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87-549: The Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P) opened its main line from Boston through Toll Gate (Forest Hills) to Providence in 1834. A branch line from Forest Hills to Dedham via West Roxbury was opened on July 14, 1849 by the B&;P. South Street ( Roslindale ), Central ( Bellevue ), and West Roxbury all opened with the branch; Highland was added around 1855. On June 1, 1853, the Charles River Branch Railroad

174-461: A Super Stop & Shop just north of Route 30. It now includes the original area plus parts of Old Connecticut Path., Concord St. (Route 126), and Speen St. north of Route 30. Because of the size and complexity of this area, Framingham and Natick cooperatively operate it as a single distinct district with similar zoning . The area is one of the largest shopping districts in New England . The area

261-609: A 2006 Massachusetts Historical Commission Preservation Award in the Restoration and Rehabilitation Category. In addition, several retail and housing projects involving the Arcade Building and the former Dennison Building Complex are in the planning stages or under construction. The business section on the West Side of Framingham runs primarily along Route 9, starting at Temple St., and is dominated by two large office/industrial parks:

348-618: A branch of the main line to Attleboro and Providence. The Easton Branch Railroad was incorporated in 1854 and opened in 1855 as a continuation of the Stoughton Branch beyond Stoughton. In 1865, the Old Colony and Newport Railway bought the line and incorporated the majority of it into its main line. The Taunton Branch Railroad was incorporated in 1835 to build a branch from the B&P in Mansfield to Taunton , opening in 1836. The branch

435-567: A branch to Dedham , opened in 1834, and the rest on July 28, 1835 with the completion of the Canton Viaduct . Stations in Jamaica Plain allowed the development of one of the first commuter suburbs in America. The line was originally single track. A second track was extended from Boston to Roxbury in 1839 and to Readville in 1845. Double track was built between Sharon and Mansfield in 1846–47; it

522-404: A financial downturn after the closure of these facilities during the late 1980s. An influx of Hispanic and Brazilian immigrants helped to revitalize the district starting in the early 2000s. Along with Brazilian and Spanish oriented retail shops, there are restaurants, legal and financial services, the city offices and library, police headquarters, a performing arts center, and the local branch of

609-653: A group of Nipmuc men went to the Eames family homestead to demand that they return a stolen corn harvest. Although the historical record is unclear as to the exact details, this would result in an outbreak of violence between the Nipmuc men and the Eames family, where Mary Eames and five children were killed. As more settlers moved to the town, it would be named Framlingham after Thomas Danforth's hometown in England. Over time, Thomas Danforth strenuously resisted petitions for incorporation of

696-672: A large increase in population and housing. Much of the housing constructed during that time consisted of split-level and ranch-style houses. Framingham is known for the Framingham Heart Study , as well as for the Dennison Manufacturing Company, which was founded in 1844 as a jewelry and watch box manufacturing company by Aaron Lufkin Dennison , who became the pioneer of the American System of Watch Manufacturing at

783-577: A new MathWorks facility. Sealtest had a manufacturing facility in Framingham which was used by Breyers from 1964 to 2011 The downtown area is between Memorial Square, formed by the intersection of Concord St. and Union Ave., to the north, and its mirror intersection at the junction of Irving St. and Hollis St. on the south end. The area is bisected by Waverly St. (Route 135) and the MBTA Commuter Rail tracks. The anchoring structure of Downtown

870-471: A police department. The Framingham School Department can trace its roots back to 1706, when the town hired its first schoolmaster , Deacon Joshua Hemenway. Although Framingham had its first schoolmaster, it did not get its own public school building until 1716. The first high school, the Framingham Academy, opened its doors in 1792; however, this school was eventually closed due to financing issues and

957-535: A population of 72,362 in 2020 , making it the 14th most populous municipality in Massachusetts. Residents voted in favor of adopting a charter to transition from a representative town meeting system to a mayor–council government in April 2017, and the municipality transitioned to city status on January 1, 2018. Before it transitioned, it had been the largest town by population in Massachusetts. The city has one of

