Adams Square Station
Adams Square
Boston, Mass.
Year Built: 1898
Year Demolished: 1928
Built in 1898 and demolished in 1928. Built in 1898 and demolished in 1928. This station is substantially similar to Scollay Square Station, the difference being that Adams Square Station has rectangular wings and Scollay Square Station has rounded wings, a date of construction above the clock and a roof that is more cone-shaped rather that bell-shaped.
Scollay Square Station and Adams Square Station were in the second group of stations designed for Boston’s new subway system. The first stations at Park Street and Boylston Street were designed by Wheelwright & Haven. By choosing to underwrite architect-designed structures such as these, the Boston Transit Commission was highlighting the social and economic prowess of Boston and the people it served.
The structure was constructed of Milford granite, except for the wings, which, 6-feet above the sidewalk, are constructed of an ornamental cast iron framing with glazed panels and bronze and copper trimmings. The cast iron was painted green to represent old bronze. The roofs of the wings were glazed with ribbed glass; the window casings, doors and central tower are of quartered oak, while the door and roof frames and window grills were of bronze. The tower of the station contained a clock with four dials set in dormers and was roofed with fluted copper tiling.
The structure measured 15 x 49 with squared ends. The ends measured 12.5 feet tall to the cornice and the tower measured 43 feet tall.
References
• "Charles Brigham," MacMillan Encyclopedia of Architects, Adolph Placzek, entry written by Margaret Henderson Floyd, 1982, p. 288-9 (Adams Square Subway Station, 1897-1899, Charles Brigham architect).
• Annual Report of the Boston Transit Commission, 1898, pp. 7, 30, 31 and 64 and Plates 21, 21A and 26.
• City Reports, City of Boston, Auditor's Report, 1898-1899, Adams and Scollay Square Stations, Charles Brigham, Architect, $2,500, p. 115.
• "The Completion of the Boston Subway and New Arrangements of Street Cars," The Railroad Gazette, October 21, 1918, p. 759.
Images
Courtresy, Library of Congress, ca.1905
Annual Report of the Boston Transit Commission, 1898
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