Washington Street is a street in Boston, Massachusetts and its extension southwest to the Massachusetts/Rhode Island border. The majority of it was built as the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike in the early 19th century. City nickname: Beantown, The Hub, Athens of America Location in the state of Massachusetts Founded September 17, 1630 County Suffolk County Mayor Thomas Menino (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 232. ... State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ... State nickname: The Ocean State Other U.S. States Capital Providence Largest city Providence Governor Donald Carcieri Official languages None Area 4,005 km² (50th)  - Land 2,709 km²  - Water 1,296 km² (32. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Washington Street, as the first street connecting Boston to the mainland, serves as a place for a lot of intersecting streets to change name.

Extent and description

Washington Street begins at Keany Square, the intersection with Causeway Street and Commercial Street, at the south end of the Charlestown Bridge. This part of the road is known as Washington Street North or Joe Tecce Way. The road ends north of Haymarket Square, as it feeds into Surface Artery (the road above the Big Dig). Due to redevelopment, the original Washington Street no longer exists through Haymarket Square or Government Center. The Big Dig is the unofficial name of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T), a massive undertaking to route the Central Artery (Interstate 93), the chief controlled-access highway through the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, into a tunnel under the city, replacing a previous elevated roadway. ...

Washington Street begins once again at State Street/Court Street as a one-way road (northbound traffic only). Through Downtown Crossing, from Milk Street south to Temple Place, Washington Street is closed to most traffic (and continues to be one-way north for allowed traffic). South of Temple Place, Washington is once again one-way north, becoming two-way at Stuart Street/Kneeland Street. From Marginal Street south to East Berkeley Street, including the bridge over the Mass Pike and the adjacent Amtrak/MBTA Commuter Rail tracks, the road is also one-way northbound, with a southbound contra-flow bus lane for the Silver Line bus. Massachusetts Turnpike logo. ... Amtrak is the trademark name of the intercity passenger train system created on May 1, 1971 in the United States. ... MBTA Commuter Rail Lines The MBTA Commuter Rail is the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. ... Map The Silver Line is the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authoritys (MBTAs) sole Bus Rapid Transit line, running in two, unconnected sections, from Dudley Square in Roxbury to downtown Boston, Massachusetts and from South Station to several points in South Boston and to Logan Airport in East Boston. ...

At Dudley Square in Roxbury, Washington Street is southbound-only for several blocks, between Warren Street and Dudley Street. Northbound traffic bypasses this section to the east using those two streets. Just after passing under Arborway in Jamaica Plain, Washington Street becomes Hyde Park Avenue, and traffic staying on Washington Street must turn west on Ukraine Way to cross over the Amtrak/MBTA Commuter Rail tracks, and then south at South Street, which becomes Washington Street. Amtrak is the trademark name of the intercity passenger train system created on May 1, 1971 in the United States. ... MBTA Commuter Rail Lines The MBTA Commuter Rail is the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. ...

Southbound traffic must use short parts of South Street and Poplar Street at Roslindale Square. South of there, near the border between Roslindale and West Roxbury, Washington Street crosses West Roxbury Parkway and gets a median. This median lasts until just before the border with Dedham, where the road continues as an undivided road. On an expressway, motorway, or autobahn, the median (North American English) or central reservation (British English) is the strip of grass or the wall which separates opposing lanes of traffic. ...

Washington Street continues southwest through the center of Dedham, the outskirts of Westwood, the center of Norwood, and East Walpole and South Walpole. At the Walpole/Foxborough line, it no longer crosses a railroad (the old Mansfield and Framingham Railroad), and traffic must detour via Water Street and North Street. North Street connects to Boston-Providence Turnpike, which carries U.S. Highway 1 (and was never a turnpike); this road merges into the old route of Washington Street south of the railroad. From there to Rhode Island, except through North Attleborough center (which it bypasses using East Washington Street as opposed to North and South Washington Streets), US 1 stays with Washington, as it passes through the outskirts of Foxborough (past Gillette Stadium), Wrentham and Plainville, and then through South Attleboro. United States Highway 1 is a United States highway which parallels the east coast of the United States. ... A toll road, turnpike or tollpike is a road on which a toll authority collects a fee for use. ... State nickname: The Ocean State Other U.S. States Capital Providence Largest city Providence Governor Donald Carcieri Official languages None Area 4,005 km² (50th)  - Land 2,709 km²  - Water 1,296 km² (32. ... Gillette Stadium is the home stadium for the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution soccer team. ... South Attleboro or South Attleborough is a part of Attleboro, Massachusetts, perhaps best known for the South Attleboro station on the Attleboro/Stoughton Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail. ...

History

The part of Washington Street between downtown Boston and Dudley Square in Roxbury was the first road connecting the small town of Boston to the mainland, carrying the Boston Post Road to New York City. It was originally known by several names: The Boston Post Road was a system of roads from New York, New York to Boston, Massachusetts, containing some of the first major highways in the United States. ... City nickname: The Big Apple Location in the state of New York Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area  - Land  - Water 1,214. ...

• Cornhill from Adams Square (now just south of Boston City Hall) south to School Street
• Marlborough Street from School Street south to Summer Street/Winter Street
• Newbury Street from Summer Street/Winter Street south to Essex Street/Boylston Street
• Orange Street from Essex Street/Boylston Street south to the fortification near East Berkeley Street (then Dover Street)

On July 4, 1788, the road south of the fortification, to the line with Roxbury, was given the name Washington Street. The name was extended north to Adams Square on July 6, 1824, and north on a new road to Haymarket Square on November 6, 1872. Fortifications (Latin fortis, strong, and facere, to make) are military constructions designed for defensive warfare. ... July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 180 days remaining. ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 178 days remaining. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... 1872 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

The part north of Roxbury Street in Dudley Square, Roxbury was laid out as a public way on January 19, 1662, and given its name May 9, 1825. Additionally, the Washington Street name went west on Roxbury Street, Tremont Street and Huntington Avenue (the path of the Boston Post Road) to the border with Brookline (which still has a Washington Street as an extension of this one). January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events March 18 – Short-timed experiment of the first public buses holding 8 passengers begins in Paris May 3/May 2 - Catherine of Braganza marries Charles II of England – as part of the dowry, Portugal cedes Bombay and Tangier to England May 9 - Samuel Pepys witnessed a Punch and Judy... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Boston Post Road was a system of roads from New York, New York to Boston, Massachusetts, containing some of the first major highways in the United States. ... Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. ...

The Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike was established in 1803, and built as a turnpike as a straighter alternate to two roads between Boston and Providence - the Lower Boston Post Road (via Norwood and Foxborough) and the road via Walpole and Wrentham. It ran from Dudley Square to the Rhode Island line and beyond to downtown Pawtucket. Coincidentally the only part not built as a new road was the part through North Attleborough that US 1 now bypasses. 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A toll road, turnpike or tollpike is a road on which a toll authority collects a fee for use. ... The Boston Post Road was a system of roads from New York, New York to Boston, Massachusetts, containing some of the first major highways in the United States. ... State nickname: The Ocean State Other U.S. States Capital Providence Largest city Providence Governor Donald Carcieri Official languages None Area 4,005 km² (50th)  - Land 2,709 km²  - Water 1,296 km² (32. ... United States Highway 1 is a United States highway which parallels the east coast of the United States. ...

The southern half of the turnpike got little use as it avoided all the towns, where travelers wanted to stop, and had some steep grades. In fact, until the 1930s, when the current highway (part of US 1) was built between Boston and Providence, the southern half remained a dirt road. Events and trends Technology Jet engine invented First atom was split with a particle accelerator Golden Age of radio begins in U.S. Disney adopts a three-color Technicolor process for cartoons First Kit Kat in UK The photocopier is invented by Carlson Air mail service across the Atlantic Science... United States Highway 1 is a United States highway which parallels the east coast of the United States. ...

The part of the turnpike in Roxbury was laid out as a public road in June 1857. It was named Shawmut Avenue, as an extension of that road from Dudley Square. The portion in West Roxbury was named Shawmut Avenue February 3, 1858. June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1858 is a common year starting on Friday. ...

On July 2, 1860, Tremont Street was extended west from its former south end along former Washington Street to Brookline, and Washington Street now ended at Columbus Street (then Pynchon Street). The rest of the road west from Dudley Square became Roxbury Street on June 16, 1874, and at the same time Washington Street was extended south from Dudley Square along the former Shawmut Street to the line with Dedham. July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 182 days remaining. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. ... June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

South from downtown Dedham, the turnpike went not via the current Washington Street, but via School Street and Court Street.

The part of Washington Street north of Haymarket Square was known as Charlestown Street until around 1900. 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ...

