Swampscott station
{{Short description|Rail station in Swampscott, Massachusetts, US}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox station
| style=MBTA
| name=Swampscott
| image=Swampscott MBTA Station.JPG
| image_caption=The 1868-built Swampscott station in 2008
| address=10 Railroad Avenue
| borough=Swampscott, Massachusetts
| line=Eastern Route
| other=
| platform=2 side platforms
| tracks=2
| parking=131 spaces ($4.00 fee)
| bicycle=
| opened=1836 (original station)
| closed=
| rebuilt=1868 (current station)
1997 (renovation)
| accessible=yes
| code=
| zone=3
| former=
| passengers=891 (weekday average boardings){{MBTA CR 2018}}
| pass_year=2018
| services= {{Adjacent stations|system=MBTA|line=Newburyport|left=Lynn|right=Salem}}
| nrhp =
{{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| name = Swampscott Railroad Depot
| image =
| caption =
| location = Swampscott, Massachusetts, USA
| coordinates = {{coord|42|28|25|N|70|55|21|W|display=inline,title}}
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-custom = {{Infobox mapframe |shape=none |line=none |marker=rail |marker-color=#{{rcr|MBTA|Rail}} |zoom=12 }}
| area =
| built = 1868 {{cite web |url=http://www.lib.umassd.edu/digicoll/stickarch/stickarch_index.html?building=DepotS |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317115557/http://www.lib.umassd.edu/digicoll/stickarch/stickarch_index.html?building=DepotS |archivedate=17 March 2012 |title=Swampscott Railroad Depot |publisher=University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth Library |accessdate=2 August 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/stewardship/histland/recon-reports/swampscott-with-map.pdf |title=Swampscott Reconnaissance Report |work=Essex County Landscape Inventory |publisher=Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program |author=Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and Essex National Heritage Commission |date=May 2005 |accessdate=2 August 2014}}
| architect = Cram, George W.; Eastern RR
| architecture = Stick/Eastlake
| added = August 28, 1998
| refnum = 98001106{{NRISref|2008a}}
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
}}
}}
Swampscott station is a historic railroad station in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Located in the southwest portion of Swampscott near the Lynn border, it serves the MBTA Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line. The historic Stick/Eastlake-style depot building, was originally built in 1868 for the Eastern Railroad, but is no longer in use. The location still serves as an accessible MBTA Commuter Rail stop and park-and-ride location for Swampscott and adjoining Marblehead. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 as Swampscott Railroad Depot.
History
File:Swampscott station, circa 1900.jpg
The existing station building was originally built in 1868 for the Eastern Railroad; it was designed by George W. Cram, a Boston housewright.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofmilitar03robe#page/n98/mode/1up |title=History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, 1637-1888 |author=Roberts, Oliver Ayer |year=1895 |publisher=A. Mudge and Son |accessdate=2 August 2014}} The ticket office in the station building closed on February 22, 1952.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77653584/the-boston-globe/ |title=B. and M. to Close 4 Ticket Offices |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=February 7, 1952 |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}
On February 28, 1956, a southbound Salem–Boston commuter train crashed into the rear of a stopped Portsmouth–Boston local train just north of the station during a snowstorm. The collision, blamed on the engineer operating at unsafe speeds for the conditions, killed 13 people and injured 283.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71695137/the-boston-globe/ |title=Train Crashed at 50 M.P.H., Three Say |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=March 9, 1956 |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71695242/the-boston-globe/ 13] |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite book |title=The Rail Lines of Southern New England |edition=2 |last=Karr |first=Ronald Dale |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=2017 |isbn=9780942147124 |pages=}}{{rp|317}}
