Forest Hills is an intermodal transfer station located in Forest Hills, in the southern part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the southern terminus of the rapid transit MBTA Orange Line, a stop on the MBTA Commuter Rail's Needham Line, and a major terminus for MBTA Bus routes. The Providence/Stoughton Line and Franklin Line, as well as Amtrak's Acela Express and Northeast Regional trains, pass through the station without stopping.
The station is surrounded by large parks. To the west of the station is Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum, part of Boston's Emerald Necklace; to the east are the Forest Hills Cemetery and Franklin Park, another part of Boston's Emerald Necklace. The station also marks the southern end of the linear Southwest Corridor Park, built over and around the Southwest Corridor (which carries Amtrak, commuter rail, and Orange Line trains into the center of Boston).
Several small retailers are located in the station, including a donut/coffee shop, newspaper stand and florist. During warmer months, a farmers' stand is set up. In addition, the station features an MBTA Police substation. Park and ride parking spaces for 206 cars are available on the station grounds. Overnight parking is not allowed.
Forest Hills station is fully handicapped accessible on all modes.
History
The Boston and Providence Railroad opened through the site in 1835; a branch to Dedham via West Roxbury opened in 1850. The station at Forest Hills was originally known as Tollgate, as it was located at the crossing of the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike (today's Washington Street). The West Roxbury Railroad opened a streetcar line from downtown and along Centre and South Streets to Jamaica Plain in 1857, followed immediately by the Metropolitan Railway's line along Washington Street to Forest Hills. The former route was electrified in 1891 and extended to Arborway Carhouse in Arborway Yard in 1902; by 1906 the whole route was running into the Tremont Street Subway as the Arborway Line.
Between 1891 and 1897, the New Haven Railroad raised its main line from just south of Back Bay to Forest Hills onto a 4-track stone embankment to eliminate dangerous grade crossings. The Forest Hills viaduct was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted as an important element of the Emerald Necklace. Five new local stations in Dorchester and Jamaica, including Forest Hills, opened on June 1, 1897. The station building at Forest Hills was similar to the still-extant station at Norwood Central, built two years later.
On November 22, 1909, the Washington Street Elevated was extended from Dudley to Forest Hills, with a grand elevated station and a maintenance facility located between Hyde Park Avenue and the mainline tracks. As with most Boston Elevated Railway stations, Forest Hills was designed for efficient streetcar-to-elevated transfers; Forest Hills and nearby Arborway became major streetcar hubs.
The New Haven Railroad briefly operated high-frequency local service from Forest Hills to South Station, but it failed to compete with the El and was cut back. The five local stops were abandoned on September 29, 1940. The Forest Hills stop alone was revived in June 1973 for Needham Line service, although by 1976 it was used by less than 50 riders a day, versus 15,000 at the Elevated station.
From 1979 to 1987, Forest Hills was completely rebuilt as an intermodal transfer station as part of the Southwest Corridor project. The project involved removing the century-old viaduct and moving the tracks into a trench with three mainline tracks plus two Orange Line tracks to replace the aging Washington Street Elevated. The new rapid transit stations mirror the locations of the former mainline stations between Forest Hills and Back Bay. Needham Line service was suspended on October 13, 1979; Providence/Stoughton Line and Franklin Line service (which do not stop) were rerouted over the Fairmount Line on November 3, 1979. The Forest Hills viaduct was destroyed with a controlled explosion on November 12, 1983; work on the new station began on June 1, 1984.
The $38 million station, designed by Cambridge Seven Associates, was constructed of brick, steel and glass; it was meant to resemble a greenhouse to fit in with the surrounding parks. The station's $120,000 clock tower has become a local landmark; it is mirrored by four interior clocks. Orange Line service on the El ended on May 4, 1987, and began on the Southwest Corridor on May 7. The corridor reopened to commuter rail and Amtrak on October 5, 1987, though Needham Line service did not resume until October 19.
The new station included streetcar loops on the north end of the station, also signed as "Forest Hills", to allow closer connections than were available at Arborway. On December 28, 1985, Arborway Line (Green Line "E" Branch) service was "temporarily" suspended while construction work was performed in the Huntington Avenue Subway. Service was restored to Brigham Circle on July 26, 1986 and Heath Street on November 4, 1989. However, service was never restored to Forest Hills due to the MBTA's objection to running streetcars in mixed traffic. Restoration of Green Line trolley service to Arborway was part of air pollution remediation promised for the Big Dig, but a lawsuit mandating the return of service was defeated in court in January 2011, nullifying plans to restore service. Green Line signage is still present on the loops and elsewhere in the station.
Work performed as part of the Casey Overpass removal involves a rebuilt upper busway and a second Orange Line headhouse. Work will be completed in early 2018.
Station layout
Orange Line trains use both tracks; a crossover north of the platforms allows trains to switch tracks for regular right-hand drive operation on the rest of the line. Needham Line trains primarily use Track 5 which leads directly to the branch, but may also use Track 3. Passing commuter rail trains use tracks 3, 1, and 2; Amtrak trains generally use tracks 1 and 2 because Track 3 was not originally electrified.
Bus connections
Forest Hills serves as a major bus transfer station; 16 MBTA Bus routes terminate at the station. The 16, 21, 31, 32, and 42 routes which run on Hyde Park Avenue, Washington Street (north of the station), and the Arborway use the lower busway located off Hyde Park Avenue east of the station. The remaining nine routes run on South Street and Washington Street; they use the upper busway west of the station.
The 39 route formerly used loops off New Washington Street built for Green Line "E" Branch trolley service in the 1980s but never used as such. On October 14, 2017, it was permanently rerouted to the upper busway during removal of the Casey Overpass.
- 16 Forest Hills Station - UMass Boston or Andrew Station
- 21 Ashmont Station - Forest Hills Station via Morton Street
- 30 Mattapan Station - Forest Hills Station via Cummings Hwy
- 31 Mattapan Station - Forest Hills Station via Morton Street
- 32 Wolcott Square or Cleary Square - Forest Hills Station via Hyde Park Ave
- 34 Walpole Center or Dedham Line - Forest Hills Station via Washington Street
- 34E Walpole Center or Dedham Line - Forest Hills Station via Washington Street & Dedham Mall
- 35 Dedham Mall - Forest Hills Station via Centre Street
- 36 Charles River Loop or V.A. Hospital - Forest Hills Station via Centre Street
- 37 Baker & Vermont Streets - Forest Hills Station via Centre Street
- 38 Wren Street - Forest Hills Station via Centre & South Streets
- 39 Forest Hills Station - Back Bay Station via Huntington Ave
- 40 Georgetowne - Forest Hills Station via Washington Street
- 42 Forest Hills Station - Dudley Station or Ruggles Station via Washington Street
- 50 Forest Hills Station - Cleary Square via Roslindale Square
- 51 Cleveland Circle - Forest Hills Station via Hancock Village
The 192 Cleary Square - Haymarket via Forest Hills and Copley Square route, a single early-morning trip intended for fare collectors but open to the general public, also stops at Forest Hills.
References
External links
- MBTA - Forest Hills
- Photos of this station from world.nycsubway.org
- Cambridge Seven Associates project page
- Station from Google Maps Street View
