The Fascinating History of Boston's Subway System...

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  • čas přidán 9. 04. 2021
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    Boston is one of the United States’ most interesting cities, with its colonial history, unique culture, and diverse population. Known primarily for its role in the American Revolution, Boston is a city of great historical significance. You may not know that Boston was the first U.S. city to have a subway system, a technological breakthrough that would have a lasting influence on U.S. mass transit. Today, the history behind Boston’s subway system, the engineers and politicians who made it happen, and how its creation and development helped revolutionize American public transport.
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Komentáře • 157

  • @ThatIsInterestingTII
    @ThatIsInterestingTII  Před 3 lety +21

    Thanks to Surfshark for sponsoring this video! Be sure to get a special deal from the link in the description!

    • @sub_par3174
      @sub_par3174 Před 3 lety +5

      Nice video man

    • @ThatIsInterestingTII
      @ThatIsInterestingTII  Před 3 lety +2

      @@sub_par3174 haha thanks man

    • @sub_par3174
      @sub_par3174 Před 3 lety +3

      @@ThatIsInterestingTII It was a very interesting and Informative topic that I have actually never seen covered before

    • @williamhewitt4748
      @williamhewitt4748 Před 3 lety +1

      The Red line goes past South Station? That would of been good to know when I went their lol

    • @Col_Crunch
      @Col_Crunch Před 3 lety

      @@williamhewitt4748 There are maps in all stations, and lists of the stops on the line above like every door on the trains.

  • @WoodT92
    @WoodT92 Před 3 lety +125

    Shout out to my ppl from Boston. We out here.

    • @humanimal4dub926
      @humanimal4dub926 Před 3 lety +5

      Ayee Fellow Bostonian.

    • @mr_godoy2008
      @mr_godoy2008 Před 3 lety +3

      I recorded trains there

    • @Reverend_Harrison86
      @Reverend_Harrison86 Před 3 lety

      Worcester and Warwick here... close enough lol

    • @WoodT92
      @WoodT92 Před 3 lety +1

      @@Reverend_Harrison86 I’m actually moving not too far from warrick to Pawtucket

    • @sostdm617
      @sostdm617 Před 2 lety +2

      I'm Dorchester born and raised

  • @stevenmichaelhachey4483
    @stevenmichaelhachey4483 Před 3 lety +84

    As one myself, this video is bostonian approved
    Also MBTA means Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

    • @andrew_ray
      @andrew_ray Před 3 lety +21

      I don't know why it seems like nobody gets this right. Worst I've ever heard was when some news station called it the Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority.

    • @quanbrooklynkid7776
      @quanbrooklynkid7776 Před 3 lety +1

      @@andrew_ray haha

    • @stevenmichaelhachey4483
      @stevenmichaelhachey4483 Před 3 lety

      @@andrew_ray IKR lol

    • @SleepTrain456
      @SleepTrain456 Před 3 lety +5

      I once made _that_ error myself! When I make a video about the MBTA, I will be sure to dedicate a sentence or two to say that it is "Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority", not "Metropolitan Bay Transportation Authority" or "Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority"!

    • @stevenmichaelhachey4483
      @stevenmichaelhachey4483 Před 3 lety

      @@SleepTrain456 Thank you! Happy to help. Have a nice day!

  • @ClarkEmbree
    @ClarkEmbree Před 3 lety +20

    8:54 It's actually the "Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority"

    • @SleepTrain456
      @SleepTrain456 Před 3 lety +2

      Apparently, a lot of people (including myself, in the past!) get it quite wrong!

  • @CityGeek
    @CityGeek Před 3 lety +62

    I didn’t realize Boston was the first US city to get a subway system. Thanks for another great video!

    • @newsaxonyproductions7871
      @newsaxonyproductions7871 Před 3 lety +4

      Same for me on both points.

    • @sachemofboston3649
      @sachemofboston3649 Před 3 lety +14

      We generally have the oldest everything in America lol

    • @newsaxonyproductions7871
      @newsaxonyproductions7871 Před 3 lety +7

      @@sachemofboston3649 Not really. I guess you could say that the East Coast has a lot of older stuff, but in general other places invented stuff first, and the US came in and improved upon it. Examples: whiskey, subways, drugs.