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1044-659: A second route into Providence, using the old alignment to East Providence and the Crook Point Bascule Bridge over the Seekonk River leading to the tunnel. The tunnel is no longer in use, having been disconnected on the downtown side, with its entrance underneath the What Cheer Building, owned by RISD . In 1939, the railroad filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission for reorganization in

1131-653: A strip mall named Shoppers World. There are also seven hotels and two car dealerships located within the Triangle. In addition to retail properties, there are large office developments in the area including several companies headquartered in the triangle; the world headquarters of TJX is at the junction of Route 30 and Speen St, as is the main office of IDG and IDC . The American Cancer Society has an office in Framingham. A Carling Brewery began operations in 1956, ending in 1975. Their buildings later housed Prime Computer and Boston Scientific before demolition in 2018 for

1218-531: Is served by one Interstate and four state highways : Park and ride services: Framingham's economy is predominantly derived from retail and office complexes. There are scatterings of small manufacturing facilities and commercial services such as plumbing, mechanical and electrical expected to be found in communities of its size. Framingham has three major business districts within the city, The "Golden Triangle", Downtown/South Framingham, and West Framingham. Additionally, there are several smaller business hubs in

1305-400: Is served by: Framingham has a public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channel and local origination television station called Access Framingham (formerly FPAC-TV), that airs on Channel 9 Comcast , Channel 3 RCN and Channel 43 Verizon . Residents can create and produce their own television programs that reflect the personality of the community, and have them cablecast on

1392-572: Is the city hall, The Memorial Building. From 2015 to 2016, the whole area underwent a multimillion-dollar reconstruction of the intersection of Union Ave. and Concord St. that replaced the traffic circle with a signal-controlled intersection. Additional lights were installed at the Irving St./Hollis St. intersection, while older signals in the area were upgraded. All sidewalks in the area were to be replaced, lighting upgraded, and new amenities such as seating and bicycle racks were also installed. The project

1479-445: Is the city's physical and historic center. Formed at the junctions of Worcester Rd. (Route 9) , Pleasant St. (Route 30), High St., Main St. and Edgell Rd. the dominating presence is Framingham State University . The school has several thousand students, about one third of whom live on campus. In the late 1960s, MassHighway replaced the intersection with an overpass, depressing Route 9 below

1566-589: The Battles of Lexington and Concord that followed; one of those men was wounded. In the years before the American Civil War , Framingham was an annual gathering-spot for members of the abolitionist movement. Each Independence Day from 1854 to 1865, the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society held a rally in a picnic area called Harmony Grove on Farm Pond near what is now downtown Framingham. At

1653-649: The New England Railroad at Needham Junction . The Dedham Branch from Forest Hills to that connection is still in use as the Needham Branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail , but the rest of the Dedham loop has been abandoned. The Stoughton Branch Railroad was incorporated April 16, 1844 as a branch of the B&P from Canton Junction to Stoughton . It opened in early 1845, and is still in use for passengers as

1740-823: The Old Colony Railroad in 1891. The Warren and Fall River Railroad was incorporated in Rhode Island in 1856, and the Fall River and Warren Railroad in Massachusetts in 1857. In 1860 the two were merged to form the Fall River, Warren and Providence Railroad , opening later in 1860 from Warren east to Somerset , across the Taunton River from Fall River . In 1875, the Boston and Providence Railroad Bridge opened, connecting to

1827-586: The Old Colony Railroad in Fall River. At that time, the company was leased by the Old Colony; before that it had been controlled by the B&P. This listing includes all stations that have existed along the post-1847 B&P alignment from Park Square, Boston to Providence. Mileage is from Park Square; distances to South Station are 0.8 miles longer. These mileages reflect the pre-realignment routings in Pawtucket and Providence. Some stations were not opened until after

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1914-652: The Providence River connected Fox Point to the South Providence terminal of the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad (opened 1837). The former mainline became the primarily-freight East Junction Branch . In 1847, the Providence and Worcester Railroad opened between downtown Providence and Worcester, Massachusetts . At the same time, the B&P built a connection west from its main line in southern Attleboro to

