When the first subway opened in Boston
118 years ago, traveling underground became a new option for commuters.
For most adults, slipping through the subway turnstile, squeezing into a packed train car, and traveling underground has long since lost its magic.
But on September 1, 1897 the act of descending underground to travel in a train car with a bunch of strangers was a novelty. The first section of Boston’s subway system — the first subway system in North America — opened promptly for passengers at 6 a.m.
“Cars now running in the subway. Now for speed,’’ The Boston Globe declared on that day 118 years ago. The main article stated, “Underground transit is no longer a dream in the hub.’’
The article speculated that before readers had opened their papers, “the hum of the electrics will have turned the underground railroad into a scene of human activity wholly new to the busy life of Boston.’’
The Globe detailed what passengers could expect if they decided to check out the new form of travel, reminding readers they had to descend underground to find the trains and that riders needed to buy a dated ticket in order to get onto the platform.
“Without a ticket no one can enter,’’ the Globe warned.
The opening of the first leg of the city’s subway system was two-and-a-half years in the making, according to the Globe. The journey on the new tracks was expected to only take four minutes, traveling from the Park Street entrance down to the Public Garden stop on Boylston Street.
The hope was that the underground transit would help relieve congestion.
“Ho! for the subway!’’ the paper wrote in expectation of the day.
On September 2, 1897, the paper published cartoons depicting “odd sights’’ spotted during the subway’s opening. The paper estimated that between 200,000 to 250,000 people flocked to try out the new system.
“Many were uncomfortably crowded,’’ the paper said of the riders’ experience, heralding things to come.
The opening of Boston’s first subway, in cartoons:
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