    • @robertewalt7789
      @robertewalt7789 Před 3 lety +9

      Arguably, Philly’s system is the first, if you require a subway to have trains, several cars hooked together. Boston had tunnels with trolleys. Single cars.

    • @spencergraham-thille9896
      @spencergraham-thille9896 Před 3 lety +5

      @@robertewalt7789 No one requires that.

  • @JMM33RanMA
    @JMM33RanMA Před 3 lety +28

    Another very interesting video about my hometown. For viewers who are interested in urban design, the T, tunnels, etc., I would like to recommend National Geographic's "The Big Dig." Particularly relevant to this video are the segments about the difficulty of dealing with the Red Line, and the construction of the subway bus line from South Station to Logan Airport.
    Thanks again for another wonderful video focusing on Massachusetts.

  • @rpk5216
    @rpk5216 Před 3 lety +13

    6:01 so weird how the Park St station on Tremont St pretty much looks the same today.

  • @davekimball3610
    @davekimball3610 Před 2 lety +4

    That image of Park Street at 6:04 is amazing. To see it clean that like is something inconceivable these days.

    • @bostonrailfan2427
      @bostonrailfan2427 Před rokem

      and taken years after the red line opened and not the Park Street station he was talking about

  • @TMC_BC
    @TMC_BC Před 3 lety +14

    Boston’s system is quite interesting since it is quite a separated system. Hope you make a video about NYC’s Subway if you haven’t already!

  • @bakert7000
    @bakert7000 Před rokem +2

    I went on the subway in Boston the summer of 2018. I loved it

  • @catjudo1
    @catjudo1 Před 3 lety +10

    Great video, but you never answered the most pressing question of all: Did Charlie ever get off of the MTA?

    • @Madness832
      @Madness832 Před 3 lety +3

      Or better yet: why didn't his wife just give him the !@#$%^& nickel (instead of a sandwich)?

    • @catjudo1
      @catjudo1 Před 3 lety +2

      @@Madness832 I think she was having an affair and wanted to keep poor Charlie on the train.

    • @rockvilleraven
      @rockvilleraven Před 3 lety +1

      Charlie should have jumped the gate, like those kids in DC do.

  • @olof-palme
    @olof-palme Před 3 lety +42

    Man! You are going places with this channel, absolutely fantastic. I would consider upgrading the microphone and look briefly into audio mastering of vocals. Keep at it, and thank you for all the content.

  • @p0lyf0nisk
    @p0lyf0nisk Před 2 lety +2

    kind of funny that the company (Cambridge seven) resposible for the "T"-sign design got it from Stockholm subway design, and now the redesign of the stockholm subway-sign is black just like the boston design x)))

  • @williamhewitt4748
    @williamhewitt4748 Před 3 lety +20

    I went on the commuter rail to South Station from Montello, couldn't find the subway to my destination so Boston is so compact of a city that I just walked to Prudential.

    • @mrjarichard
      @mrjarichard Před 3 lety +5

      Red Line from South Station to Park Street then transfer to the Green Line and get off at Prudential Station

    • @rpk5216
      @rpk5216 Před 3 lety +3

      Most of the stations downtown are laughably walkable. I would say Boylston to Park Street is the shortest distance I can think of. Barely a full city block apart.

    • @jrdosreis6484
      @jrdosreis6484 Před 3 lety +1

      @@rpk5216 North Station to Haymarket or Haymarket to Government center are so close to each other

    • @bostonrailfan2427
      @bostonrailfan2427 Před rokem

      you couldn’t see the directions to the red line then the map showing Prudential station on the E?
      odd, you had to have gone out of your way to not seen maps

    • @bostonrailfan2427
      @bostonrailfan2427 Před rokem +2

      @@jrdosreis6484 the entire downtown core stations of Park/Government Center/Boylston/Downtown Crossing/State/North Station/Haymarket are no more than three short blocks from one another

  • @Madness832
    @Madness832 Před 3 lety +4

    I've ridden the T for over 35 years. Most frequently, The Red Line. Was always the best way into Downtown!

  • @Lambda_Ovine
    @Lambda_Ovine Před 9 měsíci +3

    God, I get that it would be so expensive to revitalize the T into modernity... but it would be so worth it...

