6/25/04 This Day in History

[SSFan V]

I am putting this in the Celtics History section because the topic is so closely tied to the history of the old Boston Garden.




in 2004, Boston's last elevated train pulled into North Station. For over a century, Bostonians had avoided the congested streets below by riding trains carried on huge steel tracks overhead. When the El was built in 1901, people were thrilled to pay the five-cent fare to travel in mahogany-paneled cars from one shiny station to another. But over time city officials and most residents came to see the once-elegant El as a noisy eyesore. Gradually elevated lines were replaced with subways, and the tracks were demolished. The final run of the Green Line trolley on the last half-mile of elevated track marked a milestone in the modernization of the nation's oldest subway system, and, at the same time, the end of an era.

The last section of elevated railway infrastructure was scheduled for demolition in June of 2004. On June 25th, the last Green Line train rumbled down the elevated tracks around what was then the Fleet Center. The MBTA acknowledged that "the elevated portion of the Green Line has served us well for close to 100 years," but like most Bostonians, transit officials believed the removal of the old El tracks helped beautify the city. At least a few residents, however, felt the loss of another part of Boston's historic character.

for more read here.....
http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=185


I for one simply loved the stretch of track that took the green line up out of the tunnel and turned left into North Station.  Riding the Green line into North Station & walking up the ramps into the Garden were as much a part of the Celtics game as the game itself.

[paintitgreen]

I loved it too. And pretty much every montage of the 80s Celtics features that shot from the green line as the Boston Garden comes into view, which just adds to it.

[Redz]

Wow.  Forgot that was even gone til you mentioned, but it was pretty cool - though I see why 86'd it.

[Donoghus]

The area just looks so different now.

A lot brighter and open.  The new T station isn't too shabby, either.