Dorchester Avenue (sometimes called Dot Ave) 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.
The Boston South Bridge over Fort Point Channel, on the site of today's West Fourth Street Bridge, opened on October 1, 1805 as the first bridge connecting downtown to South Boston. Until it was sold to the city of Boston on April 19, 1832, it was a toll bridge.
The Dorchester Turnpike Corporation (sometimes called the South Boston Turnpike) was created by the state legislature on March 4, 1805, to build a turnpike from the east end of the Boston South Bridge (Nook Point) to Milton Bridge over the Neponset River, on the other side of which the Blue Hill Turnpike later continued.
Construction cost more than expected, and thus high tolls were charged, so many travelers took the old longer route through Roxbury. Despite that, the Dorchester Turnpike was one of the most profitable turnpikes, with earnings steadily climbing to a peak in 1838. When the parallel Old Colony Railroad opened in 1844, earnings quickly fell.
The North Free Bridge, on the site of today's Dorchester Avenue Bridge, opened in 1826, providing a more direct route form the north end of the turnpike to Dewey Square downtown.
On April 22, 1854, the turnpike became a free public road, named Dorchester Avenue. The name was changed to Federal Street in 1856, as it provided a continuation of that street from downtown Boston (via the North Free Bridge), but it became Dorchester Avenue again in 1870.
As part of the building of South Station (opened 1899), Federal Street was cut between the bridge and Dewey Square. Dorchester Avenue was extended north from the bridge around the east side of the new union station, along the shore of the Fort Point Channel, intersecting Mount Washington Avenue (which was also cut by the new station) and Summer Street and ending at Congress Street. Additionally, the Atlantic Avenue Viaduct was built as a second bridge just west of the Dorchester Avenue Bridge, connecting to Atlantic Avenue at Dewey Square.
By 1923 the viaduct was gone, but the extension of Dorchester Avenue remains to this day. In the 1990s it was closed to the public, including pedestrians and bicyclists, from the bridge to Summer Street, due to its proximity to Big Dig construction. It has remained closed due to security concerns, as it runs next to the South Postal Annex (a sorting facility of the United States Postal Service). In February 2022, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that a $37 million project to replace the Dorchester Avenue bridge passing over the MBTA Red Line will be included in the $9.5 billion in federal funds the state government received under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. [1] [2]
The Dorchester Avenue Railroad, one of the first street railways in Boston, started operations in 1857, eventually running over the full length (from downtown to the Neponset River). When the road was realigned around 1899, the tracks were moved, ending at a line along Summer Street.
As the Red Line opened in the 1910s and 1920s, parallel to Dorchester Avenue, most through passengers switched to that, and local routes were rerouted to feed into the new subway. Tracks were removed by the 1950s. Today the Red Line Ashmont branch is sometimes referred to as the Dorchester Avenue line.
Nowadays the only bus routes to use the road are local routes to subway stations:
The first numbered routes in New England were the New England Interstate Highways in 1922. NE 6 may have used Dorchester Avenue south of South Boston, but it is more likely that it turned northwest towards Morton Street just after crossing the Neponset River. In any case, by 1927, Route 3 (which had replaced NE 6) and Route 28 turned northwest in Milton, on a route that Route 28 still uses. (By 1928, Route 3 had been realigned to use the new Southern Artery, now Gallivan Boulevard.)
Between 1933 and 1935, the C (city) routes through downtown Boston began to be signed. Route C37, a continuation of Route 37, used MDC Parkways (now Morrissey Boulevard), merging with Dorchester Avenue at Old Colony Avenue. From there C37 took Dorchester Avenue to its north end, Congress Street, turning northwest there into downtown. A one-way pair existed from West Fourth Street to the Fort Point Channel, with southbound traffic using Foundry Street and West Fourth Street, but this was later removed, with Dorchester Avenue returning to full two-way operation.
Route C37 was decommsioned circa 1959 when Route 37 was truncated to Braintree (interchange with former-Route 128/current I-93/US 1) following the completion of the Southeast Expressway (current I-93/US 1/Route 3) leaving Dorchester Avenue with no numbered routes. Thus, over the years, the only route to use the road has probably been C37.
The rest of the C routes would be decommissioned circa 1970-1971.
| Browse numbered routes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
←  Route 37 | MA | →  Route 38 | ||
The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) as part of the MBTA subway system. The line runs south and east underground from Alewife station in North Cambridge through Somerville and Cambridge, surfacing to cross the Longfellow Bridge then returning to tunnels under Downtown Boston. It continues underground through South Boston, splitting into two branches on the surface at JFK/UMass station. The Ashmont branch runs southwest through Dorchester to Ashmont station, where the connecting light rail Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line continues to Mattapan station. The Braintree branch runs southwest through Quincy and Braintree to Braintree station.
