Gilman Square (MBTA station)

Gilman Square is a planned station on the MBTA Green Line "D" Branch in Somerville, Massachusetts, planned to be constructed as part of the Green Line Extension. Gilman Square will consist of one island platform, which will serve the "D" Branch's two tracks.

As of December 2013, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) indicated that the Gilman Square station is expected to be completed by early 2019, as part of the Phase 3 of the Green Line Extension project. Elsewhere in Somerville, the Ball Square and Lowell Street stations are currently projected to open that year as well.

History

File:Winter Hill station 1908 postcard.JPG

1908 postcard of Winter Hill station, located at Gilman Square

The Boston and Lowell Railroad opened between its namesake cities in 1835; local stops were added after several years. Winter Hill station was located at Gilman Square in Somerville, one of several stations in the city. The station building was a long wooden structure north of the tracks. In 1870, the Lexington Branch was routed over the B&L east of Somerville Junction, increasing service to Winter Hill and several other stations.

In 1888, a new stone station was built on the south side of the tracks; the wooden station was split into two sections which were reused as houses still standing near Magoun Square. The new station was made of red marble ashlar with rough marble trim; the waiting room featured a marble fireplace.

The inner suburban stations lost much of their ridership to streetcars, especially after the Lechmere Viaduct sped travel times to downtown beginning in 1911. In 1927, the Lexington Branch was reconnected to the Fitchburg Line; the 1870-built line west of Somerville Junction became the Fitchburg Cutoff used only by freight trains. Three stations on the cutoff plus Prospect Hill and East Cambridge stations east of Winter Hill were closed entirely; the station buildings at Somerville Junction and Gilman Square were boarded up and service sharply reduced. The station was finally closed in the early 1930s; the station building was demolished in 1934, though the stone base of the station is still used to house electric equipment.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the newly formed MBTA reopened several inner-suburb commuter rail stations in response to community desire for service that was faster if less frequent than buses. In 1976, Winter Hill station was considered for reactivation, but ridership was expected to be negligible due to the nearby 80, 88, 90, and 94 buses.

External links

• Drawings of the station