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Little recognized anniversary celebrated in Downtown Crossing T station
By adamg on Sat, 11/30/2013 - 10:57pm
A.P. Blake captures authors Jeremy Fox (l) and Andrew Elder at Downtown Crossing today, celebrating the 105th anniversary of the Washington Street tunnel, which today forms the downtown core of the Orange Line (they're holding a copy of their new book about the Orange Line).
Compare the columns and supports behind them with this 1909 photo from the same station (then called Winter Street) and it looks like some things on the Orange Line have aged pretty well:
The photo is from the 1909 annual report of the Boston Transit Commission (h/t Stuart Spina for finding that).
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Comments
Anyone get the book?
It's really awesome, but I mean... what Images of America book isn't, amirite? But seriously, it was great meeting Jeremy and Andrew, and they did a great job with the book and put alot of effort into digging up things you likely won't find too easily, so I recommend the book!
And a shoutout to Scottie Campbell and Stuart Spina, who were also present for the Washington St Tunnel's 105th. I'd like to point out that the tunnel is the only remaining piece of the original completed Main Line (Orange Line) still around, and it is almost entirely original. There has been relatively minimal work in regards to upgrades and appearances despite being the only remaining section. The Atlantic Ave El came down, the Charlestown El came down, and the Washington St El came down. Thousands of people interacting with 105 years of history, and 105 years of history keeping thousands of people moving (okay... usually moving...), every day.
Heartily Concur
The "Images" books are magnificent, and most especially those having to do with public transportation. They make great Christmas gifts, too.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Can you still smell the
Can you still smell the blueberry muffins from the bake shop? Great book, waxing some nostalgia.Could have used a picture of the third rail to really embrace the ambiance of the whole scene. On an aside, I was talking to a lad who is working doing some welding at the new Dudley station , and I think they salvaged some of the old station , lowered it down or something like that. I told him a little history of that station, when it had the overhead el and even street trolleys, the way it was , it was great. Also had a neat little story about the Patio Lounge ( p. 77 ) under the steel outbound side, ah the memories. I miss that third rail stuff !
Blueberry Muffins
Jordan's Furniture bought them (not to be confused with Jordan Marsh), and serves them in their Avon store.
Eliot had the recipe
Eliot had the recipe recreated and has Montilio's bake them for him , look on the bottom of the box when you get them. Warren let him do it , as long as he makes money on them. But the muffins were only part of the experience, that meant a trip on the el to Jordan Marsh and see the Enchanted Village and the Lionel trains.
Check out the closed sections of Chinatown
Why is that the old tile in the stations looks nicer than the current stuff? The MBTA's habit of destroying the old stuff (most recently the connecting hallways at State Street and Arlington Station) or covering it over with HomeDepot quality materials is sad. Deep cleaning tile with steam seems to be unheard of at the MBTA.
Historic State Street Tile Destruction
Prior to the latest "renovations", the ceiling of the Blue Line platform at State Street had absolutely gorgeous ceramic tile. Not only did the porcelain tiles have a beautiful sparkling finish, they were meticulously crafted; cut and pieced to perfectly fit the complex curves of the coffered ceiling. They were probably installed when the station was first built, but were still in beautiful condition. My heart sank the first time I entered that station and saw that the ceiling had been completely destroyed. Now, it's covered with an ugly spray-on finish that just collects dirt. The other "appointments" made to the station during the same project are hideous.
At some stations, you can
At some stations, you can catch a glimpse of the old tilework at the extreme ends of the platforms, where they didn't bother to cover it up with the modern junk.
Fashion?
Is there some law that men under 40 can no longer tuck in their shirts? It's an especially bad look when the shirt tails are hanging out below the sweaters and jackets. Is this what passes for faschunn these days? What next? Pants sagging below the anus? Oh wait....
Yeah I know it's trollish of me to make this remark, but I'm right.
Right about what
Why is tucking in shirts "right"? It was just the fashion for a number of years, now it is not. Who cares?
