Sullivan Square station

Sullivan Square is a rapid transit station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA's Orange Line, and is also a major bus transfer point. It is located just west of the Sullivan Square traffic circle in the Charlestown neighborhood, adjacent to East Somerville. The modern subway station was built in 1975, and replaced an earlier Charlestown Elevated station established in 1901.

Sullivan Square
Sullivan Square station in July 2019
LocationMaffa Way and Cambridge Street
Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates42.384031°N 71.07697°W / 42.384031; -71.07697
Owned byMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Line(s)Haymarket North Extension
Platforms2 island platforms
Tracks3 (Orange Line)
2 (commuter rail)
Connections MBTA Bus: 86, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 95, 101, 104, 105, 109, 194, CT2
Construction
Parking222 spaces ($6.00 fee)
7 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities16 spaces
Disabled accessYes
History
OpenedJune 10, 1901 (elevated station)
RebuiltApril 7, 1975 (modern station)[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2011)10,125 (weekday average boardings)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Community College
toward Forest Hills
 Orange Line Assembly
toward Oak Grove

History
Interior of the elevated station in 1905
Exterior of the elevated station around 1910

Sullivan Square and its station are named for James Sullivan, an early 19th-century Governor of Massachusetts[3] and first president of the Middlesex Canal Co. A plaque commemorating the canal is on the column right of the entrance to the station.

The B&M's East Somerville station building was closed in 1927; in February 1932, with just a few trains a day stopping, the railroad successfully petitioned the Public Utilities Commission to abandon the station entirely.[4][5] However, the station remained in use, served by a small number of trains on both the Eastern Division and Western Division.[6] On April 18, 1958, the Boston and Maine Railroad received permission from the Public Utilities Commission to drastically curtail its suburban commuter service, including abandoning branches, closing stations, and cutting trains. Among the approved cuts was the closure of all Eastern Division service south of Lynn, including the Saugus Branch plus mainline stations at East Somerville, Everett, Chelsea, and Forbes.[7] The Saugus Branch and mainline stations were closed on May 16, 1958.[8][9]

The first rapid transit station at Sullivan Square opened on June 10, 1901 as part of the Charlestown Elevated rapid transit line, a predecessor to the modern Orange Line. The original elevated station was considered a crown jewel of the "El", along with a similar station complex at Dudley Square in Roxbury. Surface streetcars ran up to 10 stub-end tracks at the level of the elevated stations, allowing cross-platform transfer underneath an expansive trainshed.[10]:21 The station was designed as a major transfer point, with many streetcar lines that had gone downtown truncated to Sullivan.

Over time, deferred maintenance on the Charlestown Elevated and Sullivan Square station took its toll. A large fire also caused significant damage to the station's upper level on November 1, 1967.[11] The Haymarket North Extension was constructed in the early 1970s along the Haverhill Line right-of-way, with a relocated new Sullivan Square station under the elevated I-93 expressway.[12] The Charlestown Elevated closed on April 4, 1975; the Haymarket North Extension opened as far as Sullivan Square on April 7. The new Sullivan station was the terminus of the extension for five months until Wellington opened on September 6, 1975.[1]

There were proposals to renovate the cavernous old trainshed for use as retail or gallery spaces, but no such conversion took place; the massive structure was subsequently razed in 1975[13] and repurposed as an MBTA service vehicle parking lot.[14] Only supports for a footbridge crossing the traffic circle remain of the elevated station. A similar structure at the Dudley Square station on the Orange Line was carefully preserved, lowered to ground level, and reopened in 1993 as a major bus transfer station.