2001-460: The Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad built a line from it in 1855. The Providence and Bristol Railroad was incorporated in 1850 and 1851, and reorganized in 1852 as the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad . It opened in 1855 from the old Seekonk Branch in East Providence southeast to Warren and south to Bristol . It was owned by the B&P through a majority of stock, and leased

2088-529: The Social Security Administration . Several Asian and Indian stores and restaurants add to the rich ethnic flavor of the area, and many small businesses, restaurants and automotive-oriented shops line Waverly St. from Natick in east to Winter St. in the west. In 2006, the Fitts Market & Hemenway buildings façades underwent a restoration project; these newly renovated structures received

2175-571: The United States Census Bureau , the city has an area of 26.4 square miles (68.5 km ), of which 25.1 square miles (65.1 km ) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km ) (4.99%) is water. As of the census of 2010, there were 68,318 people, 26,173 households, and 16,535 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,732.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,055.1/km ). There were 27,529 housing units, of which 1,356, or 4.9%, were vacant. The racial makeup of

2262-483: The public-access television cable TV channels. Framingham High School has a student-run television station, FHS-TV, that broadcasts locally; "Flyer News", its morning news program, has won 11 National High School Emmy Awards. The City of Framingham operates the Government Channel shown on Comcast channel 99, RCN 13/HD613, and Verizon 42. The Government Channel operation provides programming sponsored by or for

2349-550: The 1854 rally, William Lloyd Garrison burned copies of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, judicial decisions enforcing it, and the United States Constitution . Other prominent abolitionists present that day included William Cooper Nell , Sojourner Truth , Wendell Phillips , Lucy Stone , and Henry David Thoreau . During the post-World War II baby boom , Framingham, like many other suburban areas, experienced

2436-449: The 1870s. It was completed between Mount Hope and Hyde Park in 1882, finishing triple-tracking between Boston and Readville. In 1887, the railroad's Bussey Bridge collapsed while a morning commuter train was passing over it. The train was carrying about 300 passengers at the time, of which 24 died and 125 were seriously injured. Henry Austin Whitney was the president of the railroad at

2523-669: The 1980s, a large segment of the Brazilian population has come from the single city of Governador Valadares . Framingham's Home Rule Charter was approved by voters on April 4, 2017, and took effect on January 1, 2018. On that date, Yvonne M. Spicer was inaugurated as Framingham's first mayor. Elections are held in November of odd-numbered years, to elect a full-time mayor serving a four-year term, and an 11-member city council comprising nine district members serving two-year terms, and two at-large members serving four-year terms. The mayor replaced

2610-600: The 1987-built Southwest Corridor section in Boston. The Stoughton Branch is also used for Providence/Stoughton Line service, and the northern section of the Dedham Branch is used by the Needham Line . The Boston and Providence Railroad was incorporated June 21, 1831, and chartered to build a railroad between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island . Construction began in late 1832. The first section, from Boston to Canton with

2697-406: The 26,173 households, 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were headed by married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47, and the average family size

Needham Line - Misplaced Pages Continue

2784-656: The B&P had merged into the Old Colony. Currently open stations are lightlighted. Framingham Framingham ( / ˈ f r eɪ m ɪ ŋ h æ m / ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts , United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers 25 square miles (65 km ) with

2871-540: The B&P in Attleboro northwest to North Attleborough . It was leased to the B&P, and was connected to a branch of the Old Colony Railroad in 1890. The Moshassuck Valley Railroad was chartered in 1874 and opened in 1876 as a branch from the joint B&P/P&W at Woodlawn, Rhode Island north to Saylesville . The company remained independent until 1981, when it was bought by the P&;W. The Seekonk Branch Railroad

