Woodland station is a light rail stop on the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network i ...

Green Line D branch, located off Washington Street ( MA-16) between the

Newton Lower Falls Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The commercial area extends across the river into Wellesley, Massachusetts, where it is known as We ...

and Auburndale villages of

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of ...

, United States. It serves as access to the

Newton-Wellesley Hospital Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH) is a community teaching medical center located in Newton, Massachusetts on Washington Street. It is affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. Founded in 1881, part of its ca ...

, as well as a

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ( ...

station for nearby

Route 128 The following highways are numbered 128: Canada * New Brunswick Route 128 * Ontario Highway 128 (former) * Prince Edward Island Route 128 Costa Rica * National Route 128 India * National Highway 128 (India) Japan * Japan National Route 128 ...

. Woodland station was originally opened in 1886 by the

Boston and Albany Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. ...

. The line closed in 1958 for conversion to light rail, and a new Woodland station slightly to the east in 1959. In 2006, the station was rebuilt for

handicapped accessibility The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advoca ...

and a parking garage built as part of an adjacent

transit-oriented development In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of urban development that maximizes the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transport. It promotes a symbiotic relationship between ...

History

Richardson station

Houghton MS Typ 1070 - Richardson, Newton Railroad Station

The

Boston and Worcester Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. Pass ...

opened a branch from Brookline Junction to

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri * Brookline, New Hampshire * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookline, Vermont See ...

on April 10, 1848. The

Charles River Branch Railroad The Charles River Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It ran from a connection with the end of the Charles River Branch Railroad in Dover to Bellingham through the current-day towns of Medfield, Millis, and Medway. Charles River Branch ...

extended the Brookline branch to Newton Upper Falls in November 1852 and to Needham in June 1853. The

bought back the line, then part of the

New York and New England Railroad The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...

, in February 1883. It was double-tracked and extended to the B&A main at Riverside; "Newton Circuit" service via the

Highland branch The Highland branch, also known as the Newton Highlands branch, was a suburban railway line in Boston, Massachusetts. It was opened by the Boston and Albany Railroad in 1886 to serve the growing community of Newton, Massachusetts. The line was ...

and the main line began on May 16, 1886. The B&A commissioned buildings from

H.H. Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

for three new stops at

Boylston Street Boylston Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The street begins in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood, forms the southern border of the Boston Public Garden and Boston Common, runs through Back Bay, and e ...

Beacon Street Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and its western suburbs Brookline and Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway–Kenmore, the Boston Uni ...

, and Washington Street (later called Woodland) in October 1884. The three stations were built in largely unoccupied areas of Newton, and the attractive architecture was intended to bring in new residents who would become paying customers of the railroad. By this time, Richardson was in failing health; his successors

Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge was a successful architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, operating between 1886 and 1915, with extensive commissions in monumental civic, religious, and collegiate architecture in the spirit and style of Henry ...

may have done most of the design work. Construction by the Norcross Brothers firm began in June 1886—two months after Richardson's death—and finished that September. Similar to the other stations on the line, it was built in the heavy stone

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanes ...

style with a dominant roofline. The corners facing the tracks were cut back to serve as porches.

Conversion to trolley service

In June 1957, the Massachusetts Legislature approved the purchase of the branch by the M.T.A. from the nearly-bankrupt

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mi ...

for conversion to a trolley line. Service ended on May 31, 1958. The line was quickly converted for trolley service, with bare platforms and small shelters at each station. The new Woodland station was built somewhat to the east of the original station, as the latter was surrounded by a golf course with no room for a parking lot. Because of this, the station building was not torn down like most on the line were. The branch reopened with trolley service on July 4, 1959. The M.T.A. was folded into the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network ...

(MBTA) in August 1964. Woodland is one of only four of Richardson's B&A stations, and the only one of his Newton Circuit stations, to survive past the 1960s. It was added to the Newton Railroad Stations Historic District in 1976, but has fallen into disrepair. It sits on the grounds of the Woodland Golf Club, which uses it as a storage space. In October 1997, Woodland was identified as a possible site for a parking garage to replace its 450-space surface lot. After numerous delays, the MBTA signed a ground lease agreement with a private developer in 2004. Under the terms of the agreement, the developer paid for the construction of a 548-space parking garage,

accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

platforms, and entrance road to the station in exchange for rights to construct a

with rental apartments on the former parking lot. The new platforms and garage opened in March 2006; the Arborpoint at Woodland Station development broke ground in April 2006 and opened in October 2007.

References

External links

MBTA - Woodland

Station from Google Maps Street View
{{MBTA Subway Stations Green Line (MBTA) stations Railway stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States opened in 1959 Former Boston and Albany Railroad stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1886 MBTA subway stations located above ground