Boylston and were the first two stations built in the
Tremont Street subway. The subway was constructed between 1895 and 1897, and first broke ground on the site of the current Boylston station. When the station opened in 1897, it became the first underground rapid transit station in the United States. Boylston and Park Street were built with rectangular stone
headhouses designed by
Edmund M. Wheelwright that did not aesthetically match the Common. Unlike the interior decor, the headhouses were sharply criticized as "resembling mausoleums" and "pretentiously monumental". Later stations on the
East Boston Tunnel and
Washington Street Tunnel incorporated this criticism into their more modest headhouses. As opened, the inner tracks at Boylston ran between the Public Garden incline to the west and the inner loop at Park Street, while the outer tracks ran between the
Pleasant Street incline to the south and the outer through tracks at Park Street. Most streetcars from the west looped at Park Street, while those from the south continued through to
North Station. From 1901 to 1908,
Main Line Elevated trains ran on the outer tracks (with temporary high-level wood platforms) while streetcars continued to use the inner tracks. On October 9, 1915, the fence was again closed, forcing passengers from the west to transfer at Park Street (after cars from the south had dropped off many passengers) rather than at Boylston Street. The 1947 state act that created the
Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) from the
Boston Elevated Railway established four immediate projects for the new agency, one of which was expansion of the
Tremont Street Subway to four tracks between Park Street and Scollay Square. 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 exit-only north headhouse on the southbound platform was removed in 1958, followed by its northbound twin around 1962. A shuttle service was run between Boylston and
Pleasant Street until April 6, 1962, at which time the outer tracks at Boylston were closed. In 1974, local students installed nine colorful panels in the station as part of the MBTA's
arts program. The northbound outer track was removed in 1983. In mid-2006, the MBTA installed brighter lighting at Boylston station, as well as modern electronic
faregates and fare vending machines for the
CharlieCard system. Plans for the South Boston Piers Transitway (later part of the
Silver Line) were approved in 1993, calling for a
bus rapid transit level at Boylston under the Green Line level. This portion was deferred in 1999, to become
Phase III of the project. Silver Line service on the surface, running on Tremont Street, began stopping at Boylston in December 2001. After substantial increases in projected cost, Phase III was cancelled in 2010. In 2019, the MBTA indicated that Boylston was a "Tier II" accessibility priority pending the results of conceptual design. , the MBTA expects Boylston and to be the only Green Line stations not made accessible by 2030.
Incidents and accidents A few months before the station opened, there was a
gas explosion at the corner of Tremont and Boylston Streets on March 4, 1897.
Illuminating gas had been escaping from an underground main for two months into the cavity between the station's roof and the street above, before a horse-drawn trolley caused a spark which ignited the gas. Witnesses reported that a fireball engulfed the trolley, and burned several people and horses instantaneously. Six people were killed, and at least sixty were seriously injured. The station was spared any serious damage, as much of the force of the blast had radiated upward. On June 6, 1906, there was another explosion at Boylston station. The origin of the explosion was deemed to be the short-circuiting of the overhead lines in the station, which began to burn and catch fire. ==References==