Opened 8 December 1984 | Connection MBTA Bus | |
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Location Massachusetts Avenue at Somerville Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts Owned by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Line(s) MBTA Commuter Rail:
Fitchburg Line
MBTA Subway:
Red Line Platforms 1 island platform (Fitchburg Line)
2 split platforms (Red Line) Tracks 2 (Fitchburg Line)
2 (Red Line) Connections MBTA Bus: 77, 77A, 83, 87, 96 Address Cambridge, MA 02140, United States Architecture firm Cambridge Seven Associates Owner Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Similar Davis, Harvard, Braintree, Ashmont, Alewife | ||
Porter is an MBTA transfer station serving the rapid transit Red Line and the commuter rail Fitchburg Line, located at Porter Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Positioned at the intersection of Massachusetts and Somerville Avenues, the station provides rapid transit access to northern Cambridge and the western portions of Somerville. Porter is 14 minutes from Park Street on the Red Line, and about 10 minutes from North Station on commuter rail trains. Several local MBTA Bus routes also stop at the station.
Contents
- Early history
- BM era
- MBTA era
- Adding the Red Line
- Station layout
- Arts on the Line
- Accessibility
- Bus connections
- References
A series of commuter rail depots have been located at Porter Square under various names since the 1840s. The modern station with both subway and commuter rail levels was designed by Cambridge Seven Associates and opened on December 8, 1984. At 105 feet (32 m) below ground, the subway section is the deepest station on the MBTA system. The station originally had six artworks installed as part of the Arts on the Line program; five remain, including Gift of the Wind and Glove Cycle.
Early history
There has been a railroad station at Porter Square since the Fitchburg Railroad began operations in the early 1840s. The first station, built in 1843–45, was called Porter's Station. Later stations at the site were known as North Cambridge, then later simply as Cambridge. In 1869, the original station was moved to the North Avenue (now Massachusetts Avenue) bridge over the tracks.
B&M era
A new station was built in 1897, slightly to the southeast, behind the Lovell Block. In 1927, the Fitchburg Cutoff became freight-only between the Alewife area and Somerville Junction. Passenger trains from the Lexington Branch and the Central Massachusetts Railroad were diverted to the Fitchburg mainline and began to stop at Cambridge station. In 1937, the Boston and Maine Railroad built a two-story brick depot by the bridge, with the ticket office at street level and the waiting room and platforms below.
MBTA era
By the time the newly formed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority began subsidizing northside commuter rail operations in the late 1960s, both the Lexington Branch and the Central Mass Branch had been reduced to single rush hour round trips on poorly maintained track. The South Sudbury run on the Central Mass was terminated on November 26, 1971. The Bedford round trip on the Lexington Branch ended after a major snowstorm on January 10, 1977, leaving the Fitchburg Line (with multiple daily round trips) as the only rail service at Cambridge station.
Adding the Red Line
In the late 1970s, Cambridge station was renamed to Porter when it became certain that the Red Line Northwest Extension would include a stop there. ("Cambridge", while sufficient for a commuter-rail station, would have been confusing for a rapid-transit station, because the Red Line has multiple stations—five in total—in the City of Cambridge.) The Red Line platforms were built in a deep-bore tunnel, while the commuter platform was rebuilt with an accessible mini-high platform. During construction, commuter trains were accessed via a still-extant staircase from Somerville Avenue.
A new glass and concrete headhouse was built around 1982, and the complete new transfer station opened on December 8, 1984 along with the renovated Harvard station and the new Davis station. The new station, designed by Cambridge Seven Associates, won awards from the American Institute of Architects and the American Consulting Engineering Council of New England.
Because of its Red Line connection, Porter Square can serve as a temporary inbound terminus for the Fitchburg Line service when commuter rail service is disrupted between Porter and Boston's North Station. It served this role during the 2004 Democratic National Convention, when North Station was closed for a week for security purposes, and during Green Line Extension construction in 2015.
Station layout
The subway station at Porter is, at 105 feet below ground level, the deepest in the MBTA system. Porter's unusual depth is due to the MBTA's decision to build the station in bedrock rather than soft clay, saving time and money in the construction process. Passengers reach Red Line platforms via a series of escalators, stairs totalling 199 steps, or a set of elevators. The longest single span of the escalators is 143 feet, the longest in the MBTA system. In 2005, a man was killed when his sweatshirt tangled in the bottom of the escalator.
The subway tracks and platforms are enclosed in a single cylindrical concrete shell, similar to most underground stations of the Washington Metro. The two platforms are at different levels, with portions of the inbound platform projecting over the outbound platform. Both tracks are on the outer side of their platforms. On the MBTA subway network, only State, North Station, and Harvard have similar split platforms. (Several downtown transfer stations have multiple platform levels, but these are the only four with multiple-level platforms for a single line.)
Porter has five levels: the street-level entrances, the below-grade commuter platforms, the fare mezzanine, and two subway platform levels underground.
Porter had a refreshment vendor outside the fare gates on the mezzanine level. Unlike most MBTA stations, Porter has public restrooms.
Arts on the Line
As a part of the Red Line Northwest Extension, Porter was included as one of the stations involved in the Arts on the Line program, devised to bring art into the MBTA's subway stations in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was the first program of its kind in the United States and became the model for similar drives for art across the country.
Six works, five of which remain, were placed at Porter:
Accessibility
Porter is fully handicapped accessible; elevators lead from street level to the mezzanine with its accessible bathroom, to the commuter rail platform, and to both Red Line platform levels. Although most of the commuter platform is low, there is a "mini-high platform" - a one car-length high section - that allows level boarding.
As a result of a 2006 settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Boston Center for Independent Living and a group of individuals, the MBTA installed additional elevators at Porter and four other busy MBTA subway stations. The elevator to the Red Line was out of service for 15 months beginning in March 2011 for car replacement and the installation of a second, redundant, elevator. An accessible shuttle bus ran between Porter and Davis.
The elevator to the commuter rail platform was also temporarily out of service for maintenance during the same period; a shuttle bus ran between Harvard, Porter and Waltham. The Red Line elevator was returned to service on June 22, 2012, and the commuter rail elevator returned to service on July 30, 2012.
Bus connections
Porter serves several MBTA Bus local routes via shelters on Massachusetts Avenue and Somerville Avenue:
The 77 and 96 run on Massachusetts Avenue, while the 83 turns from Somerville Avenue to Massachusetts Avenue at Porter Square. Additionally, the 87 Arlington Center or Clarendon Hill - Lechmere Station via Somerville Avenue bus stops on Elm Street at the Porter Square Shopping Center, one block northeast of Porter station.
The 77A short turn of the 77 operates as a trolleybus on a limited number of runs, as trolleybuses on other routes are brought to and from the North Cambridge Carhouse.