Editing Red Line (MBTA) (section)

===Northwest extension===
[[File:Red Line hatches at Thorndike Field, October 2011.jpg|thumb|right|Subway exit hatches at the northern end of the line, where a future extension to [[Lexington, Massachusetts|Lexington]] may someday be added]]
By 1922, the BERy believed that Harvard would be the permanent terminus; the heavy ridership from the north was expected to be handled by [[Green Line Extension#History|extending rapid transit from Lechmere Square]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52404512/the-boston-globe/ |title=Three New Subways Planned |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=June 25, 1922 |page=71 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> The 1926 ''Report on Improved Transportation Facilities in the Boston Metropolitan District'' proposed an extension from Lechmere to North Cambridge via the [[Lowell Line|Southern Division]] and the [[Fitchburg Cutoff]], with a possible further extension along the [[Lexington Branch]]. An extension of the Cambridge–Dorchester Line under Mount Auburn Street to Watertown, and thence along the [[Watertown Branch]] to Waltham, was also raised as a possibility.<ref name=1926report >{{cite book |title=Report on Improved Transportation Facilities in Boston |date=December 1926 |publisher=Division of Metropolitan Planning |hdl = 2027/mdp.39015049422689}}</ref> A northwards extension from Harvard to the North Cambridge/Arlington border was proposed by Cambridge mayor [[John D. Lynch]] in 1933 and by then-freshmen state representative [[Tip O'Neill]] in 1936, but was not pursued.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56476134/the-boston-globe/ |title=T puts last link in Red Line extension |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=March 31, 1985 |page=34 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>

The 1945 Coolidge Commission report – the first major transit planning initiative in the region since 1926 – recommended an extension from Harvard to Arlington Heights via East Watertown.<ref>{{citation |title=[[:commons:File:1945 BERy extensions map.jpg|Air View: Present Rapid Transit System – Boston Elevated Railway and Proposed Extensions of Rapid Transit into Suburban Boston]] |date=April 1945 |author1=Boston Elevated Railway |author2=Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities |via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref><ref name=transplan>{{cite web |url=http://ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/boston.html |title=The Transportation Plan for the Boston Region – Volume 2 |date=November 15, 1993 |publisher=National Transportation Library |author=Central Transportation Planning Staff |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703024654/http://ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/boston.html |archive-date=July 3, 2015}}</ref> The 1947 revision recommended an extension north to Porter Square instead, with branches along the [[Fitchburg Railroad|Fitchburg Division]] to Waltham and the Lexington Branch to Lexington.<ref name=transplan /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42959374/the_boston_globe/ |title=10 Electric-Train Lines Proposed by Board in Report to Legislature |first=Gene R. |last=Casey |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=April 6, 1947 |pages=1, 28 |via=Newspapers.com}} ([https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42959392/the_boston_globe/ second section], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42959409/the_boston_globe/ third page]) {{open access}}</ref> The 1966 ''Program for Mass Transportation'' by the 1964-created [[MBTA]] called for an immediate extension to Alewife Brook Parkway via Porter Square, with possible future extensions to Arlington or Waltham.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/comprehensivedev00mass/page/n83/mode/2up |title=A Comprehensive Development Program for Public Transportation in the Massachusetts Bay Area |year=1966 |pages=V-16 to V-19 |via=Internet Archive |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> Original plans called for a subway under Massachusetts Avenue to Porter Square, then a surface route along the Fitchburg Route to Alewife.<ref name=NWEIS />{{rp|I-3}} In the late 1960s, the project was expanded to follow the Lexington Branch to a terminal at [[Massachusetts Route 128|Route 128]].<ref name=NWEIS />{{rp|I-5}}

In 1970, Cambridge began advocating for the project, and for the consideration of an all-subway route under Garden Street.<ref name=NWEIS />{{rp|I-4}} That October, then-governor [[Francis Sargent]] suspended most highway construction inside Route 128 and created the Boston Transportation Planning Review, which focused on the implementation of new transit routes.<ref name=NWEIS />{{rp|I-4}} In 1972, a new all-subway route via Porter Square and Davis Square was considered (and ultimately chosen).<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Rollsign |title=Harvard-Alewife Extension |volume=9 |issue=8/9 |date=August–September 1972 |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association}} Via [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793905 Tremont Street Subway NHL documentation].</ref> By the mid-1970s, the project was split into two phases: an all-subway extension to Arlington Heights via Alewife, with a later extension to Route 128.<ref name=NWEIS>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/redlineextension01mass |title=Final Environmental Impact Statement: Red Line Extension – Harvard Square to Arlington Heights |year=1977 |volume=1 |publisher=Urban Mass Transportation Administration |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>{{rp|I-5}}

Arlington did not wish for Arlington Heights to be even a temporary terminal.<ref name=NWEIS />{{rp|I-5}} In March 1977, Arlington voters rejected the project in a nonbinding referendum, citing fears of increased taxes and congestion.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42960537/the_boston_globe/ |title=MBTA weighs Arlington Red Line 'no' vote |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=March 7, 1977 |page=3 |first=Jerry |last=Taylor |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> A May 1977 state bill prohibiting extension into Arlington was vetoed by then-governor [[Michael Dukakis]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42960552/the_boston_globe/ |title=Arlington MBTA ban loses |newspaper=Boston Globe |first=Robert L. |last=Turner |date=May 5, 1977 |page=24 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> The [[Environmental Impact Statement]], released in August 1977, primarily evaluated the Arlington Heights terminus but also provided for a shorter Alewife extension.<ref name=NWEIS /><ref name=dont /> By the time the northwest extension began construction in 1978, opposition in Arlington and reductions in federal funding had caused the MBTA to choose the shorter Alewife alternative.<ref name=dont>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42960549/the_boston_globe/ |title=Don't halt MBTA job, judge advised |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=June 16, 1979 |page=15 |author=David McKay Wilson |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>

The Red Line was extended temporarily to Harvard–Brattle over former yard and storage tracks on March 24, 1979. This allowed for bus transfers to be provided. The Harvard bus tunnel was closed temporarily at the time. On January 31, 1981, the original [[Harvard (MBTA station)|Harvard]] station was permanently closed, as its demolition was required. To replace it, a temporary station at Harvard–Holyoke was built across the tracks. The two temporary stations were closed on September 2, 1983 in preparation for the opening of the new Harvard station. On September 6, 1983, the new station at Harvard opened, with trains changing direction at Davis Square without carrying passengers.<ref name="netransit" /> Eliot Yard was demolished; [[Harvard Kennedy School]] now sits inside its retaining walls.

The line was extended to [[Davis (MBTA station)|Davis]] with a station at [[Porter (MBTA station)|Porter]] on December 8, 1984. The line was extended to its current terminus at [[Alewife (MBTA station)|Alewife]] on March 30, 1985. At the time, all off-peak trains terminated there, but due to the incomplete construction of a yard at Alewife, only Ashmont trains ran to Alewife during rush hours. Davis was the terminal for rush hour Braintree trains. These trains were finally extended to Alewife during rush hours on December 26, 1985, with the completion of the yard at Alewife.<ref name="netransit" /> During the expansion, the MBTA pioneered an investment in the "[[Arts on the Line]]" [[public art]] program. Fill from the tunnel excavation was used to create [[Danehy Park]] on the former site of the Cambridge City Dump, and to restore Russell Field in Cambridge and Magnolia Park in Arlington.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42548935/the_boston_globe/ |title=T dedicates new Harvard station |date=March 3, 1985 |newspaper=Boston Globe |first1=Douglas S. |last1=Crocket |first2=Paul |last2=Hirshon |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1993/10/13/dump-succeeds-as-park-pthe-city/ |title=Dump Succeeds As Park |newspaper=Harvard Crimson |date=October 13, 1993 |first=Terry H. |last=Lanson}}</ref>