How South Station almost became home of the Patriots and Red Sox

Taking another ride in the Way Back Machine

A plan was presented in Boston in 1964 to build a domed stadium at a cost of $90M. The complex would include an arena with the intent that all four pro sports teams would call the place home. It is believed that the Bruins were the only hold out as they owned the Garden and saw no reason to pay rent to the Commonwealth. The dome would have been funded by DOG RACING that would have used the arena on nights there were no games.


The scrapbook pictures shown above were published by the former Boston Record American (later part of Boston Herald) back in 1965.  It shows a model of the proposed complex being viewed by then Governor John Volpe (second from left), Lt. Governor Elliot Richardson (third from left), architect Vincent Kling (third from right) and then Boston Patriots owner Billy Sullivan (second from right).  The lower picture shows where the stadium would have been located. Summer Street runs from the left middle of the picture to the top middle of the photo.  The Southeast Expressway is identified at the bottom running left to right

South Station was finally renovated in the mid 80's.

These pictures were taken on April 7, 1957 which was a Sunday and April 20, 1957 a Saturday, which explains the lack of local commuter passengers in these pics.

The construction for the old Dewey Square Tunnel in 1957




First National Bank of Boston, Rexall Drugs, Merchants Bank..all long gone


The New Haven RR handled Providence/New Haven/New York
The New York Central handled Framingham/Worcester/Springfield/Albany/Chicago
The New Haven ran the Old Colony Lines, Needham and Blackstone (now Franklin)
The New York Central ran what is now the Worcester line.


TRACK 15 to New York City - notice the ads are for Broadway shows


Looks like they actually gave useful information back then..


Fresh fruit for your trip?




You can see how much bigger the station was back then



Novel concept - baggage lockers



Photos courtesy of 
Rotch Visual Collections, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts)