Courthouse (MBTA station)

COURTHOUSE

Lobby of Courthouse station in 2008
Location Seaport Boulevard at Pittsburg Street, South Boston Waterfront
Owned by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Line(s)
Construction
Disabled access Yes
History
Opened December 17, 2004[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2014) 1,283 (daily boardings)[2]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
Terminus
Silver Line
Silver Line
toward Design Center
  Future services  
Terminus
Silver Line
Opening 2017
toward Chelsea
  Former services  
Terminus
Silver Line
Closed 2009
toward City Point

Courthouse Station is an underground bus rapid transit station on the MBTA's Silver Line, located under Seaport Boulevard at Thomson Street on the South Boston Waterfront. It is named for the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse which is one block to the north on Fan Pier. Courthouse is also the closest rapid transit station to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.

Courthouse station is fully handicapped accessible.

History and design

An outbound bus at Courthouse station

Courthouse station opened along with the rest of the Waterfront Tunnel from South Station Under to Silver Line Way on December 17, 2004.[1] Construction of the $110 million station was technically demanding, as the Waterfront district is built on fill rather than solid ground or rock. Slurry walls and large braces were built, allowing 210,000 cubic yards of soil to be excavated for the platform area.[3]

The station was intended as the centerpiece of the Silver Line and a key feature of Boston's Innovation District, with a visual impact significantly different fromn other stations in the MBTA system. It includes "some of the most complex and ornate station finishes installed in any MBTA transportation facility to date" which cost $30 million to complete.[3] The lobby includes a polished stone floor and distinctive purple overhead lighting fixtures, while both the platforms have brushed steel finishes on support columns and walls. The station was turned into an "idea lab" nightclub and conference center in June 2014 for Boston Idea Week, which included several other MBTA-centered events.[4][5]

The station has headhouses on the north and south sides of Seaport Boulevard. The south headhouse is closed from October 5, 2015 until Fall 2016 due to construction of a hotel on the adjacent lot.[6]

Courthouse station is a planned stop on the MBTA's Silver Line Gateway service to Chelsea, Massachusetts.[7]

Bus connections

Transfer to one local MBTA Bus route is available on the surface:

References

  1. 1 2 Belcher, Jonathan (22 March 2014). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  2. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 "MBTA Transitway Courthouse Station and Tunnel". J.F. White Contracting. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  4. Bernard, Gillis (16 June 2014). "Courthouse Station Turns 'Techno Meets Hipster' Nightclub-Like Lab for Boston Idea Week". BostInno. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  5. Annear, Steve (11 June 2014). "The MBTA Is Embracing Boston Idea Week". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  6. "Route SL1: Upcoming". Bus Service Alerts. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015.
  7. "Silver Line Gateway". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Retrieved 30 October 2014.

External links

Coordinates: 42°21′10.21″N 71°02′50.89″W / 42.3528361°N 71.0474694°W / 42.3528361; -71.0474694

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