Park Street station is an MBTA subway station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located at the intersection of Park Street and Tremont Street at the eastern edge of Boston Common in Downtown Boston. One of the two oldest stations on the "T" (the other is Boylston), and part of the oldest subway line in the United States, Park Street is the transfer point between the Green and Red lines, as one of the quartet of "hub stations" on the MBTA subway system. Park Street is the fifth-busiest station in the MBTA network, with an average of 16,571 entries each weekday in FY2019. The station was built with 4 tracks serving 2 island platforms; these were connected by two loops, allowing streetcars from the south and west to reverse direction and return to the portals and surface routes.

On September 3, 1898, the tunnel was extended to Scollay Square, Adams Square, Haymarket Square, and the Canal Street Incline. Later stations on the East Boston Tunnel and Washington Street Tunnel used more modest headhouse designs in response to this criticism.

Electric destination indicator boards were first installed at Park Street in 1899, replacing an announcer with a megaphone.

Main Line Elevated

thumb|left|The southbound platform in August 1901, showing the wooden high-level platforms for Elevated trains

On June 10, 1901, the Main Line Elevated began running through the Tremont Street subway. The platforms at Park Street were retrofitted with raised wooden sections to allow elevated trains to run on the outer tracks to the Pleasant Street Portal, while streetcars continued to use the inner tracks and inner loop, entering the subway from the Public Garden incline. North Station West (opened later in 1912), South Station Under (1916) and Scollay Under (1916) would later use this naming scheme. Construction of the Dorchester Tunnel begun on May 3, 1912; this extension opened to Washington on April 4, 1915, and in three more segments to South Station Under in 1916, Broadway in 1917, and Andrew in 1918. In preparation for the Boylston Street subway and the extension of the Cambridge subway, the Boston Transit Commission substantially expanded the streetcar level. The platforms were extended to the south and straightened; the southbound platform was increased in area by one-half, and the northbound platform by three-eighths. The south headhouse of the southbound platform was moved south to the end of the expanded platform. The construction work began on August 7, 1914, and was completed on March 8, 1915. The Park Street Information Booth on the upper level, which soon became a Boston landmark, opened on December 15, 1923, and replaced an earlier kiosk in the same location. On January 3, 1925, an explosion of celluloid film carried by a passenger injured dozens on a streetcar arriving at the station.

Although the 1914–15 renovation increased the platform area, the narrow stairways to the lower level still impeded passenger flow. The stairway between the lower center platform and the upper northbound platform was replaced with a pair of stairways – one over the other – in a project that was completed in August 1921. Widening of the stairs between the southbound platforms was completed on August 22, 1922. The stairway between the upper southbound platform and the lower northbound platform was doubled in width, with the bottom half split into two sets in opposite directions. That work – partially necessitated by capacity increases in the East Boston Tunnel – was completed on December 24, 1924. Finally, widening of the stairs between the upper northbound platform and the lower southbound platform was completed on May 27, 1925. These improvements reduced the amount of room available on the north ends of the streetcar platforms, and boarding areas were moved south. Opening the Winter Street Concourse to passengers was also proposed, but was soon rejected by the Department of Public Utilities in favor of continued use as storage space for adjacent businesses. A more ambitious 1927 plan by one of the BERy trustees called for new side platforms on both sides of the streetcar level, with a sub-passage connecting the four streetcar platforms, as well as the Temple Place entrances and Winter Street passageway. In 1933, the two stairway headhouses on the east side of Tremont Street were replaced with low walls, as had previously been done at Scollay Square and Adams Square.

In 1936, in response to still-persistent overcrowding, the Boston Transit Department constructed a new northbound side platform under Tremont Street with entrances at Temple Street. The project also added a sub-passage connecting the streetcar platforms and a passage connecting the new platform with the Cambridge Tunnel fare lobby opposite Park Street, but did not open the Winter Street Concourse. Work began on January 8, 1936, and the new platform was opened on December 5. As part of the plan, Park Street and Boylston stations were to be combined into a single Boston Common station, with a direct entrance from an underground parking garage. The garage ultimately opened in 1961, but the stations were not combined. The south headhouse on the northbound side was removed in 1963.

In 1967, as part of a general system rebranding by the newly formed MBTA, the subway lines were assigned colors. The streetcar system—then down to five branches, and soon four—became the Green Line, the Cambridge–Dorchester line became the Red Line, and the Main Line El became the Orange Line.

1970s modernization

thumb|right|A newly opened elevator in 1979

The 1970s saw the first major renovations to the station in four decades. In 1972, the agency received a federal grant that funded two-thirds of a $14.3 million modernization program for downtown stations, included $4.2 million for Park Street. As part of that project, the MBTA investigated the feasibility of connecting , Park Street, Washington, and with pedestrian tunnels. Plans were released for the modernization of Park Street and three other downtown stations on August 27, 1975.