Public transportation

As a main road, Washington Street has had its share of streetcar and later bus routes. It also had the Washington Street Elevated from south of downtown to Dudley and later Forest Hills. a historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888 A streetcar is a railway vehicle designed to carry passengers on tracks, usually laid in city streets. ... The Bus, established by Mayor Frank Fasi, is Honolulus only public transit system. ... Former elevated configuration (Orange Line in red, streetcar loops in blue) Looking north at the northbound platforms, with the streetcar loops on each side Dudley is a ground-level bus depot in Dudley Square, Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, served by local buses of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and their... Forest Hills Station an MBTA station on the Orange Line, located in the southern part of Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts between the intersection of Washington Street and Hyde Park Avenue and the intersection of Center Street and South Street. ...

An 1871 map shows streetcar tracks from Boylston Street south to Dudley Street. An 1874 map extends them south from Dudley to just north of Forest Hills, and north to Dock Square. By 1888, tracks also used Washington north to Haymarket Square, and by 1897 all the way to and over the Charlestown Bridge. 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Forest Hills Station an MBTA station on the Orange Line, located in the southern part of Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts between the intersection of Washington Street and Hyde Park Avenue and the intersection of Center Street and South Street. ... 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

On an 1899 map, tracks owned by the West Roxbury and Roslindale Street Railway continued southwest from Forest Hills via Dedham to Norwood. The Norfolk Southern Street Railway left Norfolk on the road to Walpole center, but used Washington Street from Common Street in Walpole to South Walpole. Except for the older section through North Attleborough center, used by the Interstate Consolidated Street Railway, none of the rest had streetcar tracks, due to its avoidance of populated areas. Download high resolution version (11920x8288, 17345 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

A 1925 map still has streetcar tracks on Washington Street within Boston, ending downtown at Essex Street. By 1953 they were only in use from Forest Hills to Egleston (by the 40 route, bustituted December 18, 1955) and from Dudley to Northampton Street (by the 47 route, bustituted September 13, 1953, and the 10 route, bustituted December 5, 1953). 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Forest Hills Station an MBTA station on the Orange Line, located in the southern part of Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts between the intersection of Washington Street and Hyde Park Avenue and the intersection of Center Street and South Street. ... Lines remaining in 1953 As in many large cities, a large number of streetcar lines once existed in Boston, Massachusetts and its inner suburbs. ... Bustitution is sometimes used to name the practice of replacing train service, whether street railways (light rail or tram/streetcar systems) or full-size railway systems, with a bus service, either on a temporary or permanent basis. ... December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Former elevated configuration (Orange Line in red, streetcar loops in blue) Looking north at the northbound platforms, with the streetcar loops on each side Dudley is a ground-level bus depot in Dudley Square, Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, served by local buses of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and their... Lines remaining in 1953 As in many large cities, a large number of streetcar lines once existed in Boston, Massachusetts and its inner suburbs. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Lines remaining in 1953 As in many large cities, a large number of streetcar lines once existed in Boston, Massachusetts and its inner suburbs. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

The Washington Street Elevated, later part of the Orange Line, opened from south of downtown Boston to Dudley on June 10, 1901, and south to Forest Hills November 22, 1909. The Washington Street Tunnel downtown opened November 30, 1908. The Elevated closed on April 30, 1987, with the opening of the Southwest Corridor several days later. The Orange Line is one of the four subway lines of the MBTA. It extends from Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, Boston in the south to Oak Grove in Malden, Massachusetts in the north. ... Former elevated configuration (Orange Line in red, streetcar loops in blue) Looking north at the northbound platforms, with the streetcar loops on each side Dudley is a ground-level bus depot in Dudley Square, Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, served by local buses of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and their... June 10 is the 161st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (162nd in leap years), with 204 days remaining. ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Forest Hills Station an MBTA station on the Orange Line, located in the southern part of Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts between the intersection of Washington Street and Hyde Park Avenue and the intersection of Center Street and South Street. ... November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1909 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 31 days remaining, as the final day of November. ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining, as the last day in April. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Southwest corridor or Southwest Expressway was a project designed to bring a four-lane highway into the City of Boston from a direction southwesterly of downtown. ...

Nowadays the following buses use significant portions of Washington Street: The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority operates a large number of bus lines in the greater Boston area. ...