  • @kanishajeffes5379
    @kanishajeffes5379 Před 3 lety +3

    😂😂😂😂👌👌👌👌I'm born and raised in Boston massachusetts, originally from roxbury in Boston ma. I live in dorchester ma now , I literally seen old egleston 💦😂that's where I'm from in roxbury, egleston station when it git knocked down 🔻 it looked so bright 😎 we needed shades because due to the train tracks being above us instead of underground, u know we was one if them cities who had both going on and now we don't in roxbury no more but cambridge ma u can ride across the water and stuff so nice and relaxing when a train is not 🚫 crowded 😂this was good video

  • @shygalaxyyt2400
    @shygalaxyyt2400 Před 3 lety +18

    Man, that is interesting! But for real it's nice to have more information on this city one of the places I want to go the most

  • @sostdm617
    @sostdm617 Před 3 lety +28

    Fun Fact Downtown and the whole Boston is still overly congested then now and forever

  • @arshdixit1566
    @arshdixit1566 Před 3 lety +9

    video starts at 2:18

  • @Col_Crunch
    @Col_Crunch Před 3 lety +8

    Fun fact about the MBTA's logo, it's pretty much the same as that of Stockholm and Oslo's metro systems. I couldn't find any source that indicated that it was influenced by either.

    • @calebsnyderdicesare3026
      @calebsnyderdicesare3026 Před 3 lety +2

      I recommend checking out Cambridge Seven Associates. They created all of the T's symbols, line colors, etc. There's an interview with one of their members, and how he came up with all of those! I'm sure you could find it online!

    • @andrew_ray
      @andrew_ray Před 3 lety +3

      I read somewhere that one of the Cambridge Seven had just come back from a trip to Stockholm.

  • @KEYBEATZ
    @KEYBEATZ Před rokem +2

    The T also has some of the most bus routes of any transit systems (it has 171 bust lines!!!)

  • @EclecticDD
    @EclecticDD Před rokem +2

    I did not know that the early subway cars that went underground were open the same way a trolley/tram above ground would be.

  • @sharbymj
    @sharbymj Před 8 měsíci +1

    "The Race Underground" was a fantastic read! I read the book years ago and it spawned my trip to Boston. Rode a number of lines but ran out of time. Had to visit the site of the Cocoanut Grove Fire where my uncle perished. Boston's hills wore me out, but I had fun.

  • @jordanlewis9133
    @jordanlewis9133 Před 3 lety +22

    I would consider getting a better Microphone. It will really aid video quality. And when is the maryland video coming out?

    • @ParallaxRS
      @ParallaxRS Před 3 lety +2

      I completely agree. A better mic and some tweaking on the EQ and he could have that ‘Wendover’ feel, which would be incredible

    • @ShaheenGhiassy
      @ShaheenGhiassy Před 3 lety

      Agreed - Blue Yeti is a good option

    • @180_S
      @180_S Před 3 lety

      Definitely, the audio on this one is particularly bad. I bet he was having technical difficulties

  • @davidcobb7446
    @davidcobb7446 Před 3 lety +3

    We used to call it "EMMA" for Emma tee ayyy/ MTA. I used to get off at Ashmont Station and catch the bus home to Randolph. Of course that was a long time ago.

  • @tlam3028
    @tlam3028 Před 3 lety +7

    We got the first and the worst! 😭

  • @toi6158
    @toi6158 Před 3 lety +1

    Great Job on this. Great content!

  • @sanasama2209
    @sanasama2209 Před 3 lety +3

    Definitely a fascinating presentation👌

  • @magnolia8626
    @magnolia8626 Před 3 lety +5

    I miss the convenience of Boston subways. Getting tired of driving over here on the bad Midwest roads.

    • @qjtvaddict
      @qjtvaddict Před 2 lety +1

      Midwest cities can build monorail lines Disney had a vision time to act on it

  • @bennettfoley3018
    @bennettfoley3018 Před 3 lety +9

    damn, Chicago's el probably didn't include an underground tunnel before Boston did? The el opened in 1892

    • @TrainsFerriesFeet
      @TrainsFerriesFeet Před 3 lety +5

      NYC had an El long before that. 1868

    • @milesawayfromit
      @milesawayfromit Před 3 lety +4

      Elevated, not subway. Not to mention all the streetcars throughout the U.S. by this point!

