South Station Headhouse

History

South Station is a railroad terminal located at Dewey Square in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the busiest railroad station in Greater Boston and the second-busiest transportation facility. It is New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan International Airport. Along with North Station, it is one of two Boston terminals for the MBTA Commuter Rail system and Amtrak intercity rail service. South Station is a major intermodal transit hub; the South Station Bus Terminal is located above the platforms, and the adjacent subway station is served by the Red Line and Silver Line of the MBTA subway system.

Four terminals were built near downtown Boston in the 19th century to serve railroads running south and west from Boston. South Station was constructed in 1899 to replace these terminals with a union station. The Classical Revival structure was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. Passenger rail service declined during the 20th century; the bankrupt railroads sold the station to the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) in 1965. Portions of the station were demolished for redevelopment. Plans to demolish and redevelop the remaining section fell through; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as South Station Headhouse.

In 1978, the BRA sold what was left of the station to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). A major renovation of the station, including the construction of accessible platforms, took place from 1984 to 1989. The bus terminal opened in 1995. The station was renamed for former Massachusetts governor Michael S. Dukakis in November 2014, officially becoming The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, though maps and station signs continue to use the shorter "South Station". The South Station Tower was built on air rights over the station from 2020 to 2025; it included an arched waiting area and expansion of the bus terminal. Proposed changes to the station include an expansion eastward with additional tracks, and a new underground station as part of the North–South Rail Link.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The official nomination form is linked under Sources.