• 92, 93, 111 and southbound (northbound on Washington Street) 6 from the Charlestown Bridge to Haymarket
• Silver Line (formerly 49) from Downtown Crossing south to Dudley
• 42 from Dudley south to Forest Hills
• 35, 36 and 37 from Forest Hills south to Roslindale Village
• 50 from Forest Hills south to Metropolitan Avenue, south of Roslindale Village
• 40 from Forest Hills south to West Boundary Road in West Roxbury
• 34 from Forest Hills south to Dedham center
• 34E from Forest Hills south to Walpole center

Lines remaining in 1940 As in many large cities, a large number of streetcar lines once existed in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and its inner suburbs. ... Lines remaining in 1940 As in many large cities, a large number of streetcar lines once existed in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and its inner suburbs. ... Haymarket Station is a MBTA station on the Green and Orange lines, located at the corner of Congress and New Sudbury St. ... Map The Silver Line is the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authoritys (MBTAs) sole Bus Rapid Transit line, running in two, unconnected sections, from Dudley Square in Roxbury to downtown Boston, Massachusetts and from South Station to several points in South Boston and to Logan Airport in East Boston. ... Downtown Crossing Station of the MBTA, located at the corner of Washington Street and Summer Street and the corner of Chauncey Street and Summer Street in Boston, is the main transfer point between the Orange Line and the Red Line. ... Former elevated configuration (Orange Line in red, streetcar loops in blue) Looking north at the northbound platforms, with the streetcar loops on each side Dudley is a ground-level bus depot in Dudley Square, Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, served by local buses of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and their... Forest Hills Station an MBTA station on the Orange Line, located in the southern part of Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts between the intersection of Washington Street and Hyde Park Avenue and the intersection of Center Street and South Street. ...

Numbered routes

Washington Street currently has the following numbers:

• Route 1A from Elm Street in Dedham south to the split with Walpole Street in Norwood (except in northern Norwood, where 1A uses Upland Road)
• US 1 from northern Foxborough near Gillette Stadium to Rhode Island, except through North Attleborough center, where US 1 uses East Washington Street

When the first numbered highways in Massachusetts, the New England Interstate Highways, were assigned in 1922, NE 1 used Washington Street through North Attleborough center and from Norwood center to Arborway in Boston. By 1927, US 1 (as the road was now known) split in Dedham center onto Court Street, using Ames Street and Bridge Street into Boston, where it used Spring Street and Centre Street to reach Arborway. United States Highway 1 is a United States highway which parallels the east coast of the United States. ... Gillette Stadium is the home stadium for the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution soccer team. ... State nickname: The Ocean State Other U.S. States Capital Providence Largest city Providence Governor Donald Carcieri Official languages None Area 4,005 km² (50th)  - Land 2,709 km²  - Water 1,296 km² (32. ... 1922 list The New England Interstate Highways were an interstate system of marked numbered highways in New England. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1927 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... United States Highway 1 is a United States highway which parallels the east coast of the United States. ...

Soon after 1933, the new road (Boston-Providence Turnpike and Brook Farm Parkway) from Roslindale to Foxborough was finished, and it was around this time that the rest of the current alignment to Rhode Island was finished - using Washington Street from Foxborough to the state line, except through North Attleborough center. The old road became Route 1A north from Attleborough center and through South Attleboro, ending at the rotary just north of Dedham center. For several years in between, the new road was only built south of Dedham, and US 1 once again used Washington Street from Dedham into West Roxbury, where it cut north to Centre Street via West Roxbury Parkway. 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... South Attleboro or South Attleborough is a part of Attleboro, Massachusetts, perhaps best known for the South Attleboro station on the Attleboro/Stoughton Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail. ...

Between 1949 and 1961, 1A was truncated to end at US 1 via Elm Street south of Dedham center, probably to keep traffic out of Dedham center. US 1 was removed from that alignment in 1989, but 1A still ends at the old route. 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... 1961 (As MAD Magazine pointed out on its first cover for the year) was the first upside-down year—i. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• The Boston Atlas (http://www.mapjunction.com/places/Boston_BRA/main.pl?ht=1050) (Java)
• Washington Street, The Longest In Boston (http://bostonhistory.typepad.com/notes_on_the_urban_condit/2004/12/washington_stre.html)
• Washington Street: The Mystery is Solved(?) (http://bostonhistory.typepad.com/notes_on_the_urban_condit/2005/02/washington_stre_1.html)
• Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district (http://members.aol.com/eddanamta/busfiles/contents.pdf) (PDF)