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A view of Court Street Station above looking south toward Devonshire Station
(State Street). The original Blue Line, or East Boston Tunnel, opened
on December 30th, 1904. The line began at Court Street (near the Old
State House), traveled east under Boston Inner Harbor, and ended at Maverick
Square East Boston. A one cent toll had to be paid to the state in
addition to the transit fare. In 1916, the tunnel was extended to
Scollay Under (Government Center, under the Green Line) and Bowdoin. Court Street Station was then abandoned and demolished. In 1924, the
line was converted to a third rail system, and the trolleys were replaced by
rapid transit cars. In 1952, the line was expanded to Orient Heights
East Boston, and to Wonderland in 1954. [Railroad historians may be
interested in abandoned Court Street Station in
1976.]
Entrance to Court Street Station
A view looking south on Court Street.
The little kiosk at the center right is the entrance to the East Boston
Tunnel. The Old State House is just east of this view. The
pillared building in the center still stands and houses government offices.
Atlantic Avenue Station (Aquarium)
A view of Atlantic Avenue (Aquarium) Station looking north. Atlantic Avenue opened on April 5th 1906, or more than a year after the main
tunnel. It appears the station is unfinished when this view was
produced. The tunnel is very deep at this point, just before it
travels under the harbor. The "Big Dig" Central Artery Tunnel
travels OVER the Blue Line near here, and is the highest point of the
highway tunnel.
Maverick Square Tunnel Entrance
A view of the subway
entrance in Maverick Square East Boston. In 1924, Maverick Square
Station was constructed and "loops" were added. Rapid Transit subway
cars perpetually traveled from Bowdoin to Maverick, with a loop at each end. Maverick Station contained 2 loops; one for the rapid transit cars and
another for the trolley cars. Surface trolleys would travel into the
tunnel, loop around, and then leave Maverick Station back to the surface.
This greatly relieved surface traffic and allowed the trolleys to quickly
turn around.
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