A $3.6 million contract was awarded on December 1, 1976. Elevators to the fare lobby from the Red Line center platform and the surface were installed in 1979, making the Red Line section accessible. However, the surface elevator was frequently out of service due to repairs and other construction in the station. The aesthetics of the renovation were not well received; one longtime employee remarked the station resembled a billiard parlor.

Later changes

From August 1981 to June 22, 1996, additional peak-hour Red Line trains ran between Quincy Center station and Park Street, using crossovers north of Park Street to reverse direction. Between November 30, 1981, and June 1982, Park Street was also the northern terminus of a small number of five-car trains (the first Red Line trains longer than four cars), as station platforms to the north were not yet extended for longer trains. The agency obtained a $22 million federal grant in 1984 to partially fund the , Park Street, and Washington station work. In 1985–86, the platforms at Park Street were extended to the north. Six-car trains began operation on January 21, 1988.

The MBTA opened bidding for an additional round of construction in March 1991; a $6 million contract was issued on July 10. The 1993-completed project included elevators to the Green Line sub-passage, completing elevator access to all platforms; however, Green Line trains were not yet accessible. Around that time, a new south headhouse was built on the southbound side as the Freedom Trail information center was moved to a new structure nearby; it was exit-only until automated fare collection equipment was installed around 2007.

Around 2000, the MBTA outfitted the Green Line platforms with portable lifts as a temporary accessibility measure to serve the new low-floor Type 8 streetcars. A $15 million project to build raised low platforms at Park Street and began in 2001. The work at Park Street was done in segments to allow service to the station to continue during construction. Construction was completed in 2003.

New elevators from the surface to the westbound Green Line unpaid lobby and from the westbound Green Line platform to the Red Line island platform opened on December 21, 2012. They were built, and two other elevators rebuilt, as part of the 2006 settlement of Joanne Daniels-Finegold, et al. v. MBTA. In early 2019, the MBTA accepted bids for a $11.8 million renovation of Park Street station. The project includes replacement of all wayfinding signage and lighting, as well as the reopening of the 1976-closed Temple Place exit. Work began in April 2019 and was largely completed in December 2020 except for the exit. The elevator between the Red Line lobby and platform will be replaced as part of accessibility improvements at Downtown Crossing. Bidding for a construction manager at risk for an estimated $95 million contract, including the Downtown Crossing and Park Street elevators plus similar work at , opened in April 2025. Construction was expected to last from April 2026 to January 2031. Notice to proceed was given in September 2025.

Station layout

thumb|left|A westbound Green Line train at Park Street station in April 2025

Park Street is a bi-level station, with the Green Line running on the upper level and the Red Line on the lower level. The Green Line has four tracks numbered 1 to 4 (north to south). Tracks 1 and 2 serve an island platform for westbound trains. Tracks 3 and 4 serve an island platform for eastbound trains, with an additional side platform serving Track 4. Track 4 is used by all eastbound through trains; Track 3 is only used by trains terminating at Park Street, as it loops to rejoin Track 2. Both island platforms have headhouses and fare control areas on their northeast end; the westbound platform also has a headhouse at its southwest end. A sub-passage connects the middle of the three Green Line platforms. A passage from the eastbound side platform leads to a small fare lobby under Winter Street, with stairs to the surface and the Winter Street Concourse to Downtown Crossing.

The Red Line has two tracks: Track 5 southbound and Track 6 northbound. The Red Line has both island and side platforms; however, unlike the Spanish solution, all platforms are used for both boarding and alighting. Staircases connect each platform to both Green Line island platform and the fare lobby; exit-only escalators lead from the southern end of the side platforms to the surface. A backup control room for the subway system is located on the Green Line level over the middle of the Red Line platforms. The Red Line center platform has elevators to the westbound Green Line platform and to the fare lobby; the Red Line side platforms are not accessible. Elevators also connect the westbound Green Line platform and the eastbound side platform to the sub-passage. Because there are no elevators connecting the Red Line with the southbound Orange Line at Downtown Crossing, the accessible route for that transfer uses the Winter Street Concourse and the elevator at Park Street.

Public art

There are several pieces of public art in the station. Celebration of the Underground by Lilli Ann K. Rosenberg is a large wall mosaic along the outer outbound (westbound) tracks at the Green Line level, and can be viewed from the outbound island platform. The mosaic commemorates the designation of the Tremont Street subway, including Park Street station, as a National Historic Landmark. Created in 1978, it received renewed attention in 2020 after it was cleaned and better lit.

Benedictions by Ralph Helmick consists of two giant bronze hands each mounted separately over the inbound and outbound Red Line tracks on the lower level of the station. Each hand is posed in a classic gesture of benediction or blessing.

References

  • MBTA - Park Street
  • Park Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
  • West Street entrance from Google Maps Street View