Aquarium (MBTA station)

AQUARIUM
Location	183 State Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110
Coordinates	42°21′33″N 71°03′11″W / 42.3593°N 71.0531°WCoordinates: 42°21′33″N 71°03′11″W / 42.3593°N 71.0531°W
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Line(s)	Blue Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	none
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	22 August 1901 (Atlantic Avenue Elevated) 5 April 1906 (East Boston Tunnel)
Rebuilt	1924, 2000-2004
Previous names	Atlantic Avenue (1906-1967) State Street (1901-1938)
Traffic
Passengers (2009 daily)	4,444[1]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station State toward Bowdoin Blue Line Maverick toward Wonderland   Former services   Boston Elevated Railway Rowes Wharf toward South Station or Dudley Atlantic Avenue Elevated Closed 1938 Battery Street toward North Station

Aquarium Station is a subway station on the MBTA Blue Line, serving the New England Aquarium and Boston's Financial District. Uniquely on the MBTA system, the station has high vaulted ceilings similar to stations of the Paris Metro and Washington Metro. The station's headhouses are located in the Financial District at Atlantic Avenue and State Street near International Place. Nearby Long Wharf offers connections to MBTA ferries water taxis to Logan International Airport, and other ferries and excursion cruises.

Aquarium is the deepest station on the Blue Line, as it is located on the portion of the East Boston Tunnel that passes under Boston Harbor. However, the station is not as deep as Porter on the Red Line in Cambridge.

History

Atlantic Avenue station with streetcar in 1906

Entrance to Atlantic Avenue station in the center of State Street in 1915, with a pedestrian bridge to State Street station

The Atlantic Avenue Elevated opened on August 22, 1901, including a stop at State Street. The East Boston Tunnel opened on December 30, 1904, serving streetcars which ran from Court Street downtown to Maverick portal in East Boston. Atlantic Avenue station opened in the tunnel on April 5, 1906. It was connected with the elevated station by a three-story fare lobby that featured long, narrow wooden escalators - the lower sections of which lasted until 2004 - and a pedestrian bridge over Atlantic Avenue. The two stations had separate fare gates; a paper transfer was required to change lines.^[2]

The East Boston tunnel was converted to heavy rail metro stock in April 1924; all stations including Atlantic were given high platforms. The Elevated closed on October 1, 1938, and was torn down during World War II for scrap metal.

Atlantic Avenue station was renamed Aquarium on February 13, 1967, as part of a general rebranding by the newly created MBTA. The subway lines were given colored identifying names, and several other downtown stations were renamed.^[3] The station was modernized in 1968 as part of a $9 million systemwide station improvement program.^[4]

The station was closed from October 14, 2000 until October 29, 2001 as part of a platform lengthening project to allow six-car trains on the Blue Line. State was temporarily named "State - Aquarium" during the closure, and a shuttle bus (route #650) was put in place between the two stations. A new permanent entrance was placed on State Street west of Atlantic Avenue; the Long Wharf entrance did not reopen until September 2003.^[3] The rebuilding was officially completed in 2004.

Bus connections

The 6 Haymarket-South Station bus served Aquarium until it was terminated in March 2009 due to low ridership. The 4 North Station - World Trade Center via Federal Courthouse & South Station route was rerouted to cover part of the discontinued route; it serves Aquarium during rush hour.^[3]

Station layout

G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance
M	Mezzanine	To entrances/exits
P Platform level	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Southbound	← Blue Line toward Bowdoin or Government Center (State)
	Northbound	→ Blue Line toward Wonderland (Maverick) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right

Gallery

• 

  Atlantic Avenue station, 1906

• 

  Two 0600 Blue Line trains meet at Aquarium

• 

  Long Wharf headhouse

References

1. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
2. Chasson, George Jr. (1987). Lonto, Arthur J., ed. "Boston's Main Line El: The Formative Years 1879-1908". Headlights. Electric Railroader's Association. 49: 16, 57.
3. Belcher, Jonathan (31 December 2011). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
4. Fourth Annual Report (Covering the period October 1, 1967 - October 31, 1968) of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 1968. p. 23 – via Internet Archive.

External links

• MBTA Blue Line -- Aquarium Station
• Atlantic Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View