Beachmont | |||||||||||
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 An outbound train at Beachmont station in August 2018 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | 630 Winthrop Avenue at 1 Bennington Street Revere, Massachusetts | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°23′51″N70°59′32″W / 42.3975°N 70.9922°W /42.3975; -70.9922 | ||||||||||
| Line | Revere Extension | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 2side platforms | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Connections |  MBTA bus:119 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | Elevated | ||||||||||
| Parking | 430 spaces ($5.00 fee) | ||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | 6 spaces | ||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | June 19, 1954[2] | ||||||||||
| Rebuilt | June 25, 1994–June 24, 1995[3] | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| FY2019 | 3,139 boardings (weekday average)[1] | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Beachmont station is an elevatedrapid transit station inRevere, Massachusetts. It serves theMBTABlue Line, and is located above Winthrop Avenue in theBeachmont neighborhood. Beachmont station isfully accessible, with elevators from the lobby to the platforms.
Thenarrow gaugeBoston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad (BRB&L) opened fromEast Boston toLynn on July 28, 1875. Among the original stations wasOrient (also calledOrient Heights) at Winthrop Avenue.[4][5] (At that time, Beachmont was considered part ofOrient Heights.[6]) The Boston Land Company, affiliated with the BRB&L, used the station to sell land on Beachmont.[6] The BRB&L built the Beachmont hotel near the station in 1876.[7] The station was renamedBeachmont by the 1880s, with a station building located southeast of the crossing.[8][9]
Ocean Pier station was open for several years at Dolphin Avenue 0.3 miles (0.5 km) to the north in the 1880s, likely to compete with a competitor – theEastern Railroad-backed Boston, Winthrop and Shore Railroad – which operated in 1884 and 1885.[10][8]
By 1928 the line was electrified, with pre-pay stations - more a rapid transit line than a conventional railroad.[11] However, due to the Great Depression, the BRB&L shut down on January 27, 1940.[12]
In 1941, theBoston Elevated Railway bought the BRB&Lright of way from Day Square to Revere Beach for use as a high-speed trolley line similar to theAshmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line; these plans were delayed by the onset ofWorld War II.[13] However, the 1926Report on Improved Transportation Facilities and 1945–47Coolidge Commission Report recommended that theEast Boston Tunnel line, which had been converted to rapid transit from streetcars in 1924, be extended toLynn via the BBRB&L route rather than using it for a trolley line.[14][15]
In 1947, the newly formed Metropolitan Transit Authority (M.T.A.) decided to build to Lynn as a rapid transit line, and construction began in October 1948.[13] The first part of the Revere Extension opened toOrient Heights in January 1952 andSuffolk Downs in April 1952; the second phase (cut short due to limited funds) opened toWonderland on January 19, 1954 with intermediate stations at Beachmont andRevere Beach.[13][2] Unlike its predecessor, this Beachmont station was elevated to eliminate the grade crossing of Winthrop Avenue.
When the MBTA planned theBlue Line Modernization Program in the early 1990s, local residents requested that the station be lowered into an open cut similar toRevere Beach, but this was deemed infeasible.[16] The station was closed for approximately one year starting on June 25, 1994, as the station was rebuilt along with theSuffolk Downs, Revere Beach andWonderland stations. Blue Line service temporarily ended atOrient Heights and buses served the closed stations during the project.[3][17] Beachmont station was completely rebuilt at a cost of $27 million; it reopened along with the other stations on June 24, 1995.[18]
The station was closed while additional platform repair work was performed from September 8 through November 25, 2008.[3][19] On June 1–2, 2019, the 1995-added radio tower was demolished.[20][21]
Theredevelopment of the Suffolk Downs site is expected to substantially increase ridership toSuffolk Downs and Beachmont stations. The developer has committed $20 million for transit projects, including modifications to both stations.[22][23] The MBTA plans to construct a bus transfer facility at the station to replace or supplement Wonderland for North Shore bus routes.[24]