    • @bostonrailfan2427
      @bostonrailfan2427 Před rokem

      nope…their subway first of two subways didn’t come until 1943
      and Boston’s first TWO subways were for streetcars…well one carried larger subway cars for eight years as well but still the first two were for streetcars.

  • @originalsade7243
    @originalsade7243 Před 3 lety +5

    MBTA = MASSACHUSETTS Bay Transportation Authority. Not Metropolitan

  • @Veriox22
    @Veriox22 Před 3 lety +1

    Great video!

  • @carltonsprague7346
    @carltonsprague7346 Před 3 lety +5

    Men like Frank made this country exceptional. Thanks, Frank for your ingenuity.

  • @mirzaahmed6589
    @mirzaahmed6589 Před 3 lety +5

    MBTA is Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, not Metropolitan Bay.

  • @williamcooper9379
    @williamcooper9379 Před rokem +1

    Nova did a awesome documentary on underground railroad race to produce the subway underground

  • @FloorEncer
    @FloorEncer Před 3 lety +4

    ...the formation of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in 1947. The MTA was replaced in 1964 with the present-day MBTA, which was established as an individual department within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts before becoming a division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) in 2009.
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Bay_Transportation_Authority

  • @briankelley7918
    @briankelley7918 Před 3 lety +2

    I'm from Massachusetts I remember as a kid going into a wax museum that was underground. Worcester does not have a subway system.
    Does anybody remember a wax museum being in the Boston Subway system in the 70's

  • @rimscat55
    @rimscat55 Před 3 lety +4

    It is NOT the Metropolitan Bay Transportation Authority
    It IS the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

  • @Dreadnought586
    @Dreadnought586 Před 3 lety +1

    Great Video

  • @gbalph4
    @gbalph4 Před 3 lety +7

    Awesome! My parents came from Boston and remember the T so much! A very reliable way to get around the city!

    • @MJ617
      @MJ617 Před 3 lety +1

      That’s a lie nothing is reliable about the T

  • @chrismetafora6565
    @chrismetafora6565 Před 3 lety +3

    The Race Underground is a great American Experience documentary. Well worth a look.

  • @billy3424
    @billy3424 Před 2 měsíci

    The original subway ran between Park street and Boyleston street, was only 1 block long.

  • @TheHistoryPilgrim
    @TheHistoryPilgrim Před rokem +1

    Really enjoyed watching this, New video soon?

  • @NtGoat_AKA_Goatie
    @NtGoat_AKA_Goatie Před rokem

    You can say that again! Boston being one of the best inner cities out there, really does hold bounds! With that, Boston can be seen as one of the best landscapes and/or cities in the world and/or tri-state.

  • @joshymoe6827
    @joshymoe6827 Před 2 lety +1

    notice how all the most popular stations are on the red line

  • @personismyname3426
    @personismyname3426 Před 3 lety +7

    New vid yaaa

  • @jamesmeagher6935
    @jamesmeagher6935 Před rokem

    My great grandfather Mat McCarthy helped establish Carman Union in early 1900s

  • @iloverosie6139
    @iloverosie6139 Před 2 lety +5

    You know I always complain every year when they increase the fare for the T because I never knew what it was going towards. Definitely worth it if that means they're gonna upgrade everything though.

  • @ThermosAbtermos
    @ThermosAbtermos Před 3 lety +2

    Sometimes the MBTA can be a pain in the butt.

  • @LogicalReasons
    @LogicalReasons Před 3 lety +4

    Well done again.

  • @mr_godoy2008
    @mr_godoy2008 Před 3 lety +4

    Mbta first started in 1964.

  • @TheShadowGov
    @TheShadowGov Před 3 lety +2

    I wonder when the next U.S. Explained video comes out.

  • @moew1051
    @moew1051 Před 2 lety

    Find it cool that there logo and signage all has to do with a song

  • @BrubandJfowl
    @BrubandJfowl Před 3 lety +1

    You should fix your audio, it’s very soft/quiet compared to the music. It sounds like you’re standing 10 feet behind your mic. Just a tip.