Sullivan station was not originally accessible. Construction of elevators at Sullivan and Wellington began in 1991.[15]

Plans

Sullivan Square Station was a proposed stop on the MBTA's planned Urban Ring Project.[16] The Urban Ring was to be a circumferential Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line designed to connect the current MBTA Lines to reduce strain on the downtown transfer stations. Plans from 2008 also called for the addition of platforms to serve the adjacent Haverhill and Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail lines.[17] The project was cancelled in 2010.[18]

The MBTA plans to add three elevators to the station, including an elevator to the lower busway. The work will also include replacement of the existing elevators, and two footbridges to connect the new elevators. A design contract was awarded in April 2020.[19]

Station layout
M Mezzanine Station house, fare control
P
Platform level		 Southbound ←      Orange Line toward Forest Hills (Community College)
Island platform
Northbound →      Orange Line toward Oak Grove (Assembly) →
Island platform
Third track → No regular service
Southbound ←      Haverhill Line, Newburyport/Rockport Line do not stop here
Northbound ←      Haverhill Line, Newburyport/Rockport Line do not stop here →
G Street level Exit/entrance, buses, parking

Bus connections
A route CT2 bus leaving the Sullivan Square busway in 2007

Sullivan Square has long been a major transfer point for surface transit. The original elevated station had surface and elevated streetcar loops to serve a number of BERy and Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway lines. The modern station has a two-level busway that serves 13 MBTA Bus routes to Medford, Everett, Malden and other surrounding cities:

  • 86: Sullivan Square Station - Reservoir Station
  • 89: Clarendon Hill or Davis Station - Sullivan Square Station
  • 90: Davis Station - Assembly Row
  • 91: Sullivan Square Station - Central Square, Cambridge
  • 92: Sullivan Square Station - Downtown via Main Street
  • 93: Sullivan Square Station - Downtown via Bunker Hill Street
  • 95: West Medford or Arlington Center - Sullivan Square Station
  • 101: Malden Center Station - Sullivan Square Station via Winter Hill
  • 104: Malden Center Station - Sullivan Square Station via Ferry Street
  • 105: Malden Center Station - Sullivan Square Station via Newland Street Housing
  • 109: Linden Square - Sullivan Square Station
  • 194: Clarendon Hill - Haymarket Station
  • CT2: Sullivan Square Station - Ruggles Station

References
  1. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  2. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  3. "James Sullivan (1744-1808)". mass.gov. James Sullivan (1744-1808). 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  4. "B. & M. WANTS TO ABANDON STATIONS: One at East Somervile in List of Three". Daily Boston Globe. February 12, 1932. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Authority to abandon East Somerville station". Daily Boston Globe. March 26, 1932. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Form 5: Haverhill - Lawrence - Boston (timetable), Boston and Maine Railroad, July 8, 1956
  7. "Drastic Service Cuts Approved on Five B.& M. Divisions". Daily Boston Globe. 19 April 1958. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 77. ISBN 9780685412947.
  9. "B.&M. Closes Saugus Branch, 3 Other Lines". Daily Boston Globe. May 17, 1958. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Cudahy, Brian J. (1972). Change at Park Street Under: The Story of Boston's Subways. Brattleboro, Vermont, US: Stephen Greene Press. ISBN 0-8289-0173-2.
  11. "This Time in History". Rollsign. Vol. 54 no. 11/12. Boston Street Railway Association. November–December 2017. p. 15.CS1 maint: date format (link)
  12. City of Boston Department of Transportation. "Rutherford Avenue / Sullivan Square Design Project". cityofboston.gov/. City of Boston. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  13. "Main Line Elevated Photos". CelebrateBoston. CelebrateBoston.com. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  14. "Sullivan Square: Part 3 of 3". Somerville Development Forum. Somerville Development Forum. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  15. Sanborn, George M. (1992). A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority – via Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  16. Urban Ring Phase 2 Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine. Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation.
  17. Urban Ring Phase 2 Plan Profile Drawings. Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation.
  18. Mullan, Jeffery B. (January 22, 2010). "Re: Urban Ring Phase 2, EOEEA #12565" (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
  19. Schwarz, John (April 13, 2020). "MBTA Contract Nos. A90PS02, A90PS04, & A90PS05: Architectural and Engineering Services for Station and Accessibility Improvements" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
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