Dorchester is a Boston neighborhood comprising more than 6 square miles (16 km2) in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, Dorset, England, to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This dissolved municipality, Boston's largest neighborhood by far, is often divided by city planners in order to create two planning areas roughly equivalent in size and population to other Boston neighborhoods.
The Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line, commonly referred to as the Mattapan Trolley, is a partially grade-separated light rail line which forms part of the MBTA's Red Line rapid transit line. The line, which runs through Boston and Milton, Massachusetts, opened on August 26, 1929, as a conversion of a former commuter rail line. It exclusively uses PCC streetcars built in the 1940s. Passengers must transfer at Ashmont to access the rest of the Red Line, which uses heavy rail metro rolling stock.
The Neponset River is a river in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its headwaters are at the Neponset Reservoir in Foxborough, near Gillette Stadium. From there, the Neponset meanders generally northeast for about 29 miles (47 km) to its mouth at Dorchester Bay between Quincy and the Dorchester section of Boston, near the painted gas tank.
JFK/UMass station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transfer station, located adjacent to the Columbia Point area of Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by the rapid transit Red Line; the Greenbush Line, Kingston/Plymouth Line, and Middleborough/Lakeville Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, and three MBTA bus routes. The station is named for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the University of Massachusetts Boston, both located nearby on Columbia Point.
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.
Fort Point Channel is a maritime channel separating South Boston from downtown Boston, Massachusetts, 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.
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.
The Dorchester Railroad and Dorchester Extension Railroad was a horse car line in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 19th century, running from downtown south to Milton, mostly via Dorchester Avenue. For several years, it was operated by Gore, Rose and Company, owned by David Gore and George Rose, because the original company could not afford to run it.
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 6 or more times within the jurisdiction(s) of the City of Boston.
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 Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line, with only one running regular service on an undivided street.
Ashmont station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transit station located at Peabody Square in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the southern terminus of the Ashmont branch of the rapid transit Red Line, the northern terminus of the connecting light rail Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line, and a major terminal for MBTA bus service. Ashmont has two side platforms serving the below-grade Red Line and a single side platform on an elevated balloon loop for the Mattapan Line. The station is fully accessible for all modes.
Mattapan station is an MBTA light rail station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the southern terminus of the Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line, part of the Red Line, and is also an important MBTA bus transfer station, with eight routes terminating there. It is located at Mattapan Square in the Mattapan neighborhood. At the station, streetcars use a balloon loop to reverse direction back to Ashmont station. Mattapan station is fully accessible, with mini-high platforms.
Route 28 is a 151.93-mile-long (244.51 km) nominally south–north state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, running from the town of Eastham via Boston to the New Hampshire state line in Methuen. Following the route from its nominally southern end, Route 28 initially heads south to the town of Chatham then turns west to follow along the south shore of Cape Cod. In Falmouth, Route 28 turns north and continues through the western part of Plymouth County and the eastern part of Norfolk County; it then passes through downtown Boston before heading north via Lawrence to the New Hampshire state line, where it continues as New Hampshire Route 28.
Milton station is a light rail station in Milton, Massachusetts. Located in the Dorchester-Milton Lower Mills Industrial District, it serves the MBTA's Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line. This station is accessible via wooden ramps on both platforms.
Butler station is a light rail station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line. It is located at Butler Street in the Lower Mills section of the Dorchester neighborhood. It serves a small residential area sandwiched between the Neponset River, Cedar Grove Cemetery, and Dorchester Park. Butler station has no MBTA bus connections. It is accessible via a wooden mini-high ramp on the station's single island platform.
Central Avenue station is a light rail station located off Central Avenue near Eliot Street in Milton, Massachusetts. It serves the Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line, a branch of the MBTA Red Line. Central Avenue consists of two side platforms which serve the Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line's two tracks.
Capen Street station is a light rail station in Milton, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line. It is located on Capen Street off Eliot Street; the westernmost of the four MBTA stations in Milton, it consists of two side platforms flanking the eponymous street's grade crossing. The platforms are staggered to allow trains to make the stop at Capen Street before crossing the street itself, as there is no signal at the grade crossing. Capen Street is accessible via wooden ramps on both platforms. Capen Street opened in September 1930 as an infill station on the line.
The Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It ran between Neponset Village in Dorchester, Massachusetts, through the town of Milton to the village of Mattapan. It was opened in 1847 and became part of the Old Colony Railroad system in 1848. The western portion was converted to a streetcar line in 1929, while the eastern portion remained in use for freight until the 1980s.