  • @Reverend_Harrison86
    @Reverend_Harrison86 Před 3 lety

    My 💕

  • @keystonetuscanred4921
    @keystonetuscanred4921 Před 3 lety +1

    Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority not Metropolitan Boston Transportation Authority

  • @danielmarsala849
    @danielmarsala849 Před 2 lety

    Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

  • @StLouis-yu9iz
    @StLouis-yu9iz Před 3 lety

    Still waiting on the next state video...

  • @alexthemtaandr211weatherfa2

    If the Boston subway never opened no Underground subway would exist in nyc until the 1920s or later

  • @KRPlourde1
    @KRPlourde1 Před 3 lety +1

    The background music on this video is mixed too loud and is super distracting.

  • @radicaledwards3449
    @radicaledwards3449 Před 3 lety

    Im sure a guy called Dug Most would a thing a 2 about a tunnell!

  • @timofeypiper
    @timofeypiper Před 3 lety +1

    Everybody knows about the green line. I kind of hoped to hear the history about the other lines.

    • @blue9multimediagroup
      @blue9multimediagroup Před 3 lety +3

      The Green Line is what the first subway essentially became.

    • @bostonrailfan2427
      @bostonrailfan2427 Před rokem

      yep…nothing about the second, third, and fourth lines nor the el built to connect to the subway nor the historic running of both subway and streetcar trains together on the same tracks never duplicated elswehere

  • @coryandrum
    @coryandrum Před 3 lety +1

    You think they would get the subway right after basing most of there main roads on cow paths.

    • @mrjarichard
      @mrjarichard Před 3 lety +1

      The cow path theory is an urban legend.

    • @coryandrum
      @coryandrum Před 3 lety +1

      @@mrjarichard must be a real good legend if we take field trip every year and follow the cow paths threw town.

  • @silentdogood842
    @silentdogood842 Před 3 lety +3

    They've been trying to solve Boston's congestion problem since the 1800s. Can confirm, it's pretty terribad here.

  • @jayvoke188
    @jayvoke188 Před 3 lety +1

    Boston really was the first subway system in America. And the Massachusetts Bay transit authority is still issuing bonds to pay it off.

  • @improperbostonian6722
    @improperbostonian6722 Před 3 lety +1

    We also have the first police department in the country, Boston Police First and Finest

  • @hwoarang2001
    @hwoarang2001 Před 3 lety +2

    Orange line smells like homeless people urine

  • @DavidHamster88
    @DavidHamster88 Před 3 lety +1

    The background music is too loud and distracting.

  • @danielmarsala849
    @danielmarsala849 Před 2 lety

    Budapest's was the 1st.

  • @SirKenchalot
    @SirKenchalot Před 3 lety +1

    Technological breakthrough you say??? London has their subway in 1863, a mere 34 years earlier.

    • @blue9multimediagroup
      @blue9multimediagroup Před 3 lety +5

      For the US it was.
      This is not a pissing contest.

    • @SirKenchalot
      @SirKenchalot Před 3 lety

      @@blue9multimediagroup Great so I look forward to China showing their technological breakthrough called the 'iPhone' in 2041.

    • @rowerwet
      @rowerwet Před rokem +1

      With coal burning engines, not electric

  • @bostonrailfan2427
    @bostonrailfan2427 Před rokem

    photos are way out of context…you show photos of the East Boston Tunnel construction then Park Street Under after it was built then the Washington St. El then the Kenmore extension: all four built AFTER the Tremont St. Tunnel were built with one not built until the 1930s!
    you have facts way off, never mentioned any of the real firsts, never mentioned the development of the lines, ignored the Els entirely…and how dumb are you to claim “eight lines” when there’s four: Blue, Orange, Green, and Red. Four line, two of which have branches. You even showed an out of date map at the end! that was the pre-2018 Silver Line extension map!

  • @clairekennedy8767
    @clairekennedy8767 Před 3 lety +1

    Boston is the most inefficient city in America 😂 & the weather sucks

  • @alexbenischek7445
    @alexbenischek7445 Před 9 měsíci

    Great video!