Hynes Convention Center (MBTA station)

Opening

Construction of the Boylston Street Subway, a westward extension of the 1897-built Tremont Street Subway, began in March 1912. Stations were located to serve Copley Square - a major civic center - and the Massachusetts Avenue thoroughfare. The tunnel including Massachusetts station opened on October 3, 1914.

Just east of the station, the subway curves slightly to the north to parallel the Boston and Albany Railroad (B&A), located below grade in a trench. West of the station, a reverse curve aligned the tunnel with Newbury Street. Massachusetts station was thus located roughly parallel to the B&A tracks and oblique to the Back Bay street grid. Although located below street level, much of the station was actually built in open air due to the adjacent trench.

The main entrance was on Massachusetts Avenue just south of Newbury Street. A secondary entrance to the east end of the station was located on Boylston Street near Dalton Street. A waiting room for passengers transferring to streetcars was located on Massachusetts Avenue next to the main station entrance. However, this small facility soon proved inadequate.

Surface station

In 1917, the Massachusetts General Court passed legislation allowing the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) to construct prepayment streetcar transfer areas at existing subway and elevated stations. Soon after, BERy asked the Boston Transit Commission to build such a structure at Massachusetts station. In November 1917, the Public Service Commission approved BERy's plans to construct the transfer station as a bridge between Newbury Street and Boylston Street over the B&A tracks.

A reinforced concrete building was built with two tracks and a 27-foot (8.2 m)-wide island platform. Staircases connected it to both subway platforms and the fare mezzanine, with faregates providing access from Newbury and Boylston Streets. Streetcars from either direction on both Massachusetts and Boylston could reach the transfer station, then either loop back to their original or continue in the other three directions. Construction began on February 4, 1918, and demolition of buildings was completed by April 5.

The surface station opened on November 29, 1919. It served as the terminus for four routes, including the 76 Harvard - Mass. Station and 47 Mass. Station - Dudley lines on Massachusetts Avenue plus routes on Boylston Street to Cypress Street Carhouse and Chestnut Hill.

Bustitution

When Kenmore opened in 1932, the Boylston Street surface routes were bustituted and cut to Kenmore. The 54 Mass. Station - Bowdoin and 55 Queensbury Street - Copley bus routes, the latter created to cover territory formerly served by the shortened routes, soon were added to the surface station. The 76 route was converted to trackless trolley on September 18, 1949. The 47 route was bustituted on September 12, 1953, followed by the 76 on March 31, 1961.

In the early 1960s, the Massachusetts Turnpike Extension was built along the Boston and Albany Railroad Corridor, necessitating a major widening of that right of way. The 47 and 76 were through-routed as route 1 in September 1962 to eliminate looping at the surface station, which was permanently closed on January 21, 1963. The portion closer to Boylston Street was demolished soon after. The remaining part, which faces Newbury Street, is used as an MBTA traction power substation, with two large rectifier transformers in the rear. Locally known as "the Slab", the facade is frequently covered in graffiti art and the sidewalk in front is used by buskers. The MBTA has also attempted to lease the space.

A large dedicated bus shelter was built across Massachusetts Avenue for southbound riders in 1963. On November 16, 1964, the newly formed MBTA opened a pedestrian tunnel from the bus shelter to the station's fare lobby. The completion of the Prudential Tower and the adjacent Prudential Center complex in 1965 on what had previous been rail yards increased the number of riders accessing the station from the Boylston Street direction. On April 19, 1965, the MBTA opened a short pedestrian tunnel from the station to a new headhouse on Boylston Street, diagonally across from the Prudential complex.

MBTA era

The station was renamed to Auditorium on February 18, 1965 upon the completion of the War Memorial Auditorium (later renamed Hynes Memorial Auditorium). The Auditorium was replaced by the Hynes Convention Center in 1988; two years later, the station was renamed Hynes Convention Center/ICA after the new building and the nearby Institute of Contemporary Art.

The tunnel to the southbound bus shelter was closed due to security concerns in the early 1980s; passengers are supposed to cross at an adjacent crosswalk, but often run across the street directly to or from the subway entrance at midblock. Passengers waiting for northbound buses can wait under the sidewalk canopy of a large building adjacent to the street.

The Boylston Street entrance was closed on January 3, 1981 as part of extensive cutbacks that including closing Bowdoin and Symphony. It may have reopened later, but was again closed (except for special events) in the late 1990s. In November 2006, shortly after the ICA relocated from its nearby location on Boylston Street to a new building on the South Boston Waterfront, the station was renamed a third time to Hynes Convention Center.

Planned renovations

The subway station is not currently wheelchair accessible. Design for accessibility improvements was advanced to the 15% design level in March 2013. On September 3, 2014, MassDOT announced the opening of bidding on air rights development over the Mass Pike on Parcel 13 next to the station. As part of the project, the developer was to be required to renovate Hynes Convention Center station with elevators for handicapped accessibility, as well as reopening both the tunnel under Massachusetts Avenue and the disused Boylston Street headhouse.

In November 2015, MassDOT approved plans for a development called "The Viola" on the site, with construction to begin in 2019. The developer, Peebles Corporation, will work with the MBTA to design the renovated station, but will not perform the work. Instead, Peebles will provide $30.5 million of the estimated $45.7 million station cost; the MBTA must obtain the remaining funds and organize renovation.

Station layout

The station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks. The primary entrance to the station is from Massachusetts Avenue, which leads to a fare lobby which connects the west ends of the platforms. A side exit leads from the lobby to Newbury Street.

The secondary entrance from Boylston Street to the east end of the platforms is normally closed; it is opened on Patriot's Day to handle the spectators from the Boston Marathon, as well as for large events like Anime Boston at the convention center. For some of these events, like the 2014 Boston Marathon, it is opened for exiting passengers only. The planned station renovations include permanently reopening the entrance.

Bus connections

Three MBTA Bus routes stop at the station:

The 1 and CT1 stop on Massachusetts Avenue with stops at and across from the station entrance, while the 55 runs on Boylston Street with stops just east of Massachusetts Avenue.