Thursday, September 1, 2005

"He may ride forever 'neath the streets of Boston. He's the man who never returned..."

You'll notice that the title of the Kingston Trio hit we referenced was "MTA", not "BMT", "IRT" or "IND" and boys and girls this history lesson will explain why. Fact or fiction, the first subway system started in New York ? If you answered yes to that question, take one step back. The first subway system in the U.S. opened in Boston over one hundred years ago. It was on this date in 1897...

The original "Big Dig" began in March of 1895 at the northeast corner of the Boston Common at what would become the Park Street Station. The subway tunnel ran along Tremont Street and not all Bostonians were excited by the prospect of underground travel. "I expect to be a long time underground after I am dead, but while I live I want to travel on earth, not under it." proclaimed a neighborhood undertaker...

The first passengers traveling down that tunnel deemed the subway a success. There were no color or number designations back then since it was the only subway line in existence. Over 95% of the original subway tunnels remain in use today, part of the 4 lines that form the core of Boston's transit system. Other American cities would follow with subways of their own but on this date in 1897 the city of Boston owned the franchise...

More September 1 Memories...

1956) Elvis Presley shares his early success with his family buying Mom a pink Cadillac...

1965) James Brown and Booker T. & the MG's appear on "Shindig!"...

1967) Boz Scaggs joins the Steve Miller Band...

1969) A coup in Libya brings Moammar Gadhafi to power...

1970) The last episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" airs. The show premiered September 18, 1965...

1972) Brooklyn's Bobby Fischer wins the world chess crown by beating Russia's Boris Spassky...

1975) Glen Campbell tops the charts with "Rhinestone Cowboy"...

1976) Meadowlands racetrack opens...

1977) Blondie signs their first major record company (Chrysalis) contract...

1978) "Columbo" airs its final episode...

1985) Wreckage of The Titanic is found off the coast of Newfoundland...

1989) Baseball Commissioner A. Bart Giamatti dies of a heart attack on Martha's Vineyard...

1992) Gloria Estefan and husband Emilio organize a relief project for the victims of Hurricane Andrew which devastated Miami a week earlier (quite prophetic given what's going on in New Orleans, Biloxi, Gulfport, etc.)...

Happy Birthday to...

1922) Yvonne De Carlo...

1928) George Maharis...

1935) Boston Symphony Conductor Seiji Ozawa...

1938) Alan Dershowitz...

1939) Lily Tomlin...

1944) Archie Bell...

1957) Gloria Estefan...

Commentary...

Some of the information on the Boston Subway System is taken from the Boston Globe which reviewed a new book titled "Beneath the Streets of Boston: Building America's First Subway". Joe McKendry is the author, the publisher is David R. Godine. The book comes complete with maps of the original subway system...

Although I haven't read this book yet, it looks like a good read for those of you interested in the building of America's first subway system...