Kendall/MIT (MBTA station)

KENDALL

Inbound platform
Station statistics
Address Intersection of Main, Third Streets and Broadway, Cambridge, MA
Lines
  Red Line
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Bicycle facilities 58 spaces
Other information
Opened March 23, 1912
Accessible
Owned by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
toward Alewife
 Red Line
toward Ashmont or Braintree

Kendall/MIT is a station on the rapid transit Red Line in Kendall Square at the intersection of Broadway and Main Street, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Trains emerge from the Red Line tunnel just east of the station to cross the Charles River via the Longfellow Bridge. The station includes the Kendall Band, a public art installation of hand-operated musical sculptures that hang between the tracks at the station platform level and operated by levers located on the side walls of the two platforms. The Kendall stop also features a prominent timeline detailing the history of the nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There is no crossover within fare control; to reverse direction one must exit and re-enter the station, passing through fare gates again.

Contents

History

From the early 20th century through the 1970s, the MBTA operated a powerhouse above ground in Kendall Square, including cycloconverters to transform incoming AC electrical power to 600 volts DC power fed to the third rail to run the subway. An old-fashioned cycloconverter consisted of an AC motor coupled to a huge slowly-rotating flywheel coupled to a DC generator, hence the name. With the development of compact modern semiconductor based power rectifiers, the old mechanical technology became obsolete. The MBTA powerhouse was demolished, and replaced with an office building located at the convergence of Broadway and Main Street.

Nearby destinations

Bus connections

Accessibility

See also: MBTA accessibility

Kendall/MIT is wheelchair accessible.

Future plans

Kendall/MIT Station is a proposed stop on the MBTA's planned Urban Ring Project.[1] The Urban Ring will be a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line designed to connect the current MBTA Lines to reduce strain on the downtown stations.

Kendall Band

Main article: Kendall Band

The Kendall Band is a three part sculpture created between 1986 and 1988 by Paul Matisse; the grandson of Henri Matisse and stepson of Marcel Duchamp.[2] Located between the inbound and outbound tracks of Kendall Station, the art work is seen by approximately 12,518 riders on an average weekday,[3] and cost $90,000 to construct.[4]

The three parts of the interactive work are called “Pythagoras," “Kepler," and “Galileo," and are all controlled by levers located on both subway platforms.[5] The works fell into disrepair, though in 2010 students from MIT began restoration.

References

  1. ^ Urban Ring Phase 2 FACT SHEET
  2. ^ Christopher Reed. Pure Fabrication. Harvard Magazine. May–June 2002. Accessed May 26, 2010.
  3. ^ MBTA Bluebook. MBTA. 2007. Accessed May 26, 2010
  4. ^ Daly, Gabriel J. and Velan, Sonam S. T-Riders Ring the Sound of Science. The Harvard Crimson. December 07, 2006 . Accessed May 27, 2010.
  5. ^ Grace notes from the underground. The Boston Globe. May 9, 2010. Accessed May 26, 2010.

External links

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