Sullivan Square (MBTA station)

Infobox Station
name=Sullivan Square


image_size=250
image_caption=Old elevated configuration, elevated in red and upper level streetcar loop in blue
address=One Broadway at One Cambridge Street, Charlestown
coordinates = coord|42.384031|-71.07697|display=inline,title|type:railwaystation
line=
other=
platform=1 Center Island Platform (All Traffic) & 1 Side Platform (Oak Grove Bound Only)
parking=222 spaces, $3.50 fee, seven accessible spaces
bicycle=16 spaces
passengers=
pass_year=
pass_percent=
opened=June 10, 1901, as elevated until April 4, 1975
rebuilt=April 7, 1975, as part of the realignment of Haymarket North Extension
ADA=Yes
code=
owned=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
zone=
services=

Sullivan Square is a station on the MBTA rapid transit Orange Line, and a major bus transfer point. It was also a major transfer point on the old Charlestown Elevated, with two streetcar loops (one at elevated level and one at surface level) for free transfers, later converted for trackless trolleys and buses.

The first Sullivan Square station was located on the Charlestown Elevated, which last ran on April 4, 1975. It was replaced with the Haymarket North Extension which opened April 7, including a new Sullivan Square Station, a bit west of the old one.

Bus connections

*MBTABus|CT2 Ruggles Station via Kendall/MIT
*MBTABus|86 Reservoir (Cleveland Circle) via Harvard/Johnston Gate
*MBTABus|89 Clarendon Hill or Davis Sq. via Broadway
*MBTABus|90 Davis Square - Wellington Station via Sullivan Square Station & Assembly Mall
*MBTABus|91 Central Sq., Cambridge via Washington St.
*MBTABus|92 Assembly Sq. Mall - Downtown via Sullivan Sq. Sta., Main St. & Haymarket Sta.
*MBTABus|93 Downtown via Bunker Hill St. & Haymarket Sta.
*MBTABus|95 West Medford via Mystic Ave.
*MBTABus|101 Malden Center Station via Salem St., Main St. & Broadway
*MBTABus|104 Malden Center Station via Ferry St. & Broadway
*MBTABus|105 Malden Center Station via Newland St. Housing
*MBTABus|109 Linden Square via Glendale Square
*Manchester Shuttle Manchester-Boston Regional Airport via Anderson Regional Transportation Center

Accessibility

Sullivan is handicapped accessible; see MBTA accessibility.

Predecessor

The original elevated station, which opened on June 10, 1901, was considered the crown jewel of the Boston Elevated Railway system which had just been completed. Surface streetcars ran up to the level of the elevated stations, allowing cross-platform transfer underneath an expansive trainshed.

The station was designed as a major transfer point, with many streetcar lines that had gone downtown truncated to Sullivan. However, the station quickly reached capacity, and an extension to Everett opened on March 15, 1919, with routes through Everett being moved to the new terminal. However, beginning on March 30, 1963, Everett was closed nights and Sundays, and the truncated routes (now all buses) were extended back to Sullivan Square at those times.

Over time, deferred maintenance on the Sullivan Square station took its toll, and by the time the Charlestown Elevated came down, the once-magnificent station was considered beyond saving.

External links

* [http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/subway/lines/stations/?stopId=14490 MBTA - Sullivan Square Station (Orange Line)]
* [http://world.nycsubway.org/us/boston/orange/mbta-orange-sullivan.html nycsubway.org - MBTA Orange Line: Sullivan Square]
* [http://world.nycsubway.org/us/boston/orange/mbta-orange-sullivan2.html nycsubway.org - MBTA Orange Line: Sullivan Square (Demolished)]
* [http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/pdf/maps/sullivansquare.pdf Area map]

References

* [http://members.aol.com/eddanamta/busfiles/contents.pdf Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district] (PDF)