Line(s) Blue Line Disabled access Yes Rebuilt 24 June 1995 Tracks 2 | Bicycle facilities 6 spaces Opened 19 January 1954 Platforms in use 2 | |
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Location 630 Winthrop Avenue at 1 Bennington Street
Revere, Massachusetts Parking 430 spaces ($5.00 fee)
6 accessible spaces Closed January 27, 1940 (BRB&L) Address Revere, MA 02151, United States Similar Suffolk Downs, Wonderland, Revere Beach, Orient Heights, Wood Island | ||
Beachmont is an elevated rapid transit station on the MBTA Blue Line, located above Winthrop Avenue in the Beachmont neighborhood of Revere, Massachusetts.
Contents
The station, located on an overpass above Winthrop Avenue, is one of a small number of elevated rapid transit stations remaining in the MBTA system. (The only others are Charles/MGH, Science Park, Malden Center, Wollaston and Fields Corner.) Boston once had several elevated lines, but the Atlantic Avenue Elevated, Charlestown Elevated, Washington Street Elevated, and Causeway Elevated were all torn down in favor of subway and surface-level lines.
Beachmont station is fully handicapped accessible, with elevators from the lobby to the platforms.
BRB&L
The narrow gauge Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad (BRB&L) opened from East Boston to Lynn on July 29, 1875; no station was originally present at Winthrop Avenue. Beachmont station opened later at the Winthrop Avenue grade crossing, with a station building located southeast of the crossing. Ocean Pier station at Dolphin Avenue was open for several years in the 1880s, likely to compete with a competitor - the Eastern Railroad-backed Boston, Winthrop and Shore Railroad - which operated in 1884 and 1885.
By 1928 the line was electrified, with pre-pay stations - more a rapid transit line than a conventional railroad. However, due to the Great Depression, the BRB&L shut down on January 27, 1940.
Rapid transit
In 1941, the Boston Elevated Railway bought the BRB&L right of way from Day Square to Revere Beach for use as a high-speed trolley line similar to the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line; these plans were delayed by the onset of World War II. However, the 1926 Report on Improved Transportation Facilities and 1945–47 Coolidge Commission Report recommended that the East Boston Tunnel line, which had been converted to rapid transit from streetcars in 1924, be extended to Lynn via the BBRB&L route rather than using it for a trolley line.
In 1947, the newly formed Metropolitan Transit Authority (M.T.A.) decided to build to Lynn as a rapid transit line, and construction began in October 1948. The first part of the Revere Extension opened to Orient Heights in January 1952 and Suffolk Downs in April 1952; the second phase (cut short due to limited funds) opened to Wonderland on January 19, 1954 with intermediate stations at Beachmont and Revere Beach. Unlike its predecessor, this Beachmont station was elevated to eliminate the grade crossing of Winthrop Avenue.
Renovations
The station was closed for approximately one year starting on June 25, 1994, as the station was rebuilt along with the Suffolk Downs, Revere Beach and Wonderland stations as part of the Blue Line Modernization Program. Blue Line service temporarily ended at Orient Heights and buses served the closed stations during the $467 million improvement project to upgrade four stations on the line. Beachmont station was completely rebuilt at a cost of $27 million; it reopened along with the other stations on June 24, 1995.
The station was closed while additional platform repair work was performed from September 8 through November 25, 2008.
Bus connections
Beachmont station is served by one MBTA Bus route, with runs below the station on Winthrop Avenue: