Orient Heights station is a

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

station in Boston, Massachusetts. The station serves the MBTA Blue Line. It is located off Bennington Street in

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and d ...

Orient Heights Orient Heights is a historic section of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is commonly considered part of East Boston; it is Boston's northernmost and northeasternmost neighborhood. The neighborhood sits on a hill, which measures 152 fee ...

neighborhood. Formerly a

Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad was a narrow-gauge passenger-carrying shortline railroad between East Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts, from 1875 to 1940. Part of the railroad's right of way now forms the outer section of the Massachus ...

station under various names from 1875 to 1940, it reopened in 1952. The 1952-built station was closed in March 2013 for a complete rebuilding to provide full accessibility and reopened on November 26, 2013. Orient Heights station is the primary rapid transit connection for the

neighborhood of East Boston, as well as for Winthrop. It also serves as a bus transfer station, with three routes connecting Winthrop and Orient Heights. Orient Heights Yard, the main Blue Line yard, branches off the main line just north of the station. Because of the proximity, Blue Line employees report to work at Orient Heights station.

History

BRB&L era

The

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

(BRB&L) opened from

to Lynn on July 29, 1875. The BRB&L opened with Orient station, located north of the intersection of Bennington and Saratoga Street. It was soon replaced with Winthrop station located closer to Saratoga Street. The station was renamed as Winthrop Junction in 1877 when the Boston, Winthrop, and Point Shirley Railroad opened to Winthrop Center, and again as Orient Heights in April 1892. The station was the transfer point between the main line and the Winthrop Center branch during its short operation from 1877 to 1885, and between the main line and the Winthrop Loop after the latter's 1888 opening. The state railroad commissioners began considering elimination of the Saratoga Street grade crossing adjacent to the station in 1909. Construction of a bridge carrying the street over the tracks began on October 6, 1912, and it opened on September 18, 1913. Nearby residents were opposed to the bridge because the 5% grade of its approaches, which required a team of horses to aid heavy vehicles. 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.

MBTA era

In 1941, the

Boston Elevated Railway The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) was a streetcar and rapid transit railroad operated on, above, and below, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Founded in 1894, it eventually acquired the West End Street Rai ...

bought the BRB&L

right of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. However, the 1926 ''Report on Improved Transportation Facilities'' and 1945–47 ''Coolidge Commission Report'' recommended that the

East Boston Tunnel The Blue Line is a rapid transit line in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, one of four rapid transit lines operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It runs from Bowdoin station in downtown Boston under Boston Harbo ...

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 on January 5, 1952, with intermediate stations at and

Day Square Day Square is a section of the neighborhood of East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The square consists of the area surrounding the intersection of Bennington Street and Chelsea Street. It is one of the neighborhood's larger and m ...

. The station was the terminus of the line until April 21, 1952, when station opened. Until September 1972, some trains terminated at Orient Heights rather than to provide more frequent service on the inner part of the line. During temporary construction and track work on the outer section of the line and during severe weather conditions, Orient Heights is sometimes used as the terminus, as its busways can accommodate the replacement bus service. From February 1 to December 16, 1981, Orient Heights–Wonderland buses operated on Sundays due to budget cuts. From June 25, 1994 to June 24, 1995, Orient Heights was the terminus at all times to permit reconstruction of the outer stations as part of the Blue Line Modernization Program.
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Reconstruction

Orient Heights inbound elevator shaft January 2013

Orient Heights was the last Blue Line station in East Boston to be rebuilt for accessibility. (The only others on the line were Government Center and Bowdoin, both in downtown Boston). Due to this distinction, it was the last remaining station in the MBTA that still had a 1967 system map, which showed the Charlestown and Washington Street Elevateds on the Orange Line and the

Green Line A branch The A branch or Watertown Line was a streetcar line in the Boston, Massachusetts, area, operating as a branch of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line. The line ran from Watertown through Newton Corner, Brighton, and Allst ...

. On October 5, 2011, the MBTA announced a $51 million reconstruction of the crumbling station, expected to be paid for mostly by the Federal Transit Administration. Much of the station was demolished in May 2012, with passengers using temporary platforms. The station closed on March 23, 2013, so that the remainder of the old station could be demolished and the new station built. Bus shuttles operated from during the closure, which ended on November 23, 2013.

Bus connections

Three MBTA bus routes operate out of Orient Heights: *: Orient Heights station–Jeffries Point *: Point Shirley, Winthrop–Orient Heights station via Revere Street *: Point Shirley, Winthrop–Orient Heights station via Winthrop Center Route 120 uses the Bennington Street busway on the inbound side of the station. Routes 712 and 713, which are privately operated lines using MBTA-owned buses, use the Saratoga Street busway on the outbound side.

References

External links

MBTA - Orient Heights

Station from Saratoga Street from Google Maps Street View
{{MBTA Subway Stations Former Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad stations Blue Line (MBTA) stations Railway stations in Boston Railway stations in the United States opened in 1952 East Boston