Dewey Square

Last updated
Dewey Square
2017 Dewey Square buildings.jpg
High-rise buildings in Dewey Square
Dewey Square
Country United States
State Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts
City Boston
District Financial District
Named for George Dewey
Boundaries Summer Street, Purchase Street, Atlantic Avenue
Historical features South Station
The Dewey Square Farmers Market Dewey Square Farmers Market Boston 142109844.jpg
The Dewey Square Farmers Market

Dewey Square is a square in downtown Boston, Massachusetts which lies at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue, Summer Street, Federal Street, Purchase Street and the John F. Kennedy Surface Road, with the Central Artery (I-93) passing underneath in the Dewey Square Tunnel, which was built in the Big Dig. South Station is on the southeast corner of the square, with Amtrak and MBTA Commuter Rail services, as well as Red Line subway trains and Silver Line bus rapid transit underneath.

Contents

It is named for the only Admiral of the Navy in U.S. history, George Dewey. [1]

The Dewey Square of New York City, also named after George Dewey in 1922 from its previous name of Kilpatrick Square, was renamed A. Philip Randolph Square in 1964 after A. Philip Randolph. [2]

History

The square was named in honor of Admiral George Dewey after his decisive 1898 victory in the Battle of Manila Bay. Before the Central Artery construction of the 1950s, it was simply an intersection with traffic islands and rail infrastructure, surrounded by buildings with no open space. [3] [4] In 1898, Summer Street was extended east as a local road, and in 1899 the Summer Street Bridge was built across Fort Point Channel. Also in 1899, Federal Street was closed south of Dewey Square to make way for the new South Station, and Atlantic Avenue was extended along the west side of the new terminal along with a realignment of the Union Freight Railroad. Around this time, the Boston Elevated Railway reorganized its streetcar tracks into a grand union at the intersection of Summer and Atlantic. [5] The Atlantic Avenue Elevated came in 1901 with an elevated station (also called South Station) one block south of Dewey Square. It was closed in 1938 and torn down in the early 1940s; the Union Freight Railroad lasted until 1970.

The next major change came in the 1950s when the Central Artery was built. The whole area on the north and south sides of the square was cleared, and the Artery was built underground via the Dewey Square Tunnel. Atlantic Avenue became one-way northbound and Purchase Street one way southbound to the north of the square, and the new Surface Artery came in as a two-way road above the tunnel heading southwest from the square. Between 1969 and 1978, Boston closed both Federal Street and Summer Street for a block west of the square (they had formerly operated as a one-way pair). Summer Street has since reopened (as a two-way road), but Federal Street is still a pedestrian mall.

The Big Dig in the late 1990s and early 2000s kept the one-way configurations north of the square, but now Atlantic Avenue continues as one-way (northbound) south of the square, and Surface Artery is one-way southbound.

For some time, a temporary intercity bus depot for providers such as Peter Pan, Trailways and others was located just north of Dewey Square over the Central Artery. This temporary bus station replaced an earlier Trailways bus station that had been located in Park Square. All intercity buses were relocated in 1993 to the nearby South Station Bus Terminal just south of South Station, situated above the train tracks.

The area is now largely an open plaza at the southern end of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, which features food trucks [6] and a seasonal farmer's market [7] operated by the Boston Public Market.

Occupy Boston tent city in Dewey Square, 2011 Dewey Occupy.JPG
Occupy Boston tent city in Dewey Square, 2011

From September 30 to December 10, 2011, Dewey Square was the site of the Occupy Boston tent city.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Dewey</span> US Navy admiral

George Dewey was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, with the loss of only a single crewman on the American side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewey Square Tunnel</span>

The Dewey Square Tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts, is part of Interstate 93, running under the heart of the city's financial district, including Dewey Square. Built in 1959, it was part of Boston's Central Artery freeway construction project of the 1950s. Known to locals as the South Station Tunnel, the Dewey Square Tunnel is of cut-and-cover design, and originally was six lanes wide, with no breakdown lanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Line (MBTA)</span> Bus rapid transit system in Massachusetts, US

The Silver Line is a system of bus routes in Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts, operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It is operated as part of the MBTA bus system, but branded as bus rapid transit (BRT) as part of the MBTA subway system. Six routes are operated as part of two disconnected corridors. As of 2023, weekday ridership on the Silver Line was 27,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Station</span> Rail station in Boston, Massachusetts, US

South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan International Airport. Located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, the historic station building was constructed in 1899 to replace the downtown terminals of several railroads. Today, it serves as a major intermodal domestic transportation hub, with service to the Greater Boston region and the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. It is used by thousands of commuter rail and intercity rail passengers daily. Connections to the rapid transit Red Line and bus rapid transit Silver Line are made through the adjacent subway station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquarium station (MBTA)</span> Subway station in Boston, Massachusetts, US

Aquarium station is an underground rapid transit station on the MBTA Blue Line in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is located under State Street at Atlantic Avenue on the eastern edge of Boston's Financial District near Boston Harbor. The station is named for the nearby New England Aquarium. It is adjacent to Long Wharf, which is used by two MBTA Boat lines. The station has two side platforms serving the two tracks of the Blue Line; an arched ceiling runs the length of the platform level. With the platforms 50 feet (15 m) below street level, it is the second-deepest station on the MBTA system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway</span> Linear park on former expressway in Boston, MA

The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is a linear park located in several Downtown Boston neighborhoods. It consists of landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems that stretch over one mile through Chinatown, the Financial District, the Waterfront, and North End neighborhoods. Officially opened in October 2008, the 17-acre Greenway sits on land created from demolition of the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway as part of the Big Dig project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Freight Railroad</span> Defunct railroad in Massachusetts

