Description: Allston Brighton environs. Busy intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Harvard Street. Storefronts of Macy's Liquors, Ken's Pub, Great Scott, Gladstone's. People get off green line trolley, close up on the T logo. Cars drive by, pedestrians cross the street and walk down the sidewalk. Cleveland Circle storefronts (small markets, CVS, bank, hardware). Beacon Street traffic approaches head on. Massachusetts Turnpike traffic in Allston; freight containers in adjacent rail yard.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 03/26/1979
Description: Back Bay Amtrak station entrance. Train, viewed from above, starts up and moves slowly along tracks. Train histle and bells. Railroad bed. Commuter train pulls up, passengers board. Two trains pass in opposite directions. Looking down tracks to old and new Hancock buildings. Orange line elevated structure along Washington Street. T train passes overhead with typical clunking sound; congested vehicular traffic below. Camera moves on complex steel skeleton of tracks above.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 10/04/1977
Description: Tape dropout in beginning. Combat Zone environs. Thriving pornography district. XXX rated movies, peep shows, Naked i, Pussy Cat Cinema, adult book store, State and Pilgrim Theaters, Intermission Lounge. Garish marquees with flashing lights. MBTA and Boston police cars.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 12/15/1976
Description: Red line T construction. Harvard Square stop, tunnel, tracks. Western Avenue, Cambridge. Interview with a man from the Department of Public Works (DPW) about the roads and bridges in Massachusetts - spending approximately $500 million per year - $100 million in paving, $150 million in bridges, $250 million in safety and new roads. He states that there are about 14,000 miles of road in Massachusetts and about 1/3 of those roads need serious work. He approximates that out of the 5,000 bridges in Massachusetts, 2,200 are in substandard shape, 900 in critical condition. DPW infrastructure includes roads, bridges, transit, airports, sewer and water. He explains the need for the federal government's assistance. He states that these projects will create jobs - approximately 90 jobs per million dollars spent.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 11/08/1982
Description: Fields Corner environs. Storefronts and pedestrians along Dorchester Avenue. Cars and buses drive along. Exteriors of the MBTA station. Dorchester Avenue street sign.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 07/19/1982
Description: Green line T pulling into and out of Kenmore station underground during rush hour. Old style PCC trolley and newer LRV cars. Driver's point of view, looking down tracks into dark subway tunnel. Passengers get on and off.Passenger reading Benjamin Disraeli. Passenger complains about MBTA service.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 05/15/1979
Description: Harvard Square environs. Rapid Transit sign over Harvard Square kiosk. Out of Town Tickets. People step off narrow escalator ascending from subway station. T sign, subway system map with “You Are Here,” bus routes map sign. People go downstairs to red line station. Harvard Trust Company sign, Harvard Coop, Nini's Corner. Electric bus with overhead cables. Abandoned red line trolleys parked in MBTA lot behind Harvard Square.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 02/22/1977
Description: High, wide, long shots of Boston environs from observation deck of Hancock Tower. Nearly aerial views of South End, Charles River, Boston Harbor, State House, and orange line T moving along elevated tracks.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 09/10/1976
Description: Christopher Lydon reports on the demise of the elevated tracks along the MBTA orange line. The elevated train stations were designed by Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow (nephew of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) and were once considered the architectural pride of the city's mass transit system. Interview with Margaret Floyd of Tufts University and State Rep. Byron Rushing about the elevated line. Floyd discusses the architecture of the stations. Rushing talks about the architectural and historical significance of the elevated line, and its importance to the community. Interviews with people on the street who give their opinions on the elevated line. Following the edited story is additional b-roll of the elevated line and orange line trains.
1:00:00: Visual: Shot of Dover Station on the elevated tracks of the orange line of the MBTA. Shots of Dover, Northampton, Dudley, and Eggleston Stations on the elevated orange line. Shots of the elevated tracks. Christopher Lydon reports that the elevated tracks of the orange line run through Roxbury and the South End; that trains will not longer pass through the stations after this evening. V: Shots of a tunnel leading to one of the orange line stations. Graffiti covers the walls. Shots of the decrepit exteriors of stations along the elevated tracks of the orange line. Lydon says that the elevated stations were once the "architectural pride" of the city's mass transportation; that the stations were designed by Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow (architect and nephew of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) for a turn-of-the-century competition. V: Shots of architectural drawings and plans of the elevated stations. Footage of Margaret Floyd (Tufts University) talking about the modular design of the elevated stations of the orange line. Floyd talks about the ornate ironwork and other details which do not appear in contemporary architecture. Shots of the elevated stations; of the iron railings of a walkway leading to a station. Footage of Byron Rushing (State Representative from Roxbury) saying that he is surprised that historic preservationists have not protested the demolition of the elevated stations. Rushing says that the orange line was the first elevated line in the country to be designed for electric trains. Shot of a person looking from one of the windows of an elevated station. Shots of an orange line train traveling along the elevated tracks. Lydon reports that Dudley Square is dominated by the elevated train station. V: Shots of the elevated tracks in Dudley Square from below. Footage of Rushing saying that the physical structure of the elevated tracks has been an important characteristic of the neighborhood for a long time. Rushing adds that people talk about Dudley Station in unflattering terms. Footage of a white man saying that Dudley station is "unsightly"; that the station is falling apart and is beyond repair. Footage of Rushing saying that there is a place for "funkiness"; that the tracks cannot be put back up once they are torn down. Rushing adds that one can never predict what will happen to the neighborhood when the tracks are taken down. Footage of an African American man saying that Dudley station only needs some renovation and a paint job; of a young African American man saying that he would like the area around Dudley station renovated to resemble Lafayette Place when the tracks are taken down. Footage of a young African American boy saying that the area should be turned into "everything." Shots of Dudley Station. Footage of Rushing saying that the city should pave the road where the tracks once were; that a bike path should be constructed along the route of the tracks. Byron talks about being able to ride from Franklin Park to downtown Boston. Rushing calls the elevated tracks a "fantastic piece of sculpture." Rushing says that the tracks are "the Eiffel Tower on its side." Shots of the train tracks from a moving train; of the tracks from beneath. Rushing talks about how the elevated tracks connect several neighborhoods; that the elevated tracks do not belong to any one community. Rushing speculates that an artist in the future will be commissioned to come up with a way to connect the neighborhoods, while making an artistic statement at the same time. Rushing says that the artist will come up with a design similar to the elevated tracks. Rushing says that he does not know why the city is so eager to dismantle the tracks. Shot of an orange line train moving down the tracks.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 04/30/1987
Description: Video starts with people speaking over color bars. B-roll of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority advisory board meeting. Interview with Robert Foster, chair of MBTA. He is requesting a larger operating budget. He discusses the work done by the MBTA and their attempts develop a better relationship with the advisory board. He speaks of plans for transportation demands during Pope John Paul II's visit. They shoot cutaways. Interview with Ed Novakoff, advisory board representative from Brookline, who complains about green line LRVs, and does not support giving the MBTA a larger operating budget. Several takes of reporter standup in the MBTA lot, with buses in the background.
Collection: Ten O'Clock News
Date Created: 09/21/1979