1984: The Debut of a Record-Breaking Transit Station in a Major Boston Suburb

December 8, 1984

A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) transit station was opened in the city of Cambridge in the Greater Boston metropolitan area. This station is located at the intersection of of Massachusetts and Somerville Avenues in Cambridge’s Porter Square neighborhood. Porter station serves the Red Line, one of MBTA’s rapid transit lines; the Fitchburg Line, a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system; and several MBTA bus routes. This station provides transit access to the northern section of Cambridge and also western parts of the nearby city of Somerville.

Porter station opened on the same day as the MBTA Red Line rapid transit station at Davis Square in Somerville. Those presiding over the inauguration of Davis station were Michael S. Dukakis, governor of Massachusetts (and a future Democratic nominee for U.S. president); and James F. O’Leary, MBTA general manager. After the dedication of Davis station was completed, both of these men and approximately 25 other dignitaries rode a train from there to Porter station to provide similar ceremonial duties for that facility.

In its account of the opening of Porter station, the next day’s edition of the Boston Globe highlighted the overall enthusiasm for this new public transportation link. This newspaper reported, “Cambridge Mayor Leonard Russell, City Manager Robert W. Healy and several others hailed the completion of the station, noting that the disruption of its construction had caused was worth it.”

A notable claim to fame for Porter station is that it is 105 feet (32 meters) underground. This makes the station the deepest one within the entire MBTA network. Porter station is also distinguished by its artwork. These works were created as part of Arts on the Line, a program responsible for the installation of creative displays at MBTA stations during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Arts on the Line was the first such program in the United States and it has become a model for similar efforts nationwide.

The displays from Arts on the Line that can still be seen at Porter station today are Susumu Shingu’s Gift of the Wind, a kinetic sculpture of three red wings; Carlos Dorrien’s Ondas, a 24- foot (7.3-meter)-tall piece of granite affixed on a station wall; Mags Harries’ Glove Cycle, workmen’s gloves sculptured out of bronze and scattered throughout the facility; William Reimann’s Untitled, a total of six granite bollards with designs carved into them; and David Phillips’ Porter Square Megaliths, four boulders with large pieces removed from each and replaced with bronze casts of those missing sections.

Photo Credit: Hutima (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

For more information on Porter station, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_station