Washington Street (Boston)

The Washington Street is an approximately 37 mi ( 59.5 km ) long road in the state of Massachusetts in the United States. It takes you from Boston city center Downtown Crossing in a southwesterly direction to the state border to Rhode Iceland. Much of the route was built in the early 19th century as the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike, but its history dates back to the 1780s. The Washington Street is the longest street in Boston and also one of the longest in the state of Massachusetts. Many of the roads which cross the Washington Street, change to the street its name, because the Washington Street was the first street, which joined the Shawmut Peninsula to the mainland.

Route

The Washington Street begins under the name North Washington Street at the junction between New Rutherford Avenue and Chelsea Street north of the Charlestown Bridge. The route ends north of Haymarket Square, where it flows to the overground running street of the Big Dig, due to its development, the road is interrupted at this point.

It starts again at the intersection of State Street and Court Street and first performs a one-way in a southerly direction. The intersection in Downtown Crossing of the Milk Street to Franklin Street is - as well as the further north part - accessible only to authorized vehicles. Only at the Stuart / Kneeland Street, the road is open to traffic in both directions. The section of the Marginal Street is once again up to and including the bridge over the Massachusetts Turnpike and the adjacent tracks of Amtrak and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ( MBTA ) navigable only in the north, however, it opposed the buses of the Silver-Line one lane the direction of travel are.

From Dudley Square in Roxbury Washington Street to Dudley Street is a one way street in a southerly direction. Transport in a northerly direction bypasses this section to the east. After the road has passed under the Arborway in Jamaica Plain, it becomes the Hyde Park Avenue. South of the MBTA Forest Hills Station, however, the Ukraine Way be used across the tracks to get back to the west of the railroad now runs as a continuation of the South Street Washington Street. At the boundary between Roslindale and West Roxbury, the road crosses the West Roxbury Parkway and rejects here at a center strip that accompanies them to the city limits to Dedham.

The Washington Street continues in a southwesterly direction through the center of Dedham, the outskirts of Westwood as well as through the centers of Norwood, East Walpole and South Walpole. At the boundary between Walpole and Foxborough, the road ends at first, but results in a southerly direction slightly offset to the east as U.S. Highway 1 (Boston- Providence Turnpike ) on. This can be achieved over a short section of Water Street. Until the state line into Rhode Iceland, the route passes through North Attleborough, past the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Wrentham, Plainville and South Attleborough.

History

The section of Washington Street from Boston's city center to the Dudley Square in Roxbury was the first road that linked the then small town of Boston with the mainland, by leading the Boston Post Road to New York City. The road was originally performed in this section under various names: Cornhill from Adams Square (south of present-day Boston City Hall ) to School Street, Marlborough Street to the intersection of the roads Summer Street / Winter Street, Newbury Street to the intersection of roads Essex Street / Boylston Street and finally Orange Street to the fortifications near the present East Berkeley Street.

On July 4, 1788, the section was south of the attachment to the city limits to Roxbury the name Washington Street. This designation was extended on 6 July 1824 the northern part areas to Adams Square, and on November 6, 1872 came a new road to Haymarket Square to the north added. The part north of Roxbury Street in Roxbury exists as a public way since the January 19, 1662 and was renamed on May 9, 1825 Washington Street. Gradually, further west along the streets Roxbury Street, Tremont Street and Huntington Avenue were renamed to the border of Brookline.

The Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike was established in 1803 and served as a less curvy alternative to two previously well-used roads between Boston and Providence (Rhode Iceland ) - actually it was the Lower Boston Post Road through Norwood and Foxborough and the road through Walpole and Wrentham. The southern half of the road was used by only slightly due to their cities located off the route, and until the 1930s into more or less a dirt road. It was not until the establishment of the U.S. Highway 1 from Boston to Providence improved the situation.

The section of the road in Roxbury was reported in June 1857 as a public road called Shawmut Avenue. On February 3, 1858, the portion in West Roxbury was renamed accordingly. On July 2, 1860 Tremont Street was extended at its southern end along the former Washington Street to Brookline, so that the Washington Street ended at the Columbus Street. On 16 June 1874, the rest of the road was west of the Dudley Square to Roxbury Street, and at the same time extended the Washington Street to the south from Dudley Square along the former Shawmut Street up to Dedham.

The portion of Washington Street north of Haymarket Square was known until the 1900s, when Charles Town Street.

Transportation

As the Washington Street has been used from the beginning as the main road, also led at an early date trams and bus routes along the way.

A road map from the year 1871 ( Fig. 1) already shows tram tracks that lead from the Boylston Street from south to Dudley Street. More maps from 1874 show the extension of this route south to today's MBTA Station Forest Hills and north to Dock Square. 1888 led rails and north along the Washington Street to Haymarket Square and from 1897 up to a region north of the Charlestown Bridge.

On a map from 1899 (Fig. 2) is to recognize that extend the rails of West Roxbury and Roslindale Street Railway southwest of Forest Hills, to Dedham to Norwood. The Norfolk Southern Street Railway ran from Norfolk to Walpole and used from there to South Walpole Washington Street. In the remaining sections of the road there was, with the exception of a portion of Interstate Consolidated Street Railway through North Attleborough no tram lines, as the road was too far away from inhabited areas.

Another card from the year 1925 ( Fig. 3) makes it clear that the tram tracks on Washington Street in Boston at the age of Essex Street in the city center. In the 1950s there trains running tram lines have been replaced by buses.

On June 10, opened in 1901 as a predecessor of today's Orange Line Washington Street Elevated, which initially led by the southern city center in Boston to Dudley and from 22 November 1909 until after Forest Hills. Then the Washington Street Tunnel opened on 20 November 1908. The Washington Street Elevated was closed on 30 April 1987 following the opening of the South West Corridor and later demolished.

Figure 2: Map from 1899

Figure 3: Map from 1925

Classification

The Washington Street is currently classified in two places as a numbered street, namely, first as Massachusetts Route 1A (of the Elm Street in Dedham to Walpole Street, Norwood ) and as a U.S. Highway 1 ( the northern Foxborough near the Gillette Stadium to Rhode Iceland ).

As part of the designation of the first numbered New England Interstate Highways in Massachusetts in 1922, U.S. 1 was designated as part of the Washington Street North Attleborough Norwood over to the Arborway in Boston. In 1933, with the Boston - Providence Turnpike and the Brook Farm Parkway completed a new road from Roslindale after Foxborough, and also the remaining portion to Rhode Iceland was built at that time. The old route of U.S. 1 was reported after laying as Massachusetts Route 1A.

Other streets named Washington in Boston

In Boston there are two other large and two smaller streets named Washington Street.

  • In the Dorchester area, the 2.8 mi extends ( 4.5 km ) long. Washington Street from Blue Hill Avenue to Dorchester Avenue on the southern border of the district
  • In Allston or Brighton Washington Street begins at the border of Brookline and leads to a length of about 2 mi (3.2 km) to the city limits to Newton. The entire road is 13.5 mi ( 21.7 km ) long, begins in Brookline Village and runs through Brookline, Allston, Brighton, Newton, and Wellesley to Natick after.
  • Another Washington Street exists in Hyde Park, where it leads to the east side of the Neponset River.
  • The fourth Washington Street is located in Chinatown, where it begins at the intersection of Austin Street and New Rutherford Avenue and leads to the Harvard Street.
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