Mattapan station

For the former New York and New England Railroad station, see Blue Hill Avenue station § History.

Mattapan station is an MBTA light rail station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the southern terminus of the Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line, part of the Red Line, and is also an important MBTA bus transfer station, with eight routes terminating there. It is located at Mattapan Square in the Mattapan neighborhood. At the station, streetcars use a balloon loop to reverse direction back to Ashmont station. Mattapan station is fully accessible, with mini-high platforms.

Mattapan
A PCC streetcar at Mattapan station in August 2018
General information
Location	River Street at Blue Hill Avenue Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°16′03″N 71°05′35″W / 42.26750°N 71.09306°W / 42.26750; -71.09306
Line(s)	Milton Branch
Platforms	1 side platform (deboarding) 1 island platform (boarding)
Tracks	1 track on balloon loop; splits to 2 tracks for inbound boarding platform
Connections	MBTA bus: 24, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 245, 716
Construction
Parking	100 spaces ($4.00 daily)
Bicycle facilities	8 spaces
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	December 1, 1847
Rebuilt	August 24–December 21, 1929 June 24, 2006–December 22, 2007
Passengers
2023	1,310 daily boardings^[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station Terminus Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line Capen Street toward Ashmont
Former services Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station Terminus Boston–​Mattapan Central Avenue toward Boston
Location

History

Railroad station

 

Mattapan station in 1924

The Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad opened from Neponset to the Upper Mills section of Dorchester (later called Mattapan) on December 1, 1847. It became part of the Old Colony Railroad system the next year.^[2] A wooden station building was located on the east side of Brush Hill Turnpike (now Blue Hill Avenue) at Mattapan Square along with an engine house and turntable.^[3][4] The station was initially called Dorchester.^{[5] [6][7]} It was renamed Milton Upper Mills around 1852, then Mattapan by 1858.^{[8][9][10][11]} A freight house for the Tileston and Hollingsworth Company was added south of the station later in the century.^[12]

The widening of Blue Hill Avenue in 1901 necessitated construction of a new station set 100 feet (30 m) further back from the road.^[13][14] An old passenger car began serving as a temporary station in August 1901.^[15] The new stone building measured 26 by 45 feet (7.9 m × 13.7 m) with a 26-by-31-foot (7.9 m × 9.4 m) waiting room. A sheltered island platform served passenger trains.^[13][16][17] The new station opened on July 4, 1902.^[15]

Streetcar station

 

The 1929-built station in 2006

Passenger service on the Milton Branch ended on August 24, 1929, for conversion of the line to rapid transit. The first segment of the Mattapan Line, a "high-speed" streetcar line, opened between Ashmont and Milton two days later. The second segment, between Milton and Mattapan, opened on December 21, 1929.^[18] A streetcar transfer station and yard replaced the old rail yard. The station building was kept and converted for use by businesses.^[4]

On May 5, 2006, the MBTA awarded a $6.2 million contract to replace the 1929-built station.^[19] The MBTA closed the line on June 24 to allow a new viaduct to be constructed at Ashmont station.^[20] During the closure, all stations on the line were modernized and (except for Valley Road) made accessible. The 1929-built shelter and platforms were replaced by modern platforms with canopies; a new building for MBTA police and bus operations with a community room was built.^[21] Streetcar service resumed on December 22, 2007.^[20]

In 2014, the MBTA made $500,000 in additional renovations to the station. These included upgraded shelters and heating in passenger waiting areas, pedestrian improvements, improved signage, and bicycle storage.^[22]

The MBTA plans to convert the line to modern light rail equipment. All stations would have raised platforms for level boarding on the new vehicles; the existing Mattapan platforms would be replaced by a single island platform. An expanded maintenance facility for the line would be built next to the south busway.^[1]

Transit-oriented development

 

Mattapan parking lot in March 2016

As part of the first round of modernization, the MBTA began planning for mixed-use transit-oriented development (TOD) to be built on the underused station parking lot.^[23] The planned development was not built, even after a second request for proposals was issued in 2012.^[24] In July 2014, a local charter school announced plans to build a new building on the site, despite calls for a third RFP to be issued to attract TOD instead.^[24] In January 2015, after opposition from local officials about the school's $1.5 million offer, the MBTA announced it would instead issue a third RFP that March.^[25] The third RFP was issued in November 2015.^[26]