The Union Freight Railroad was a freight-only railroad connecting the railroads coming into the north and south sides of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Almost its entire length was along Atlantic Avenue and Commercial Street. For most of its length, the Atlantic Avenue Elevated carried passengers above.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Avenue Elevated</span> Former elevated railway in Boston, Massachusetts, US

The Atlantic Avenue Elevated was an elevated railway around the east side of Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, providing a second route for the Boston Elevated Railway's Main Line Elevated around the Washington Street tunnel. It was in use from 1901 to 1938, when it was closed due to low ridership, later being demolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Point Channel</span> Channel in Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Fort Point Channel is a maritime channel separating South Boston from Downtown Boston, feeding into Boston Harbor. The south part of it has been gradually filled in for use by the South Bay rail yard and several highways. At its south end, the channel once widened into South Bay, from which the Roxbury Canal continued southwest where the Massachusetts Avenue Connector is now. The Boston Tea Party occurred at its northern end. The channel is surrounded by the Fort Point neighborhood, which is also named after the same colonial-era fort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Avenue (Boston)</span>

Atlantic Avenue is a street in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, partly serving as a frontage road for the underground Central Artery (I-93) and partly running along the Boston Harbor. It has a long history, with several relocations along the way.

The Central Artery is a section of freeway in downtown Boston, Massachusetts; it is designated as Interstate 93, US 1 and Route 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorchester Avenue (Boston)</span> Street in South Boston, Massachusetts, US

Dorchester Avenue is a street in Boston, Massachusetts, running from downtown south via South Boston and Dorchester to the border with Milton, where it ends. Built as a turnpike, the Dorchester Turnpike, it is mostly straight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Street (Boston)</span> Street in Boston, Massachusetts

Washington Street is a street originating in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, which extends southwestward to the Massachusetts–Rhode Island state line. The majority of its length outside of the city was built as the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike in the early 19th century. It is the longest street in Boston and remains one of the longest streets in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Due to various municipal annexations with the city of Boston, the name Washington Street now exists six or more times within the jurisdiction(s) of the City of Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston-area streetcar lines</span>

As with many large cities, a large number of Boston-area streetcar lines once existed, and many continued operating into the 1950s. However, only a few now remain, namely the four branches of the Green Line and the Mattapan Line, with only one running regular service on an undivided street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Street Elevated</span> Former elevated railroad in Boston, Massachusetts

The Washington Street Elevated was an elevated segment of Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway system, comprising the southern stretch of the Orange Line. It ran from Chinatown through the South End and Roxbury, ending in Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlestown Elevated</span> Former elevated railway in Greater Boston

The Charlestown Elevated was a segment of the MBTA Orange Line rapid transit line that ran from the Canal Street Incline in downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Charlestown to a terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. It opened in June 1901 and was replaced by the Haymarket North Extension in April 1975.

The Haymarket North Extension is a section of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's rapid transit Orange Line which currently constitutes the northern section of the line. It runs from North Station through an underground crossing of the Charles River, then along the Haverhill Line right-of-way to Oak Grove station in Malden, Massachusetts. Built to replace the Charlestown Elevated and originally intended to be extended as far as Reading, it opened in stages between 1975 and 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Station Bus Terminal</span> Bus station in Boston, Massachusetts

The South Station Bus Terminal, owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, is the main gateway for long-distance coach buses in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located at 700 Atlantic Avenue, at the intersection with Beach Street, in the Chinatown/Leather District neighborhoods. The facility is immediately south-southwest of the main MBTA/Amtrak South Station terminal, and is located above the station platforms and tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summer Street (Boston)</span>

Summer Street in Boston, Massachusetts, extends from Downtown Crossing in the Financial District, over Fort Point Channel, and into the Seaport District to the southeast. In the mid-19th century it was also called Seven Star Lane. Seven Star Lane was named so for "Seven Stars," a tavern once located at the northwest corner of Summer and Hawley streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Station (subway)</span> Subway station in Boston, Massachusetts, US

South Station is a transfer station on the MBTA rapid transit Red Line and bus rapid transit Silver Line, located at Summer Street and Atlantic Avenue in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is a part of the complex of the same name, the second busiest transportation center in New England. Eight MBTA Commuter Rail and three Amtrak intercity rail services terminate at South Station; many of those passengers then transfer to the rapid transit lines to reach other destinations in the city. With 24,639 daily boardings in 2019, South Station is the busiest station on the MBTA rapid transit system.

References

  1. Dewey, Adelbert Milton (1899). The life and letters of Admiral Dewey: from Montpelier to Manila containing reproductions in fac-simile of hitherto unpublished letters of George Dewey during the Admiral's naval career and extracts from his log-book. New York: Eaton & Mains. p. 411. United States Cruiser Olympia. Manila, Philippine Islands, November 22. 1898. Mr. W. W. Hubbard:
    Dear Sir: — I have the pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of October 10. informing me that you had introduced, and had passed through both branches of the Boston city government, an order naming the area in front of Boston's new Union Station, "Dewey Square." I have watched with much interest the building of this station, and have noted with a great deal of pride that this, the finest and largest in the world, has been erected by the foremost city of New England, and now, with increased interest and pride do I thank you, and beg that you will convey my thanks and appreciation to the members of both branches of the council for the honor with which they have so courteously favored me.
    Yours very truly.
    George Dewey.
  2. https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/a-philip-randolph-square/history
  3. "1922 Dewey Square map" . Retrieved 2014-04-30.
  4. File:Boston ground 1880.jpg
  5. "Boston 1899-1915 Plate 032". WardMaps LLC. Retrieved 2016-12-25.
  6. "Dewey Square Park" . Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  7. "Seasonal Markets". Boston Public Market. Retrieved 15 August 2019.

42°21′10″N71°03′20″W / 42.35283°N 71.05557°W / 42.35283; -71.05557