The Charles River Speedway was a former bicycle and harness racing track located in

Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most pa ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, which has been redeveloped into an upscale market.

History

The speedway itself was constructed in 1899 along the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...

. It began around Market and Arsenal Street and extended all the way to the

Harvard Stadium Harvard Stadium is a U-shaped college football stadium in the northeast United States, located in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium is owned and operated by Harvard University and is home to the Harvard Crimson footb ...

. It was designed by a firm co-founded by

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...

. One of the functions of the speedway was to move the racing of horses and other pleasurable activities off of Brighton Road (now Commonwealth Avenue) west of

Kenmore Square Kenmore Square is a square in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, consisting of the intersection of several main avenues (including Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue) as well as several other cross streets, and Kenmore station, an MBTA ...

and Beacon Street in Brookline. As traffic on the roads increased, it became necessary to build the speedway. Amenities to the facility included a bicycle racing course, a long race course, a driveway, and use of the original

Soldiers Field Road Soldiers Field Road is a major crosstown parkway in Boston, Massachusetts, running west to east from U.S. Route 20 in the northwest corner of Brighton to the Boston University Bridge.Office of Geographic and Environmental Information (MassGIS) ...

. At some point, the track was shortened to an oval around where the center of the original track now stands and use ended in the 1960s. One of the bigger events at the speedway occurred on October 13, 1930 when a new course speed record was set. After seven hours of competition, which was viewed by thousands of spectators, a time of 2:05.5 was set for the race. The horse team was driven by a Mr. Grattan, the pacer of Mrs. Charles F. Adams. Only the superintendent's building ( Charles River Reservation (Speedway)-Upper Basin Headquarters) is left. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The building itself was even listed on the National Register of Historic Places featured properties and districts list on July 30, 2010. Additionally, it was listed on July 19 of that year. At some point, and by 1941, the building itself was turned into a police substation for the

Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1854, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The ...

. In 2021, the site was redeveloped as an upscale marketplace and community gathering spot, including a microbrewery. Speedway1899 Lo

References

External links

M.D.C. Police Photos: A Visual History Of The Metro Police - 8 Speedway photos
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