Wonderland (MBTA station)

BRB&L

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. The Eastern Railroad opened its Chelsea Beach Branch in 1881 along the modern Blue Line corridor slightly inland. A third line - the Boston, Winthrop, and Shore Railroad - shared the Chelsea Beach Branch alignment in 1884-5. None of the three railroads initially stopped at the modern station site, which was then an unpopulated swampy area. The BRB&L had a stop named Atlantic (later renamed as Revere Street) at Revere Street some 2,000 feet (610 m) to the north of the modern station site from the beginning of its operations; the other railroads may have briefly had Revere Street stops as well.

The Chelsea Beach Branch, which operated only during the summer, ended operations in 1891, although the rails remained in place until the 1920s. In April 1897, the BRB&L was moved inland onto the modern right-of-way next to the abandoned Chelsea Beach Branch. A new station, Bath House, was soon built on the east side of the tracks across from the new Revere Beach Bath House, just north of the modern station site. 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.

M.T.A. and MBTA

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. Wonderland was originally to be named Bath House after the former station, but instead was named after the Wonderland Greyhound Park - itself named after Wonderland Amusement Park, which operated at the site from 1906 to 1911.

Wonderland has been in mostly continuous operation since 1954; however, service has been interrupted several times due to weather and construction. It was closed for flood damage from February 6 to March 13, 1978 after the Blizzard of '78, and from June 24 to September 10, 1983 for track work between Wonderland and Orient Heights.

Renovations

Wonderland was closed for approximately one year starting on June 25, 1994 as the station was rebuilt along with Suffolk Downs, Revere Beach and Beachmont 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. Wonderland station was largely rebuilt at a cost of $9 million; it reopened along with the other stations on June 24, 1995. The station was closed while additional platform repair work was performed from June 21 to July 3, 2008.

Wonderland Intermodal Transit Center

As early as 1973, the MBTA proposed constructing a parking garage at Wonderland. In 2006, the MBTA settled a lawsuit with the Conservation Law Foundation over emissions from increased auto traffic through downtown Boston due to the Big Dig. As part of the settlement, the MBTA was required to implement twenty transit improvements. One of these projects was the Wonderland Intermodal Transit Center, which started construction in September 2010 and opened on June 30, 2012.

The $53.5 million project, partially funded by the 2009 Stimulus Act, included the 1465-space South Parking Garage as well as a new sheltered busway, bicycle storage, and improved pedestrian connections. The $20 million Christina and John Markey Memorial Pedestrian Bridge opened on July 4, 2013 from the station area to Revere Beach, allowing access to the station without crossing busy Ocean Avenue.

Future plans

Ever since the 1954 Revere extension was cut short to Wonderland, a further extension to Lynn has been planned. Various state and federal reports in 1966, 1969, 1973, 1978, and 1983 all recommended extensions of the Blue Line to Lynn or even Salem, Massachusetts, but funding was instead given to the Haymarket North Extension and Southwest Corridor projects on the Orange Line and the Alewife and Braintree extensions of the Red Line. The extension is still continually discussed, but due to the lack of an identified funding source it has not received priority. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which has been under development since 2002, will include several possible projects. They include extending the Blue Line directly to Lynn, a shorter extension to a new Revere Center commuter rail station, or a direct transfer from Wonderland via people mover to the new commuter rail station.

In March 2012, the MBTA announced plans to place solar panels on the roof of the new South Garage. The panels would be installed and maintained by an outside contractor. A winning bidder was chosen in June 2012 and approved by the board in September, with expected completion by June 2013. However, as of 2015, the solar panels have not been installed.

Bus connections

As the terminus of the Blue Line, Wonderland serves as a major bus transfer station. All routes except southbound route 411 buses (which run on Ocean Avenue) use a busway in the garage off Route 1A, which opened on June 30, 2012. Previously, several routes used a two-lane busway off Ocean Avenue. Until September 2016, inbound route 448 and 449 buses stopped on North Shore Road opposite the station rather than using the new busway.

The 424W, 426W, and 450W routes operate weekends only. On weekdays, the 424, 426, and 450 routes operate instead to Haymarket. The 441, 442, and 455 routes formerly operated in this manner as well; however, Wonderland became their full-time terminus as part of systemwide changes on July 1, 2012.