Longwood is a light rail stop on the MBTAGreen Line D branch, located on Chapel Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, just north of Longwood Avenue. It serves the western end of the Longwood Medical Area, the Colleges of the Fenway, and residential areas of Brookline. The station opened with the rest of the line on July 4, 1959. After renovation work completed in 2009, Longwood station is fully handicapped accessible from both Chapel Street and Riverway Park.
As part of a general improvement program, the railroad replaced many of its original wooden stations with new stone buildings designed by H.H. Richardson and Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge and landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted. All stations on the Highland Branch save for Longwood, Chapel, and Brookline were thus rebuilt between 1883 and 1894. In April 1892, the B&A petitioned the Massachusetts Board of Railroad Commissioners to allow them to combine the two old stations into a single new station between their location. The railroad cited the closeness of the two stations, their poor locations, and traffic losses due to the electrified trolley line opened on nearby Beacon Street in 1889. The board referenced the railroad's arguments, the assent of the Brookline selectmen, and an overwhelming majority of residents and passengers in favor of the consolidation when giving their assent. In early 1893, the B&A commissioned Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge to build new stations at Longwood and Riverside. The new Longwood station was a "very simple rectangular design" with a dominant stone roof that provided shelter on all four sides. Located on Chapel Street near Hawes Street between the former station locations, it was constructed from July 1893 to May 1894. A footbridge at Carlton Street - one of the only steel bridges in an Olmsted-designed park, though it was designed and built by Brookline's town engineer - was added by the town in mid-1894 to provide access to the Riverway Park. The bridge was closed in 1975 due to severe corrosion. Plans to repair and reopen the footbridge proved locally controversial for a number of years., construction of the $4 million project is expected to last from 2020 to 2022.
Conversion to trolley service
In June 1957, the Massachusetts Legislature approved the purchase of the branch by the M.T.A. from the nearly-bankrupt New York Central Railroad for conversion to a trolley line. Service ended on May 31, 1958. The line was quickly converted for trolley service, and the line including Longwood station reopened on July 4, 1959. The 1893-built station was torn down during the conversion to make room for a small parking lot. The station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks.
Renovations
During the Brookline Village/Longwood Avenue Station Renovation Project, the MBTA renovated Longwood and Brookline Village stations for handicapped accessibility. The two stations received raised platforms to interface with low-floor trams, wooden ramps to access high-floor trams, and other upgrades. The MBTA originally planned to only offer handicapped access via the Chapel Street entrance to Longwood, but after it became apparent this was not sufficient, ramps were added from Riverway Park as well. Work on both stations began on July 23, 2007. Construction was completed in the second quarter of 2009, making Longwood station a fully handicapped accessible station.