2958-996: The Blocks Pre-School. The school district's main offices are located in the Fuller Administration Building on Flagg Drive with additional offices at the King School on Water Street. The city also has a regional vocational high school and one regional charter school . Framingham is also home to several private schools, including Summit Montessori School, the Sudbury Valley School , one parochial school , one Jewish day school, and several specialty schools. Since 1998, when Framingham began upgrading its schools, it has performed major renovations to Cameron, Wilson, McCarthy, Fuller and Framingham High School . Two public school buildings that were mothballed due to financial issues or population drops have been leased to

3045-514: The Board of Selectmen as the chief executive, and the City Council replaced Representative Town Meeting as the legislative body. The mayor and at-large-councilors are limited to a maximum of three consecutive terms in office and district councilors are limited to six consecutive terms in office. The School Committee has ten members: one elected from each of the nine districts, serving two-year terms, and

3132-461: The City of Framingham. Commission meetings are cablecast live to inform residents and encourage participation in local government. Some of the programming provided, keeps residents abreast of road closings, construction updates, recycling efforts, public safety information, and special events in the community. The Government Channel is committed to making local government more accessible to all residents. In

3219-894: The Framingham Industrial Park on the north side of Route 9 and another park on the south side, both on the Framingham/Ashland/Southborough border. Bose , Staples and Applause have their world headquarters in these parks, as does convenience store chain Cumberland Farms ; in addition, Netezza , Genzyme , Capital One , CA Technologies , ITT Tech and the local paper, The MetroWest Daily News , all have major facilities there. Two of Framingham's seven major auto dealerships are also in West Framingham. The large tracts of multi-story apartment and condominium complexes line both sides of Route 9 from Temple St. to

3306-576: The Hemenway School in Nobscot. Saxonville is the home of the former Roxbury Carpet Company mill complex buildings (originally powered by the adjoining Sudbury River ), now an industrial park, and is one of the city's historical districts. Framingham is served by MetroWest Medical Center (formerly Framingham Union Hospital, which also includes Leonard Morse Hospital campus in Natick ) The City of Framingham

3393-511: The Metrowest Jewish Day School (at the former Juniper Hill Elementary) and Mass Bay Community College (at the former Farley Middle school). Several schools that were no longer being used were sold off, including Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Washington. Framingham has three colleges, including Framingham State University and Massachusetts Bay Community College 's Framingham Campus. Framingham is approximately halfway between Worcester,

3480-515: The Needham Line was kept as a locomotive-hauled commuter service. During Southwest Corridor construction from 1979 to 1987, the line was closed; upon the initial closure, service levels on the nearby Framingham Line were increased substantially to compensate for the loss of Needham service. Since the New Haven era, the line has had Saturday service but not Sunday service. Experimental Sunday service

3567-435: The New Haven rail system or operation as an independent line. The Penn Central Transportation Company was created in 1968 through a merger that included the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad . The Penn Central bankruptcy in the early 1970s coincided with the creation of Amtrak . Penn Central merged the Boston and Providence Railroad into itself in 1972. The New Haven's former B&P Boston-New York City main line

Needham Line - Misplaced Pages Continue

3654-461: The Nipmuc people in the area. During this time, Nipmuc leader Tantamous , who lived on Nobscot Hill and who resisted Christianization by the English, was arrested with his family members and other Nipmuc men by the colonial government in 1676 for what the colony deemed treason and they were incarcerated on Deer Island . He would escape, be recaptured, and later hung on Boston Common. In January 1676,

3741-573: The Nipmuc people were forced into praying towns including nearby Natick. The first European settler in the area was John Stone who established a farm on the west bank of the Sudbury River in 1647. In 1660, Thomas Danforth , an official of the Bay Colony received a grant of land at "Danforth's Farms" and began to accumulate over 15,000 acres (100 km ). Between 1675 and 1676, King Philip's War created great tensions between English settlers and

3828-536: The P&W in Central Falls . The B&P and P&W jointly owned the line south of Central Falls into downtown Providence. (In 1848, the NYP&;B connected its line south of downtown Providence to downtown, removing the gap through Providence.) On April 1, 1888, the Old Colony Railroad leased the B&P for 99 years. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the Old Colony on March 1, 1893, and assumed

3915-567: The Providence/Stoughton Line were the only MBTA Commuter Rail routes without Sunday service. On January 23, 2021, reduced schedules went into place with no weekend service on seven lines, including the Needham Line. Service changes on April 5, 2021, added midday service – thus establishing all-day hourly service – as part of a transition to a regional rail model. As part of that schedule change, all Needham Line trains began stopping at Ruggles station after an additional platform there

4002-738: The Route 30 Mall (1970), an AMC Framingham 15 , the Framingham Mall (1978, rebuilt 2000), and Lowe's (formerly the Verizon Building, 2006). Complementary developments in Natick include the Natick Mall (1966, rebuilt in 1991, expanded 2007 & renamed Natick Collection), Sherwood Plaza (1960), Cloverleaf Marketplace (1978), and the Home Depot . In 1994, Shoppers' World was demolished and replaced with

4089-534: The adjacent Washington Street Elevated provided more frequent service, was reopened in June 1973. When the plans to replace the Elevated were drawn up in the 1960s, the new Orange Line was planned to continue past Forest Hills to Needham Heights, replacing the Needham Line. However, as the project was stalled over the next few decades, funding was found only to complete the replacement portion to Forest Hills in 1987, and so

4176-399: The city was 71.9% White , 5.8% Black , 0.3% Native American , 6.3% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 10.9% from some other race , and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.4% of the population (4.7% Puerto Rican , 1.8% Guatemalan , 1.5% Salvadoran , 1.1% Dominican , 0.9% Mexican , 0.6% Colombian , 0.3% Peruvian ). (Source: 2010 Census Quickfacts) Of

4263-534: The commercial center of Central Massachusetts, and Boston, New England's leading port and metropolitan area. Rail and highway facilities connect these major centers and other communities in the Greater Boston Metropolitan Area. The closest airport with scheduled international passenger traffic is Boston's Logan International Airport , 25 miles (40 km) from Framingham. Worcester Regional Airport , about 27 miles (43 km) away, began scheduled flights to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando in November 2013. Framingham

4350-492: The former New York and New England Railroad to reach Boston without needing to use the Highland branch. Building the cutoff required a significant length of difficult rock cuts – "one of the heaviest pieces of short railroad construction ever attempted in New England" – reaching a depth of 57 feet (17 m) at Great Plain Avenue. Originally Needham Junction was the only stop on the cutoff; Bird's Hill opened as an infill station in 1917. The segment from West Roxbury to Dedham

4437-406: The historic village hall , the Jonathan Maynard Building (a former school, now a part of the Framingham State University campus which houses the Danforth Art Museum ), the Framingham History Center (formerly the Framingham Historical Society and Museum), several banks, a Chinese restaurant, the American Medical Response paramedic station and McCarthy Office Building. The village of Nobscot, at

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4524-525: The hunting of deer and beaver, fishing in ponds and streams, as well as established growing areas for the Three Sisters (squash, corn, beans) in the nearby hills. The ancient Native trail later known as the Old Connecticut Path also ran through this area. During the initial period of colonization of the region by Puritan settlers, the Nipmuc suffered a rapid decline in population due to the introduction of foreign infectious diseases to which they had no immunity and violence related to settler colonialism. Many of

4611-429: The industrial parks. These buildings represent the majority of Framingham's multi-family dwellings, and along with the business complexes, helped create a large network of support services on the West Side: a supermarket, dozens of restaurants and pubs, hotels and a large day-care facility all are in the two-mile (3 km) section of Route 9 from Temple St. to Ashland . The Framingham Centre Common Historic District

4698-401: The intersection of Water St., Edmands Rd. and Edgell Rd. near Nobscot Hill , and the Pinefield/Saxonville villages, located where Concord St., Water St., and Central St. intersect, are home to several small office buildings, strip malls and gas stations. in 2016, the town moved its satellite branch of the public library named for Christa McAuliffe from Saxonville to a new facility across from

