Elevated streets in South Boston

[David Chesler]

In particular Summer Street, just southwest of the Fort Point Channel
from Boston. How did it come to be elevated? The buildings on the
300 block certainly predate the Big Dig.
The USGS maps on Topozone suggest that originally it was elevated
to pass over railroad tracks. When was it first built that way?

[Pete from Boston]

Post by David Chesler
In particular Summer Street, just southwest of the Fort Point Channel
from Boston. How did it come to be elevated? The buildings on the
300 block certainly predate the Big Dig.
The USGS maps on Topozone suggest that originally it was elevated
to pass over railroad tracks. When was it first built that way?

Not an answer, per se, but potentially helpful info: According to the
Boston Atlas (http://www.mapjunction.com/places/Boston_BRA/), the
oldest buildings on that stretch of Summer St. are on the right side
after you cross the bridge, and are from 1899. Most of the rest of the
buildings on that stretch seem to be from 1902-1911.

I do recall seeing in Nancy Seasholes's "Gaining Ground" (MIT Press,
2003) that Melcher Street roughly follows the alignment of a railroad
that used to branch off the north-south lines in South Boston, cross
Fort Point Channel, and enter the South Station area from the east. So
the contour might predate those buildings.

[Tom Nelligan]

Post by David Chesler
The USGS maps on Topozone suggest that originally it was elevated
to pass over railroad tracks. When was it first built that way?

Into the 1970s, there was a large and now almost completely abandoned
railroad freight yard (operated by the New Haven RR, then Penn Central)
in the general vicinity of the convention center and extending out to
the piers. Summer Street was elevated to avoid numerous grade crossings,
but I can't tell you exactly when that happened.

South Station opened in 1899 after years of extensive construction in
the area. The original station extended all the way to Fort Point
Channel on land now occupied by the Post Office and the Stone & Webster
building. It's reasonable to guess that Summer Street might have been
rebuilt as part of the general rearrangement of the area in the 1890s.

[D. Kirkpatrick]

Post by Tom Nelligan
Into the 1970s, there was a large and now almost completely abandoned
railroad freight yard (operated by the New Haven RR, then Penn Central)
in the general vicinity of the convention center and extending out to
the piers. Summer Street was elevated to avoid numerous grade crossings,
but I can't tell you exactly when that happened.

Picture of above.

http://www.nationalcorridors.org/df/df09152003.shtml#THEWAYWEWERE

Summer Street is the span in the distance.

It's all gone now. The rail yard IS the convention center plus other
new development.

DMK

[Pac Man]

Post by D. Kirkpatrick
Picture of above.
http://www.nationalcorridors.org/df/df09152003.shtml#THEWAYWEWERE
Summer Street is the span in the distance.
It's all gone now. The rail yard IS the convention center plus other
new development.

Sad, really. Just goes to show how little business there is in the city
of Boston and for the port. At one time, South Boston Freight Terminal (the
Southie yards) were the largest single-railroad terminal in the world.
Now... heh.

Not 100% of it is gone, however. There is still a rail link to the
Black Falcon pier, IIRC. The "Dump Road" used for Big Dig construction was
the 4 track main from South Bay Jct. to First Street Yard in Southie, and
one of those tracks is still there, or so I've heard. About 12 years ago,
Gov. Weld wanted to bring double stack container trains into Southie by way
of Readville, Walpole and Framingham, but nothing ever came of it. But
perhaps this idea resulted in that one track remaining?

Paul A. Cutler III
*************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*************

[William O'Hara]

Post by Pac Man
Black Falcon pier, IIRC. The "Dump Road" used for Big Dig
construction was the 4 track main from South Bay Jct. to First Street
Yard in Southie, and one of those tracks is still there, or so I've
heard. About 12 years ago, Gov. Weld wanted to bring double stack
container trains into Southie by way of Readville, Walpole and
Framingham, but nothing ever came of it. But perhaps this idea
resulted in that one track remaining?

Black Falcon Pier does not have connected track. There
is some trackage in a few spots still there.

Railroad track along A street towards Castle Island is still
in places underneath the street.

I was just actually mentioning this to another railfan, yesterday.

They used to have a gauntlet track to run trolleys as well
down the street.

Summer Street Bridge was opened in the 1890s with basically
the construction of Summer Street in order to faciliate
transportation from Boston to South Boston. Prior to the improvements
in the road, there really was limited direct access to Boston.

Parish maps have changed over the years in part due to the
change of the roads.

Bill

[SPUI]

Post by David Chesler
In particular Summer Street, just southwest of the Fort Point Channel
from Boston. How did it come to be elevated? The buildings on the
300 block certainly predate the Big Dig.
The USGS maps on Topozone suggest that originally it was elevated
to pass over railroad tracks. When was it first built that way?

The pre-Big Dig bridges on Summer Street were built ca. 1900. There was
also an Atlantic Avenue Viaduct, passing over the throat of South
Station from Atlantic Avenue to the now-closed bridge to Dorchester Avenue.

[D. Kirkpatrick]

Post by David Chesler
In particular Summer Street, just southwest of the Fort Point Channel
from Boston. How did it come to be elevated? The buildings on the
300 block certainly predate the Big Dig.
The USGS maps on Topozone suggest that originally it was elevated
to pass over railroad tracks. When was it first built that way?

Good question. I remember the old Summer Street bridge.

Spectacular fire the day it burned.

Long time ago of course.

And it was over RR tracks.

Here is what it looked like in 1969...

http://www.nationalcorridors.org/df/df09152003.shtml#THEWAYWEWERE

The span bridge in the distance is Summer Street. Much of the rail
yard is now the South Boston Convention Center and other
redevelopment. None of the rail yard is there anymore.

DMK

[A.B. Price]

Post by David Chesler
In particular Summer Street, just southwest of the Fort Point Channel
from Boston. How did it come to be elevated? The buildings on the
300 block certainly predate the Big Dig.
The USGS maps on Topozone suggest that originally it was elevated
to pass over railroad tracks. When was it first built that way?

OMG ... another Saklad. Like we needed another one.