Coolidge Corner station

Coolidge Corner station is a light rail stop on the MBTA Green Line C branch, located at the intersection of Beacon Street and Harvard Street in the Coolidge Corner neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts. With 3,440 daily boardings by a 2011 count, it had more than twice the ridership of any other surface station on the branch.^[1]

Coolidge Corner
An outbound train at Coolidge Corner in 2024
General information
Location	Beacon Street at Harvard Street Brookline, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42.34223°N 71.12089°W / 42.34223; -71.12089
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	MBTA bus: 66
Construction
Bicycle facilities	20 spaces
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	June 1, 1888
Rebuilt	1901; 2001
Passengers
2011	3,440 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station Summit Avenue toward Cleveland Circle Green Line C branch St. Paul Street toward Government Center
Location

History

Coolidge Corner station in 1916

Horsecar service on the Beacon Street line began between Coolidge Corner and downtown Boston on June 1, 1888.^[2]: 54 Electrified service began between Allston and downtown Boston via Coolidge Corner on January 3, 1889.^[2]: 48 Service was extended west from Coolidge Corner to Reservoir on January 12, and from Allston to Oak Square the next day.^[2]: 56

On February 3, 1900, the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) established Coolidge Corner as a designated transfer point, where passengers could transfer between the Reservoir and Oak Square branches.^[3] The town approved the construction of shelters at the stop in November 1900, and they were completed in 1901.^[4][5][6] Each is 20 feet (6.1 m) long with a 40-foot (12 m)-long canopy, made of white pine with a tile roof.^[5] Similar shelters were built around 1912 at Brookline Village, but demolished in 1938.^[7][8] A 1911-built electrical substation designed by Peabody and Stearns is located in Coolidge Corner on Webster Street.^[6]

In the early 2000s, the MBTA modified key surface stops with raised platforms for accessibility. Portable lifts were installed at Coolidge Corner around 2000 as a temporary measure.^[9][10] The platform modifications – part of a $32 million modification of thirteen B, C, and E branch stations – were completed in 2001.^[11]

The MBTA added wooden mini-high platforms, allowing level boarding on older Type 7 LRVs, at eight Green Line stations in 2006–07 as part of the settlement of Joanne Daniels-Finegold, et al. v. MBTA. Coolidge Corner and Washington Square were originally to have one mini-high platform apiece as well; however, portable lifts were added at the stations instead.^[12][13]

In February 2024, the MBTA indicated long-term plans to replace the existing platforms with a longer island platform west of the Harvard Street grade crossing.^[14]

References

1. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
2. Clarke, Bradley H.; Cummings, O.R. (1997). Tremont Street Subway: A Century of Public Service. Boston Street Railway Association. ISBN 0938315048.
3. "New Free Transfer Station". Boston Globe. February 2, 1900. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Brookline". Boston Globe. November 10, 1900. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Greatly Needed Storm Shelters". Boston Globe. January 4, 1901. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Zimmerman, Sarah; Wyman Benka, Carla (June 1985). "National Register of Historic Places – Inventory Nomination Form: Brookline Multiple Resource Area". National Park Service. p. 7.46.
7. "Brookline". Boston Globe. September 6, 1912. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Cheney, Frank; Sammarco, Anthony M. (1997). Trolleys Under the Hub. Arcadia Publishing. p. 111. ISBN 0752409077.
9. "Executive Summary" (PDF). Program of Mass Transportation. Boston Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. January 2004. p. 2-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2012.
10. "Subway Map" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2001.
11. Rivera, Lydia (July 12, 2001). "The MBTA Continues Accessibility Program At Coolidge Corner Station". MBTA Press Releases. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on October 30, 2001.
12. "Settlement Agreement" (PDF). Joanne Daniels-Finegold et al. v. MBTA. April 10, 2006. pp. 10–11.
13. "Green Line Stations Upgraded to Improve Accessibility" (PDF). TRANSReport. Boston Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. June 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2011.
14. "Green Line C Branch Accessibility Upgrades" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. February 15, 2024.

External links

Media related to Coolidge Corner station at Wikimedia Commons

• MBTA – Coolidge Corner
• Station from Harvard Street from Google Maps Street View