Line(s) Blue Line Bicycle facilities 11 spaces Opened 19 January 1954 Rebuilt 24 June 1995 | Tracks 2 Disabled access Yes Connection MBTA Bus Platforms in use 2 | |
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Location 220 Shirley Avenue at 300 Ocean Avenue
Revere, Massachusetts Connections MBTA Bus: 110, 117, 411 Address Revere, MA 02151, United States Similar Suffolk Downs, Beachmont, Wonderland, Wood Island, Bowdoin | ||
Revere Beach is a rapid transit station on the MBTA Blue Line, located between Beach Street and Shirley Avenue in Revere, Massachusetts. It serves Revere Beach, a popular summer destination with a substantial year-round resident population. It opened in January 1954 on the site of a former Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad station, as part of an extension to Wonderland. Revere Beach station was closed and rebuilt from 1994 to 1995.
Contents
History
The narrow gauge Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad (BRB&L) opened from East Boston to Lynn on July 29, 1875. The line ran directly adjacent to the beachfront, a popular summer destination, on the alignment of the modern Revere Beach Boulevard. Revere station was located between Beach Street and Shirley Avenue. The station was renamed Pavilion in the late 1870s and Crescent Beach in 1884.
The Eastern Railroad-backed Boston, Winthrop, and Shore Railroad (BW&S) operated slightly inland in 1884 and 1885, with its own Crescent Beach station just west of the BRB&L station. In April 1897, the BRB&L was moved inland onto the BW&S right-of-way, with Crescent Beach station relocated to the new alignment. 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. 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.
Renovations
Wonderland was closed for approximately one year starting on June 25, 1994 as the station was rebuilt along with Suffolk Downs, Beachmont, 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. Revere Beach station was largely rebuilt at a cost of $9.8 million; it reopened along with the other stations on June 24, 1995.
The station was closed while additional platform repair work was performed from August 2 through 29, 2008.
Platform layout
Like all Blue Line stations from Airport east, Revere Beach has two tracks and two side platforms. Uniquely among Blue Line stations, it is located below grade in a trench, with a surface-level fare lobby. Entrances to the station are from Beach Street and Shirley Avenue.
Bus connections
Revere Beach station is served by three MBTA Bus routes:
The 411, operating on a one-way loop, stops one block east of the station on Ocean Avenue at Beach Street and one block west on Beach Street. Wonderland-bound 110 and 117 buses stop on Beach Street one block west of the station, while buses operating towards Wellington and Maverick stop further away. All three routes stop directly at Wonderland, one stop to the north on the Blue Line.