Wakefield station (MBTA)

Wakefield station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Wakefield, Massachusetts served by the Haverhill Line. The station has two side platforms, which are not accessible, serving the line's two tracks. The station building, constructed in 1889, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 as Wakefield Upper Depot.

Wakefield
The Wakefield station building in 2022
General information
Location225 North Avenue
Wakefield, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°30′8.0″N 71°4′32.3″W
Owned byTown of Wakefield
Line(s)Western Route
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 137
Construction
Parking117 spaces ($2.00 daily)
Bicycle facilities6 spaces
AccessibleNo
Other information
Fare zone2
History
Opened1845
Rebuilt1889
Passengers
2018483 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Greenwood
toward North Station
 Haverhill Line Reading
toward Haverhill
Wakefield Upper Depot
Location27–29 Tuttle Street,
Wakefield, Massachusetts, USA
Built1889 (1889)
Architectural stylePanel Brick
MPSWakefield MRA
NRHP reference No.89000719[2]
Added to NRHPJuly 06, 1989
Location

History
The station platforms in 2017

The Boston and Maine Railroad built its mainline through South Reading in 1845, primarily through the efforts of Thomas Spaulding, a local businessman.[3][4] The first station was a wooden structure on the east side of the tracks. A new station building was constructed in 1889; the original depot was relocated and converted to a freight house.[4] By 1893, the town had six stations with as many as 60 trains per day. The building is architecturally distinctive in the town as an example of Panel Brick architecture.[2][3]

The station building was converted to commercial use by 1968.[5] A fire in one of the businesses inside gutted the structure late on December 17, 1974.[6] The 16-inch (410 mm)-thick brick walls survived the fire; it was rebuilt by 1977, with a pharmaceutical company the first occupant.[7] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 as Wakefield Upper Depot.[2][3]

Rail service on the inner Haverhill Line is suspended from September 9 to November 5, 2023, to accommodate signal work. Substitute bus service is operated between Reading and Oak Grove, serving all intermediate stops.[8]

The original station building, still extant, is located on North Avenue about 1⁄3 mile (0.54 km) to the south. The former Lynnfield Centre depot from the Newburyport Railroad line, closed in 1959, is located at the north end of the 1889-built station. Wakefield Centre station (Center Depot), another NRHP-listed station, is about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the east.[4]

References
  1. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  2. "National Register Information System – (#89000719)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  3. "NRHP nomination and MACRIS inventory record for Wakefield Upper Depot". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  4. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. pp. 186, 252, 253. ISBN 9780942147087.
  5. O'Connell, Richard W. (August 18, 1968). "Old railroad depots take on new careers". Boston Globe. p. A-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Wakefield fire damage $50,000". Boston Globe. December 18, 1974. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Henry, Alan P. (August 10, 1977). "There's no depot like an old depot". Boston Globe. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Service Disruption September 9 to November 5 on Haverhill Commuter Rail Line" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 10, 2023.

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