In July 2016, the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board selected the winner from two proposals for the property.^[27] The winning bidder, POAH/Nuestra, will pay the MBTA $4.89 million over the first 20 years of a 99-year lease of the site, upon which they built 135 rental units and 12,000 square feet (1,100 m²) of ground-floor retail. 50 parking spaces were reserved for MBTA riders.^[28] The project was approved by the city in 2018.^[29] Financing was secured in November 2020, with construction starting shortly after for a planned 2022 completion.^[30] The $57 million development, called "The Loop at Mattapan Station", opened in April 2023.^[31]

References

1. "Mattapan Line Transformation Public Information Meeting" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 20, 2023.
2. Jacobs, Warren (October 1928). "Dates of Some of the Principal Events in the History of 100 Years of the Railroad in New England. 1826-1926". Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin. Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. 17: 15–28. JSTOR 43504499.
3. "Plate Q: S. W. Part of Ward 16, Dorchester" (Map). Atlas of the county of Suffolk, Massachusetts : vol. 3rd including Boston and Dorchester : from actual surveys and official records. 1:7,200. G.M. Hopkins & Co. 1874. pp. 70–71.
4. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 190. ISBN 9780942147087.
5. Cobb, Charles (September 1850). American railway guide, and pocket companion, for the United States. Pathfinder Office. p. 91.
6. "Old Colony Railroad". Boston Evening Transcript. January 1, 1848. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Board in the Country [Advertisement]". Boston Evening Transcript. May 15, 1848. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
8. ABC Pathfinder Railway Guide. New England Railway Publishing Company. June 1858. p. 8 – via Google Books.
9. Barrett, Richard C. (1996). Boston's Terminals and Depots: A History of Downtown Boston's Railroad Stations. Railroad Research Publications. p. 215. ISBN 9781884650031.
10. "Old Colony Railroad Summer Arrangement". Boston Evening Transcript. April 5, 1852. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Old Colony & Newport Railway". Boston Evening Transcript. October 4, 1866. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Bromley, George Washington; Bromley, Walter Scott (1894). "Part of Ward 24, City of Boston" (Map). Atlas of the city of Boston : Dorchester, Mass. 1:2,400. Vol. 5. Plate 38.
13. "Mattapan's Bijou Station Building". The Boston Globe. March 14, 1902. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Widening Blue Hill Avenue". Boston Evening Transcript. May 14, 1901. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "New Mattapan Station Opened". The Boston Globe. July 5, 1902. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts (Map). 1:1,200. Sanborn Map Company. 1908. p. 113.
17. Bromley, George Washington; Bromley, Walter Scott (1910). "Part of Ward 24, City of Boston" (Map). Atlas of the city of Boston: Dorchester. 1:2,400. Plate 39.
18. Cheney, Frank (2002). Boston's Red Line: Bridging the Charles from Alewife to Braintree. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 96, 97, 99. ISBN 9780738510477.
19. "Mattapan Station To Get Upgrade" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. May 5, 2006.
20. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
21. . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
22. . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. February 2014. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016.
23. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. (PDF). Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2014.
24. Dezenski, Lauren (July 10, 2014). "Charter school wants to buy T lot in Mattapan Square and move there". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
25. Dezenski, Lauren (January 8, 2015). "MBTA backs off on Boston Prep school's $1.5m offer, puts Mattapan Square parking lot back on market". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
26. Massachusetts Realty Group (November 18, 2015). "Invitation to Bid: Sale of Land". Boston Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
27. "MBTA: Transit-Oriented Projects in Beverly & Mattapan". MassDOT Blog (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. July 26, 2016.
28. "Mattapan Station Transit‐Oriented Development" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 25 July 2016.
29. Nelson, Caleb (August 15, 2019). "Residents get closer look at updated Mattapan Station project". Dorchester Reporter.
30. "The Loop at Mattapan Station: Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council Meeting" (PDF). POAH & Nuestra Comunidad. February 25, 2021.
31. Woodard, Tiana (April 25, 2023). . The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mattapan station.

• MBTA - Mattapan
• Google Maps Street View: north busway, Mattapan Square