do you mean by "there wasn't much to serve" ? I think the South End's current population is actually lower, and a bit less dense, than it was when the El was still standing.

That said, the El didn't serve the South End especially well, with only two stations: Dover and Northampton.
 
I was going by the looks of it -- Washington St. certainly looks denser now than in those pictures. I have no idea what the census figures were, but even if it used to be more populous, South End will easily catch up if the current trends continue, especially given the amount of empty space west of Mass Ave,.

As for the location of stations, you have Dover/Northampton vs. Back Bay/Mass Ave. The distance within each pair is about the same, but the old stations were far more central to the neighborhood. Bay Village is marginally better served by NEMC.

justin
 
Years ago residential taxes in the city were easily double what they are today and the system punished owners of multi-family buildings in areas like Roxbury and the South End. Washington St was home to many dense apartment buildings that where burned or abandoned in the 60-70's mainly for this reason but also having the El run past your window made what was left even less desirable. Besides Northampton and Dover were two of the scariest subway/El stations you'd ever see.
 
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that video was awesome. for me, it was the first time i'd seen the old el, functioning, along with the stations, in color, and in motion.... didn't even realize that the actual trains I ride today were the same ones that travelled on the elevated track...

the sad thing about it is that its typical MBTA, put something nice up, and then underfund its maintenance to the point that it needs to be replaced.

The stations in the video looked extremely neglected, and in that condition, nobody would argue its blight. My question to those with more intimate experience with the old orange line el: would massive renovation and upgrades to these stations and line have lessened the calls for its demolition? I mean, from what I understand, it lasted almost 100 years, and for most of that time it was something the community took pride in.
 
The north side of the Orange Line was also an el before 1975. It emerged from the subway after Haymarket, turned right over Causeway Street, left over the Charlestown Bridge to City Square, up Main Street to Thompson square and then to Sullivan Square.

I never got to ride this; it closed just a few months before I got here.
 
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