Kendall/MIT (MBTA station)

KENDALL
Inbound platform, with historic timeline and images from nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location	Intersection of Main, Third Streets and Broadway, Cambridge, MA
Coordinates	42°21′44″N 71°05′10″W / 42.3623°N 71.0862°W / 42.3623; -71.0862Coordinates: 42°21′44″N 71°05′10″W / 42.3623°N 71.0862°W / 42.3623; -71.0862
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Line(s)	Red Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Bicycle facilities	58 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	March 23, 1912
Traffic
Passengers (2009)	13,975 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Central toward Alewife Red Line Charles/MGH toward Ashmont or Braintree

Kendall/MIT, formerly known as Kendall Square, 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 which are 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, or go to another station.

Station layout

There are two side platforms serving two tracks. This station has no crossover mezzanine.

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

Headhouse for inbound trains

• Longfellow Bridge
• Charles River Bike Paths along Memorial Drive
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Cambridge Center commercial buildings
• Kendall Square Cinema
• CambridgeSide Galleria Mall
• Shops, restaurants, and hotels

Bus connections

• CT2 Sullivan Station - Ruggles Station via Kendall/MIT
• 64 Oak Square via North Beacon Street & Central Square, Cambridge
• 68 Harvard/Holyoke Gate via Broadway
• 85 Spring Hill via Summer Street & Union Square
• Free "Wave" shuttle bus to the CambridgeSide Galleria and Kendall Square Cinema
• EZRide Shuttle to North Station via Cambridgeside Galleria & First Street

Accessibility

Kendall/MIT is wheelchair accessible.

Plans

Kendall/MIT Station is a proposed stop on the MBTA's planned Urban Ring Project.^[2] The Urban Ring will most likely be a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line designed to connect the current MBTA Lines to reduce congestion at the downtown transfer stations between subway lines, as well as decrease trip times.

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.^[3] Located between the inbound and outbound tracks of Kendall Station, the art work is seen by approximately 12,500 riders on an average weekday,^[4] and cost $90,000 to construct.^[5]

The three parts of the interactive work are called "Pythagoras", "Kepler", and "Galileo", and are all controlled by levers located on both subway platforms.^[6] The works fell into disrepair, though in 2010 students from MIT began restoration.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kendall/MIT (MBTA station).

• MBTA - Kendall Station (Red Line)
• nycsubway.org - MBTA Red Line: Kendall
• Inbound headhouse on Google Maps Street View
• Entrances on Google Maps Street View

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