Chinatown (MBTA station)

CHINATOWN CHINATOWN
A train at the inbound (northbound) platform in 2011
Location	640 Washington Street and 1 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°21′08″N 71°03′46″W / 42.3522°N 71.0627°W / 42.3522; -71.0627Coordinates: 42°21′08″N 71°03′46″W / 42.3522°N 71.0627°W / 42.3522; -71.0627
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Line(s)	Orange Line   Silver Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	November 30, 1908 (Orange Line) July 20, 2002 (Silver Line)
Previous names	Boylston Street / Essex (1908–1967) Essex (1967–1987)[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	6,498 (weekday average boardings)[2]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Tufts Medical Center toward Forest Hills Orange Line Downtown Crossing toward Oak Grove Tufts Medical Center One-way operation Silver Line SL4 South Station Terminus Silver Line SL5 Downtown Crossing Terminus
Location

Chinatown is a rapid transit station on the MBTA Orange Line, located at the intersection of Washington Street with Essex and Boylston Streets in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The station is located on the edge of the Chinatown neighborhood, within the Washington Street Theatre District.

Like all Orange Line stations, both the subway platforms and all bus connections are fully wheelchair accessible.^[2]

History

Emergency exit headhouses on Hayward Place were built into now-demolished buildings

The station originally opened on November 30, 1908 along with the rest of the Washington Street Tunnel. At this time, the Boston Elevated Railway's Main Line (which later became the Orange Line) was moved from the Tremont Street Subway into this new subway. As in other stations of the Washington Street Tunnel, the platforms were largely separated and given different names - Boylston for the southbound platform, and Essex for the northbound side.^[3]

On February 11, 1967, as part of a larger renaming of Orange Line stations, the entire station became Essex. On May 4, 1987, the station was renamed Chinatown concurrent with the opening of the Southwest Corridor.^[1] There are additional entrance/exit stairs and passages leading to Lagrange Street and Hayward Place that were closed off in 1972, though they are still used as emergency exits. A long sub-passage connecting the inbound and outbound platforms exists, but was sealed off before the station was opened in 1908.^[4]

Silver Line service on Washington Street between Dudley and Downtown Crossing started on July 20, 2002. Additional service to South Station began on October 15, 2009.^[1]

Bus connections

Chinatown serves both routes of the Washington Street section of the Silver Line, which operates between downtown and Dudley Square. The SL4 route serves South Station, while the SL5 route serves Downtown Crossing and Boylston. The station also sees conventional bus service from the 11 City Point - Downtown BayView Route.

Station layout

The two platforms are offset horizontally and vertically, and are not connected, so there is no free transfer between inbound and outbound trains. The station entrances are integrated into buildings on either side of Washington Street. The inbound platform has an exit, now blocked off and for emergencies only, that leads to a pair of small "orphaned" headhouses on Hayward Place.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chinatown (MBTA station).

• MBTA - Chinatown
• Boylston / Essex Streets entrance from Google Maps Street View