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The Red Line turns 100 on Friday; how are you planning to celebrate?
By adamg on Wed, 03/21/2012 - 11:22am
Park Street in 1912: Where are all the people? See it larger.
ArchBoston alerts us to the centennial of the opening of the "Cambridge Subway" from Harvard Square to Park Street.
On the morning of the opening, the Globe reported the subway cost $11.75 million, and added:
There will no doubt be a heavy patronage today, as many who would not otherwise have reason to patronize the new "tube" will enjoy "seeing it," or, actuated by a desire to recall years hence with pride that they "rode through the first day," will join the regular travelers between Boston and the University City.
Also noteworthy, according to another Globe account: The Boston Elevated Railway Co., as you might expect from its name, had the right to build an elevated from Harvard Square to Boston, but bowed to protests from Cambridge residents and burrowed underground.
Original Red Line car, in 1911. See it larger.
Photos from the BPL's Boston Elevated collection. Posted under this Creative Commons license.
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Comments
woooooooo!!!!
I plan to celebrate by sitting in a tunnel for at least 30 minutes without moving due to an inevitable breakdown!
WOOOO!!!!
PARTY TIME!
Well we could
Have every body meet at Park Street station at noon carrying a cupcake with one candle.
And like Fenway Park, remember we might not look so good after 100 years either. I can see all kinds of MBTA age related explanation for delays this summer.
Repairs
But hey, it should at least be running just fine and dandy between Harvard and Alewife after the weekend tunnel repairs this winter.
Booze
I've been seeking ideas for making a Red Line centennial cocktail, because yuppie drinks seem like an appropriately Cantabrigian way to celebrate.
Let me try
Stick some vodka in the freezer.
Pour 2 measures vodka into a chilled martini glass.
Slowly float any flavored liqueur on top of the vodka. Your taste can determine the flavor, but it has to have some sugar content, and be cold, to really float on the vodka.
With a dropper, add a few drops of grenadine on top of the vodka layer, below the liqueur. If you have a perfect thermocline stacked up, the grenadine shouldn't traverse either layer, and there, you will have a Red Line.
If anyone does this, by the
If anyone does this, by the way, send me a pic!
I definitely plan on
I definitely plan on celebrating with a cocktail. A martini with a side car for sure! -Mea www.hertrainstories.blogspot.com
Another party in June
Also, start your party planning for June 1, when the Lechmere Viaduct—the other line to Cambridge—turns 100!
I thought about
Getting to Harvard for the 5:22am to Park. But that would require getting up early. And taking a cab beforehand, most likely. Blah.
Despite its problems, the Red
Despite its problems, the Red Line is one of the quickest, most efficient subway lines in the country.
Every time I transfer from the Green Line to the Red Line, I appreciate the foresight that BERy had in 1912 to design it properly.
I blogged about it a few weeks ago - nobody cares
http://bythebanksoftherivercharles.blogspot.com/20...
ride my bike
I plan to ride my bike and no give a crap about anything mbta related as I get to where I'm going cheaply, early and am able to go directly there, not some place vaguely near it. The mbta hasn't been good since the 1980s. It needs a complete shutdown, infrastructural overhaul, and reopen.
RE: ride my bike
Ouch! Keep in mind that if it weren't for the T, there would be a LOT more angry motorists roaring around you as you cycle around Boston. Transit and biking go hand in hand for many reasons.
probably not since the
probably not since the average T rider cant afford a car LOL
I realize you're not serious
But there is a serious point to be made here. A lot of people are too poor to own a car -- BUT they must do so anyway. Because they have no choice, if they want to get to their job. Expanding public transit can help people in this predicament a great deal.
this is why they ought to get
this is why they ought to get a bike..
Boston is tiny!
Obesity problem solved, its a win-win
That's a good idea, but
we'd need to convert a lot of streets to bikeways in order to accommodate a significant level of cycling as standard transit. Do you think suburban drivers would put up with that?