4785-415: The largest Brazilian American populations in the United States, with a considerable Brazilian presence since the 1980s. Prior to European colonization , the region around Framingham was inhabited by the indigenous Nipmuc . They lived in settlements established alongside the Washakamaug ("eel fishing place") or what is today called Farm Pond. The Nipmuc people used game management techniques through

4872-448: The lease. The New Haven used the B&P as part of its main Boston - New York City Shore Line . When Boston's South Station opened in 1899, a new line was built along the south side of the Boston and Albany Railroad to it, near the B&A's terminal. The old line to Park Square was abandoned. The East Side Railroad Tunnel opened in 1908 between the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island and downtown Providence . This provided

4959-503: The legality of the town providing funds for a private school. The first town-operated high school opened in 1852, and has been in operation continuously in numerous locations throughout the town. Framingham has 14 public schools which are part of the Framingham Public School District. These include Framingham High School , three middle schools (Walsh, Fuller, and Cameron), nine elementary schools (Barbieri, Brophy, Dunning, Hemenway, King, McCarthy, Potter Road, Stapleton, Harmony Grove), and

5046-461: The line has 16 round trips on weekdays and 8 on weekends. By October 2022, the line had 4,881 daily riders – 73% of pre-COVID ridership. An infill station at the West Roxbury Education Complex was proposed in 2023 as part of plans to move the John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics & Science to the site. A station at the adjacent Gardner Street Landfill site (now Millennium Park ) had previously been proposed in 1970. The school relocation plan

5133-467: The local roads, and destroying the south half of the old Center retail district. The remaining half houses several small stores, restaurants, realtors and legal offices. The old Boston and Worcester Street Railway depot, on the east side of the center, was converted into a strip mall in the early 1980s and houses the Center Postal Station (01703) and several small stores. The center is rounded out by One and Two Edgell Rd. (two small retail/office buildings),

5220-411: The mayor, who serves as a tenth member and may only vote to break a tie. The Board of Library Trustees and the Board of Cemetery Trustees have also elected positions serving for four-year terms, with half the membership elected at alternating municipal elections. The Charter provides for an automatic review of the Charter five years after its adoption and periodically thereafter. The city maintains

5307-403: The nearby Waltham Watch Company . His brother Eliphalet Whorf Dennison developed the company into a sizable industrial complex which merged in 1990 into Avery Dennison , with headquarters in Pasadena, California , and active corporate offices in the town. In 2000, Framingham celebrated its Tercentennial . Framingham soon rose to become the largest town in Massachusetts, commonly referred to by

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5394-427: The people of Framingham as "The largest town in the country." Framingham had attempted to become a city on three prior occasions 1993, 1997, and 2013, all of which were rejected by the people of Framingham. However, on January 1, 2018, Framingham became a city and Yvonne M. Spicer was inaugurated as its first mayor, thus becoming the first popularly elected African-American female mayor in Massachusetts. According to

5481-544: The route to Worcester, Massachusetts . In Framingham, those spies stopped at Buckminster's Tavern. They watched the town militia muster outside the building, impressed with the men's numbers but not their discipline. Though "the whole company" came into the tavern after their drill, the officers remained undetected and continued on their mission the next day. Gage did not order a march along that route, instead ordering troops to Concord, Massachusetts , on April 18–19. Framingham sent two militia companies totaling about 130 men into

5568-464: The single Budd RDC used for the shuttle being coupled to a Needham Heights train for the remainder of the journey to South Station. On April 11, 1966, a two-car inbound train from Needham derailed at Gardner Street in West Roxbury, injuring 61 aboard, due to a tampered switch. The remaining line was purchased by the MBTA from Penn Central on January 27, 1973, along with most of the other southside lines. The stop at Forest Hills , not used since 1940 as

5655-487: The spring of 2016, the town of Framingham was one of the settings for the film Patriots Day about the Boston Marathon bombing , starring Mark Wahlberg , John Goodman , Kevin Bacon , J.K. Simmons , Michelle Monaghan , Alex Wolff , Melissa Benoist and a cameo appearance by former athlete David Ortiz . In spring 2009, Framingham was also used for the film The Company Men , starring Ben Affleck , Chris Cooper , Kevin Costner , and Tommy Lee Jones . Large parts of