As for sagging, well, the day it stops making old guys apoplectic is the day it dies.
If either of their shirts HAD
If either of their shirts HAD tails you would be correct. But they are straight cut, not ment to be tucked in. And having plad sticking out from beneeth a solid color jacket/sweater is the style as of late, in case you haven't seen any of the latest gq covers.
Also, with how fat people are I'm glad tucking is only for formal wear. Nothing's worse then a gut pushing out over pants, barely contained by a stretched out shirt.
Actually not
straight cut or classic tails, but what is called these days "rounded" cut. It still looks like crap, even if GQ likes it. The tails of the guy on the right look especially unkempt. I'll bet that neither of these hipsters ever irons his shirts either.
Society Collapses
Look at the Roman Empire. Did they tuck in their shirts????? Did they iron their shirts???
See ... DOOM!
Shouldn't you be upset that they aren't tying an onion to their belt, too?
I'm over 40
and NEVER tuck in my shirt unless it's a formal business occasion. In fairness, I almost always wear tail-less shirts, polos, t-shirts, etc. Summertime I especially don't tuck in shirts. And I'm not fat, no gut. It's simply more comfortable not to tuck in a shirt. Nothing wrong with that. And yes, it's unfashionable to tuck in shirts outside of formal business wear.
This look won't age well
I don't want to tell you how to dress, but this sort of studied juvenile slovenliness isn't so much a fashion as a collective lack of giving a shit. In 20 years, I'm confident one of the reactions to photos of men dressed like this will be "So, nu? You couldn't have tucked in your shirt like a grown-up?"
If you're in your 40s, modern fashion isn't designed with you in mind, but rather with men 15-20 years your junior (or in some cases 20 years your senior). Just because Esquire or Men's Health think it's "in" doesn't make it a good idea.
Looking at the 1909 picture
I'm duly impressed by the large double LCD displays hung over the platform, presumably to indicate the arrival time of the next trains.
What's That Thing?
What is that big "covered counter" thing along the right side wall? It looks sort of like a newsstand or other vendor station; there's a door where an attendant could go behind the counter. But what's with the huge curved cover? The four elaborate chains coming down might lift it out of the way when in use, but what is its purpose? Since the sides are open, the cover couldn't be to secure whatever newspapers or other items were inside. Could this be an early example of one of the T's ideas; overbuilt but ultimately impractical for everyday use?
Life jackets?
Well, maybe firefighting equipment? That's what was in them in the 1980s.
http://farm5.staticflickr.com
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4002/5143463590_efa390607e_o.jpg
Another angle. It appears those cables are power?
Station looked soooooo much better before being modernized. What's today's designers and an inability to create subtle beauty in everything?
When public transit is properly funded
We get more beautiful stations. That is what hampers these designs - they lack the budget to recreate anything.
Um, the beautiful stations
Um, the beautiful stations were built by private companies. When the state took over in the 50s it IMMEDIATELY went into uglification mode.
Not all Private -- Read the report
I too used to think the subways were entirely the work of private companies until I spent some time reading that 1909 Report linked in the summery. While private companies were involved, it was more of a public/private cooperative with the Boston Elevated Railway Company paying the state (Commission) rent to use the tunnels and other facilities while providing their own track, cars, fare collectors, etc.
The report discusses how it was the Commission which oversaw the construction of the tunnel including some of the stations. This is why that picture and a detailed record of bids and costs were included in that report. From the report (p. 31):
c'mon....
...don't ruin the narrative....with that......reading.
Historic features of stations
Historic features of stations are lost when the T spends a whole lot of money rebuilding stations from scratch.
And I think they could save a lot of money money by scaling down these huge renovations, and instead just installing the useful features (elevators, wider stairs, etc) and fixing the maintenance issues with the historic interiors.
Chinatown to Haymarket
That's from CHINATOWN to HAYMARKET!!!! The Orange Line Extension Tunnel to Oak Grove was opened in 1975 and the Southwest Corridor/South Cove Tunnel opened in 1987 connecting the New Orange Line.