Forest Hills station

Forest Hills station is a major multimodal transportation hub located in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It serves as the southern terminus of the MBTA Orange Line and a key bus transfer point, connecting numerous MBTA bus routes. The station complex, which includes a large park-and-ride facility, is situated adjacent to the Arnold Arboretum and the Franklin Park zoo, making it a critical gateway for southern Boston and surrounding communities.

History

The station's history dates to May 4, 1909, when it opened as Forest Hills–Washington Street, a terminal for the Boston Elevated Railway's southern streetcar lines and the Highland branch commuter rail service to Brookline Village. It was later served by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad's Needham Line until 1979. The original station building was a substantial structure designed by the architectural firm Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr., featuring a distinctive clock tower. A major reconstruction coincided with the 1987 relocation of the MBTA Orange Line from the Washington Street Elevated to the Southwest Corridor, transforming the station into its modern, at-grade configuration and integrating it with the Southwest Corridor Park.

Station layout

The station features a simple, open-air layout with two side platforms serving the two tracks of the MBTA Orange Line. The main station house, containing fare control and customer service areas, is located at the north end, bridging the platforms above the tracks. A large, multi-level busway is situated west of the rail platforms, facilitating transfers to dozens of MBTA bus routes. The extensive grounds include a 1,200-space parking garage, a dedicated Bluebikes station, and direct pedestrian access to the Southwest Corridor Park trail system, which follows the former Penn Central right-of-way.

Services

As the terminus, all trains on the MBTA Orange Line originate and terminate here, providing direct service to Downtown Boston, North Station, and Malden at Oak Grove station. The station functions as one of the MBTA's largest bus hubs, with key routes including the 16 to Andrew station, the 39 to Back Bay and Copley Square, and the 32, 34, 34E, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, and 42 serving Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roslindale. The station is fully accessible, compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and offers amenities like real-time arrival information via the MassDOT MBTA subway digital displays.

Notable places and connections

The station provides primary access to several major Boston landmarks and institutions. It is the closest MBTA stop to the world-renowned Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and the historic Forest Hills Cemetery, the resting place of figures like Eugene O'Neill and William Lloyd Garrison. The station is also a short walk from the entrance to Franklin Park, home to the Franklin Park Zoo and the former site of the PGA Tour's LPGA The International tournament. The adjacent Southwest Corridor Park offers a continuous recreational path connecting to Back Bay and Roxbury.

In popular culture

The station and its iconic former clock tower have appeared as a backdrop in several films and literary works set in Boston. It is notably featured in the 1970 crime drama The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which captured the area's pre-renovation character. The station's bustling bus terminal and the surrounding Jamaica Plain neighborhood have been referenced in the novels of Dennis Lehane and in episodes of the television series Spenser: For Hire. The historic station building was also documented by photographer Walker Evans for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression.

Category:MBTA Orange Line stations Category:Railway stations in Boston, Massachusetts Category:Railway stations opened in 1909 Category:Jamaica Plain, Boston