Celebrating 125 Years of the Boston Subway

Boston prides itself on being a city of firsts. Among our many historic accomplishments is having the first subway in America. The Tremont Street Subway, part of today’s Green Line, opened on September 1st, 1897, and will turn 125 years old this year.

By the late 1800s, the need for better transportation in Boston was clear. Streets were packed with pedestrians, horses, pushcarts, and streetcars. It was often quipped that one could walk on the roofs of the trolleys from Park Street to Scollay Square faster than it would take to ride them.

To solve this problem, Boston envisioned a tunnel beneath downtown to clear the streets and speed up the trolleys.

The concept of underground travel was largely unheard of at the time. London, Glasgow, and Budapest had already built underground train lines, but in London, the tube used coal-powered steam trains that left riders covered in soot.

To alleviate the concerns of subterranean travel, the Boston Transit Commission painted the tunnel walls white and installed lights that illuminated both the stations and the tunnels between them. Additionally, the electric traction motor, invented by Frank Sprague and already in use to power the above-ground trolleys in Boston, gave the city the ability to run a clean, hospitable, and cutting-edge system.

On its opening day in 1897, the Tremont Street Subway was considerably smaller than it is today. With a portal in the Public Garden, it included two stations: Boylston & Park Street. The first car entered the subway early in the morning on September 1. The trolley from Allston, operated by Motorman James Reed and his conductor Gilman Trufant, completed the short trip to Park Street without issue.

Some riders were skeptical about traveling underground, especially those who were concerned by the relocation of a Revolutionary War cemetery during the construction of Boylston Station, but fears quickly subsided and over 100,000 people rode the new subway on its opening day! As America’s first subway, the Tremont Street subway is not only the oldest subway tunnel in North America but also the third oldest still in use worldwide today. In its 125 years of service, the Subway has grown, with extensions to:

• The Pleasant Street portal in 1897 (closed 1962)

• Scollay Square (now Government Center), Adams Square (demolished 1963), and Haymarket (relocated in 1971) in 1898

• Copley & Massachusetts Avenue (now Hynes) in 1914 • Kenmore (and the Comm Ave & Beacon Street portals) in 1932

• Mechanics (now Prudential) & Symphony in 1941

• The Highland Branch portal in 1959

• and most recently to the new North Station in 2004.

Additionally, the Tremont Street Subway briefly played host to rapid transit trains from the Main Line Elevated (today’s Orange Line) from 1901 until the Washington Street Subway was finished in 1908.

On this historic anniversary, we celebrate all who have dedicated their time to working on the Tremont Street subway, past and present. Thank you for keeping Boston connected!