Introduction

The first subway in the United States opened in Boston on September 1 1897, after three years of planning and work. It ran under the Boston Common from Park Street to the Public Gardens. It was the first subway in the United States and the fifth in the world. However, this was not the beginning of urban mass transit, but one step in a series. Many steps in this series are shared by other cities (as seen in the chronology), but Boston, (and to some extent New York city) are unique. They were the first, and for a long time the only cities to have subways in the United States. Boston and New York City shared some features that allowed them to be the first to venture underground for transportation. They were both cut off from surrounding areas by water, and the topography of the cities prevented the use of certain types of technology, such as elevated steam lines. However, Boston's roads were winding old lanes that converged in downtown Boston, as opposed to the long, straight roads in New York City. This made congestion in Boston streets a bigger problem than in New York, and gives a possible explanation as to why Boston was the first to build a subway (Cheape 104).

The reasons for this are seen in the explanation of the history of mass transit that follows. As the city grew larger and larger, it outstripped the old modes of transportation: first omnibus, then horsecar, then trolley. In each step, the number of travelers eventually outstripped the capacity of each form. There were various problems with each form of transportation, but as the city grew and there were more riders the streets began to be clogged. They would be so clogged that often the streets would come to a standstill. Blocked by the ocean to the east and south and the Charles River to the north, there was nowhere to go, nowhere to divert the traffic.

As Stanley I. Fischler says, "Traffic and congestion become problems when villages grow into towns and then cities, paths into lanes and then thouroughfares. The great cities of all the advanced civilizations have had to deal with the same urban headache - traffic jams" (35). The other major civilizations, however, were able to spread out their traffic and suburbs. Due to geographical constraints there was nowhere for Boston to go but up (an elevated line), or down (under the ground).

This explanation is seen through the investigation of urban mass transit in Boston. Here is a look at Boston's mass transportation over the ages, how and why it changed, and how it eventually evolved into the subway system.