1904: Thousands of Transit Passengers Travel though the East Boston Tunnel on Its Opening Day

December 30, 1904

The East Boston Tunnel in the capital of Massachusetts was formally opened to the public. This tunnel became a key link in a streetcar route that originated at Court Street in the downtown area of the city, then coursed under Boston Harbor, and ultimately ended at Maverick Square in East Boston. (A portion of this route is now part of the rapid-transit Blue Line operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.)

The East Boston Tunnel made history as the first mass transit tunnel in North America to run beneath a section of ocean water. More than 60,000 people rode through the new tunnel on its first day of regular operations. The Boston Post reported that “everything considered, things ran smoothly and the crowds were well handled.”

The day before the tunnel’s official debut, approximately 200 dignitaries traveled through the new structure in streetcars for an inspection tour. These individuals included John L. Bates (1859-1946), governor of Massachusetts from 1903 to 1905; and Curtis Guild Jr. (1860-1915), the Bay State’s lieutenant governor between 1903 and 1906. (Guild went on to serve as governor from 1906 to 1909.)

A large number of East Boston residents were gathered on that day at the Maverick Square station. The Fall River Globe reported that, when the streetcar carrying Bates and Guild arrived at this station, “a great cheer was given in honor of the visitors and of the completion of the tunnel.”

Over the next several years, the streetcars running through the East Boston Tunnel remained heavily used as that line was further extended throughout the city. In 1924, however, streetcar service through the tunnel came to an end and was replaced with rapid-transit trains. ​

Image Credit: Public Domain

For more information on the East Boston Tunnel, please check out https://www.masshist.org/object-of-the-month/objects/december-2022 and https://themetropole.blog/2024/09/05/circumventing-the-past-navigating-around-the-harbor-through-the-east-boston-tunnel/