By 1977, the station building was used by the Jaycees.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107181425/the-boston-globe/ |title=There's no depot like an old depot |first=Alan P. |last=Henry |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=August 10, 1977 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}} The structure was renovated by a group of locals in the 1980s to save it from demolition, but the work was temporary. In 1997, a town committee raised $15,000 to restore the exterior to its original condition, but no interior work was done.{{cite news |url=http://www.itemlive.com/news/tenants-show-interest-in-swampscott-depot/article_83e48568-da6e-570a-88a2-ad0b789bc25c.html |title=Tenants show interest in Swampscott depot |newspaper=The Daily Item |date=28 July 2010 |author=Glidden, Debra |accessdate=2 August 2014 |archive-date=6 August 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140806200228/http://www.itemlive.com/news/tenants-show-interest-in-swampscott-depot/article_83e48568-da6e-570a-88a2-ad0b789bc25c.html |url-status=dead }} On August 28, 1998 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2005, the town attempted to sell the station to a developer, but negotiations stalled in 2006. In 2010, the town again began soliciting proposals for reuse; however, the station has not received proper interior renovations, making reuse difficult. A December 2012 town report advocated for mixed-use development at the station, as well as a pedestrian crossing between the platforms.{{cite web |url=http://www.mapc.org/sites/default/files/Final_Swampscottreport_1_17_13.pdf |title=Swampscott Downtown Vision and Action Plan |publisher=Town of Swampscott |author=Metropolitan Area Planning Council |date=30 December 2012 |accessdate=2 August 2014 |archive-date=11 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811203832/http://www.mapc.org/sites/default/files/Final_Swampscottreport_1_17_13.pdf |url-status=dead }} In 2012, Swampscott station was signed as "Stanton Station" for use in the 2013 film Grown Ups 2.{{cite news |url=http://patch.com/massachusetts/swampscott/welcome-to-stanton-a-grown-ups-town-with-a-station |title=Updated: Welcome To Grown Ups 2 Movie Set "Stanton Station" |newspaper=Swampscott Patch |date=1 June 2012 |first=Terry |last=Date |accessdate=24 February 2016}}
=Rail trail=
In 2004, a town report proposed various transportation improvements, including improving pedestrian and bicycle access to the station from other areas in the town. This included the construction of a mixed-use path on the former Swampscott Branch right-of-way.{{cite web |url=http://www.town.swampscott.ma.us/public_documents/swampscottma_build/development.pdf |title=Swampscott Community Development Plan |year=2004 |publisher=Town of Swampscott |author=Metropolitan Area Planning Council |accessdate=2 August 2014 |archive-date=22 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222045951/http://www.town.swampscott.ma.us/public_documents/swampscottma_build/development.pdf |url-status=dead }} Service on the Swampscott Branch, which diverged just north of the station, was discontinued in 1959 as the Boston & Maine Railroad shed unprofitable branch lines. The northern section in Marblehead was previously converted to part of the Marblehead Rail Trail, which runs along the former Marblehead Branch to South Salem. In 2012, the town drafted an eminent domain claim to obtain part of the right-of-way near the station from National Grid, who was not opposed to the trail but had much stricter requirements to allow conversion.{{cite news |url=http://www.itemlive.com/news/eminent-domain-sought-for-section-of-proposed-rail-trail/article_4b26a861-7a44-59a3-82dd-019e947799ac.html |title=Eminent domain sought for section of proposed rail trail |newspaper=The Daily Item |author=Moulton, Cyrus |date=29 February 2012 |accessdate=2 August 2014 |archive-date=6 August 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140806200220/http://www.itemlive.com/news/eminent-domain-sought-for-section-of-proposed-rail-trail/article_4b26a861-7a44-59a3-82dd-019e947799ac.html |url-status=dead }}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category-inline}}
- [https://www.mbta.com/stops/place-ER-0128 MBTA - Swampscott]
{{Swampscott, Massachusetts}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts}}
Category:Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Category:MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Essex County, Massachusetts
Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1868
Category:Former Boston and Maine Railroad stations
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts
Category:1868 establishments in Massachusetts
Category:Buildings and structures in Swampscott, Massachusetts