Beverly Depot facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Beverly Depot
Historic Beverly Depot and modern asphalt platforms
Location	12 Park Street, Beverly, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°32′51″N 70°53′07″W / 42.54760°N 70.88535°W / 42.54760; -70.88535
Owned by	MBTA
Line(s)	Eastern Route Gloucester Branch
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	MBTA bus: 451 CATA: Beverly Shuttle
Construction
Parking	500 spaces ($5.00 fee) Accessible spaces available
Bicycle facilities	"Pedal and Park" bicycle cage
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	4
History
Opened	1839
Rebuilt	1897
Traffic
Passengers (2018)	1,382 (weekday average boardings)
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station Salem toward North Station Newburyport/​Rockport Line Montserrat toward Rockport North Beverly toward Newburyport
Beverly Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NRHP reference No.	09000087
Added to NRHP	October 11, 1979

Beverly Depot is a busy train station in Beverly, Massachusetts. It is part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. Located in downtown Beverly, it serves the Newburyport/Rockport Line. This station is special because it's where the line's two branches, one to Newburyport and one to Rockport, meet. Every train on both branches stops here.

The Eastern Railroad first extended its tracks through Beverly in 1839. The original station from 1839 was replaced in 1855. That station was then replaced by the current building, designed by Bradford Lee Gilbert, in 1897. Beverly Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is also part of the Beverly Depot-Odell Park Historic District, which was recognized in 2014. A large parking garage with 500 spaces opened at Beverly Depot on August 2, 2014.

Station History

The 1855 station building around 1890

The Eastern Railroad opened its line from Salem to Ipswich through Beverly on December 18, 1839. Building this part of the railway was tough. Workers had to blast through a 700-foot-long ridge near School Street in Beverly. The first Beverly station was a simple wooden building. It was located near the Essex Bridge.

The Gloucester Branch of the railway opened from Beverly to Manchester on August 3, 1847. It then extended to Gloucester on December 1. As Gloucester grew, the town of Beverly also expanded northwards.

The original 1839 station may have been moved north in 1852. Its replacement in 1855 was a larger wooden building. This building included a train shed at the spot where the modern station stands. The train shed was removed when the current 1897 station was built. A similar station was built in Andover ten years later.

The station's ticket office closed in 1965. At that time, fewer people were riding trains. The newly formed MBTA began to support train service to Beverly. The station building was sold shortly after. On February 15, 1971, part of the building burned. However, it was repaired and reopened as a restaurant by December of that year.

The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Today, the station has two platforms next to the two train tracks. There are also short high-level platforms. These make the station fully accessible for people with disabilities.

On November 16, 1984, a fire destroyed the Beverly Bridge. This bridge carried the train line between Salem and Beverly. For 13 months, Beverly became a key transfer point. Passengers took a shuttle bus between Salem and Beverly. Then they boarded a shuttle train from Beverly to Rockport. Regular train service over a new bridge started again on December 1, 1985.

Parking Garage

The damaged pedestrian bridge in May 2017

In 2007, the MBTA planned to make the parking lot bigger. They also wanted to replace the small accessible platforms. Later, a parking garage was planned. In 2008, the governor announced plans to build the garage. The MBTA chose a location one block south of the station in 2009.

The state needed to add 1,000 parking spaces at MBTA stations. This was part of a plan to balance the increased car traffic from the Big Dig project. Garages in Salem and Beverly were supposed to help meet this goal. However, they were not finished on time. So, extra parking was added at other stations instead.

On September 15, 2012, the MBTA approved funding for the new parking garage. This three-story garage has 500 spaces. This was much more parking than before. It also includes electric car charging stations and solar panels on the roof. A covered walkway leads from the garage to the station platforms.

Construction for the garage began in February 2013. The project faced several delays. A retaining wall needed extra support. Very cold winter weather stopped concrete pouring. Also, contaminated soil had to be moved to disposal sites outside the state. The city of Beverly helped pay for some of these extra costs.

The garage finally opened on August 2, 2014. At first, only about 100 of the 500 spaces were used daily. By September 2015, about 260 cars used the garage on weekdays. On April 3, 2017, a large truck damaged the pedestrian bridge. This bridge connects the garage and the station.