5742-430: The terminus of the line. Spring Street station on the line to Dedham was closed on July 18, 1938, as part of the 88 stations case . West Roxbury–Dedham service ended effective May 6, 1940. The West Medway branch shared the line from Forest Hills to Needham Junction until 1938 and from 1940 to 1955; from 1955 to 1967, the line operated as a shuttle from West Medway ( Millis after April 1966) to Needham Junction, with

5829-529: The time. Until 1899, when South Station opened, the Boston terminal was at Park Square , with a crossing at grade of the Boston and Worcester Railroad at the current merge at Back Bay station (also opened in 1899, serving only the B&P). The original Providence terminal was at Fox Point, from which it ran east along the Seekonk River shore and over the river via the India Point Railroad Bridge into East Providence (then part of Seekonk, Massachusetts ) before turning north towards Boston. A ferry across

5916-406: The town, which was officially incorporated in 1700, following his death the previous year. Why the "L" was dropped from the new town's name is not known. The first church was organized in 1701, the first teacher was hired in 1706, and the first permanent schoolhouse was built in 1716. On February 22, 1775, the British general Thomas Gage sent two officers and an enlisted man out of Boston to survey

6003-400: The villages of Framingham Center, Saxonville, Nobscot, and along the Route 9 corridor. The Golden Triangle was originally a three square mile district on the eastern side of Framingham, bordered by Worcester Rd. (Route 9), Cochituate Rd. (Route 30), and Speen Street in Natick . In 1993, the area began to expand beyond the borders of the triangle with construction of a BJ's Wholesale Club and

6090-417: Was $ 84,050, and the median income for a family was $ 101,078. Male full-time workers had a median income of $ 61,659, versus $ 54,714 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 38,917. About 7.5% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over. Brazilian immigrants have a major presence in Framingham. Since

6177-399: Was 3.03. As of 2010, 20.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.8% were from 18 to 24, 30.0% were from 25 to 44, 25.8% were from 45 to 64, and 13.6% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males. In 2017, the estimated median income for a household in the city

6264-512: Was a short spur on the east side of the Seekonk River , from the B&P south to a dock on the river. It was incorporated in 1836 and opened soon after, with the hope that it would run its own trains over the B&P, as with a highway. As a result of this, the Massachusetts State Legislature passed a law that a railroad company could refuse any traffic on its road, and the company was a failure. The B&P bought it in 1839, and

6351-530: Was acquired by the Old Colony Railroad in 1888, which in turn was leased by the New Haven Railroad in 1893. The line became the New Haven's primary mainline to Boston; it was realigned in Boston in 1899 during the construction of South Station , and in Pawtucket and Central Falls in 1916 for grade crossing elimination. The line became part of the Penn Central system in 1969; the section in Massachusetts

6438-641: Was cancelled in February 2024, but the city indicated it would continue planning the new station. Boston and Providence Railroad The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the first rail lines in the United States - with a more direct route into Providence built in 1847. Branches were built to Dedham in 1834, Stoughton in 1845, and North Attleboro in 1871. It

6525-493: Was completed. Additionally, the final Needham-bound train on weekdays began operating as a shuttle from Forest Hills station , with a transfer there from a Providence/Stoughton Line train. Weekend service on the Needham Line and the other six lines resumed on July 3, 2021, with both Saturday and Sunday service. In May 2021, the town had considered having weekend service run only between Needham Junction and South Station to avoid train horns in downtown Needham. As of February 2022,

6612-539: Was extended from Newton Upper Falls into Needham as the first stage of a line to Dover and beyond. The railroad was not able to follow its original plan to go through the East Village, Needham's historical center, because one landowner refused to sell; instead, it was routed to Great Plain station in Great Plain Village further to the east. Highlandville (later Needham Heights ) opened around 1860. The line

