Charles Circle
Owner/Developer: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Station Architect & Urban Designer: Elkus Manfredi Architects in joint venture with
Civil/Traffic Engineer: HDR Engineering, Inc.

Located at the base of the Longfellow Bridge, the seventy- seven year-old Charles/MGH Station is a major transpor- tation node, engaging Beacon Hill, the Charles River Esplanade, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).  For decades, the elevated platform of the station was impossible to reach other than by daunting pedestrian bridges and stairways.  For physically challenged public transportation users, this stop was a major barrier to accessing MGH, just steps from the station.  In a public/private partnership, the Massachusetts Bay Trans- portation Authority (MBTA), MGH, and the City of Boston oversaw the process of developing a safe and attractive new 12,000-square-foot station designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects & HDR Engineering.

The existing station was demolished, but the track layout was retained and improved.  The historic elevated copper platform connecting the station to the Longfellow Bridge was restored and a new station was designed with the entrance moved to Cambridge Street, providing a dignified ground-level entrance for patrons who could not climb the stairways of the past, and crosswalks that traverse the station and offer passengers refuge from traffic and the elements.  The station platform is now fully accessible by elevators and escalators housed in transparent sculptural glass curves that offer views to the river and complement both the old and the new architecture of the surrounding area.

Photo courtesy of Tom Kessler