6699-434: Was extended north to Readville in 1860 and south to Providence in 1865. In May 1869, the state legislature authorized the railroad to build a third track from Boston to Readville. It was completed as far as Forest Hills in late 1871, allowing for an increase in service. The section between Hyde Park and Readville was increased to four tracks in 1873; the third track was extended south from Forest Hills to Mount Hope later in

6786-523: Was formed with the construction of Shoppers World in 1951. Shoppers' World was a large open air shopping mall, the second in the US and the first east of the Mississippi River . The mall drew many other retail construction projects to the area, including Marshalls (1961, rebuilt as Bed Bath & Beyond 1997), Caldor (1966, Rebuilt as Wal-Mart in 2002), Bradlees (1960s, rebuilt as Kohl's in 2002),

6873-776: Was included with the former Pennsylvania Railroad 's New York City-Washington, D.C. main line as a new high-speed passenger route for Amtrak , the Northeast Corridor . It hosts the Acela , the only high-speed rail service in North America. In 1973, the MBTA purchased the portion of the B&P main line in Massachusetts, including the Stoughton Branch, forming what is now the Providence/Stoughton Line . The portion in Rhode Island

6960-571: Was operated by the B&P until 1840, when the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad opened, continuing the line past Taunton. In 1870, the Mansfield and Framingham Railroad opened, continuing the Taunton Branch northwest on the other side of the B&P. A connection between the Taunton Branch northwest of Taunton and the B&P in Attleboro opened in 1871, built by the Taunton Branch. The Attleborough Branch Railroad opened in 1870, running from

7047-461: Was operated from July 11, 1992 until February 14, 1993 along with other new southside weekend service, some of which was made permanent. As part of systemwide service cuts due to budget shortfalls, Saturday service was eliminated on July 7, 2012. Saturday service on the Needham Line, as well as weekend service on the Greenbush Line and Plymouth/Kingston Line , resumed on December 27, 2014. The line

7134-430: Was purchased by the state in 1973, while Amtrak acquired the Rhode Island section in 1976. The line was electrified in 2000; it is now the far northern leg of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor , used by high-speed Acela Express service, intercity Northeast Regional service, and MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line local service. The rapid transit MBTA Orange Line shares the right-of-way for several miles in

7221-414: Was scheduled to begin in 2012 but has been delayed to 2014–2015. Further delays pushed the project into 2015 due to needed electrical utility upgrades and replacement. South Framingham became the commercial center of the town with the advent of the railroad in the 1880s. It eventually came to house Dennison Manufacturing and the former General Motors Framingham Assembly plant, but the area underwent

7308-557: Was shut down on weekends in September through November 2017 for the installation of Positive Train Control equipment in order to meet a 2020 federal deadline. Substantially reduced schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic were in effect from March 16 to June 23, 2020. These temporary systemwide reductions were put in place again on December 14, 2020. Until 2021, the Needham Line plus some parts of

7395-455: Was sold to Amtrak in 1976. The first branch was the Dedham Branch to Dedham from Readville , opened in 1834 with the first section of the railroad. The Norfolk County Railroad opened in 1849, continuing from Dedham to the southwest. In 1850, a second branch to Dedham opened from Forest Hills , forming a loop. Another outlet for the Dedham Branch opened in 1906, with a connection west to

7482-539: Was subsequently abandoned; the segment from Needham Junction to Cook Junction saw reduced passenger service. Loop service jointly run by the B&A and the New Haven operated over the cutoff and the Highland branch via Needham from 1911 to 1914; after that, most Needham trains originated at Needham Heights or Newton Highlands. Service between Newton Highlands and Newton Upper Falls ended in 1927, and between Needham Heights and Newton Upper Falls in 1932, leaving Needham Heights as

7569-533: Was used to haul gravel from Needham quarries to fill in the Back Bay from 1859 to the 1880s. The line was extended southwest to Medway in 1861 and to Woonsocket in 1863. In 1886, the Boston and Albany Railroad extended the original Charles River Branch Railroad line from Cook Junction to its own main line at Riverside , forming the complete Highland branch. The Needham cutoff opened on November 4, 1906 from West Roxbury to Needham Junction , allowing trains from

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