South Street Car Barns

This subject intrigues me because I spent so much time in the area. The current site of the South street housing public housing complex, the car barns are still remembered by the oldest Jamaica Plain residents. When my father first told me about the streetcar barns that stood beside St Thomas church, I had trouble imagining it. The article below is a little confusing as well. The building described was an addition to one that was already there, as seen to the right in the picture above. I'm also guessing that the 150 streetcar capacity mentioned below was for the entire complex, not just the new building. Asbury place was within the current housing complex, and was eliminated when it was built. I have no idea where Pitt street was - there 's no mention of a Pitt street in the 1910 city street directory.

This map from 1896 shows the old facility, and this one from 1905 shows the new building added.



Boston Daily Globe January 14, 1901


Storage House For 150 Electric Cars.


During the month of September, 1900, work was begun on the Jamaica Plain terminal station and car storage house for the Boston elevated railway company, and now it is about completed. This new station is 325x320 feet, and the tracks will accommodate 150 electric cars. There is a waiting room on the corner of Asbury pl and Pitt st, and the interior of the station is fitted with rooms for motormen, conductors, superintendent and receiver.

Dear Editor

I thought streetcars were bad in my day!


Boston Daily Globe February 10, 1885

Jamaica Plain Horse Cars

To the Editors of the Globe:

On Tuesday morning, having an early call to Boston, I got into a horse car and found that the seats had a wooden back which was covered with frost, and on attempting to take some straw from the floor to protect my back, I found the snow exposed through the holes in the floor. I sat shivering on the edge of the seat until the station at Roxbury was reached where I got out, took the steam cars and found at the Boston Depot a comfortable car of the Highland road to take me to Court street. On inquiring of the conductor of the Metropolitan car how old the car was, he replied, though quite an old man, "You must ask someone older than I am." I understand the frequent answer to an inquiry for some old resident of Jamaica Plain is: "He has passed away; he got his death on the horse cars." If the Board of Health would furnish some second hand carpet to cover the wooden backs of these seats they would do a humane act.

A Physician.
Jamaica Plain, February 9.

End Of An Era

It must have been quite a change to go from horse-drawn streetcars to electrics. On one hand, you could give a horse a pat, give it a carrot or call it by name, none of which was true for a hidden electric motor. On the other hand, no more horse poop in the streets! I remember hearing someone comment on the radio that people from years ago would never believe that the population of New York could be as big as it is today. How could you feed all the horses necessary? No more horses, no more stables, feed, fittings, or any of the other related industries that had been essential to urban life. Horses still pulled freight and carriages away from rail lines, but the end was near.


Boston Daily Globe August 28, 1890


Egleston Square Line Electrics Supercede Horse Cars Tuesday - Time Tables


Nest Tuesday all the horse cars on the Egleston Square line will be taken off, and electrics substituted. They will run between Tremont House, Egleston sq, and Forest Hills

This will involve a change of route. Residents along the line, instead of taking the cars at Franklin, Summer, or along Washington st, will, after Tuesday, find the cars at the Tremont House, and along Tremont st and Shawmut av.

One of the advantageous rusults of this change will be an all-night car every hour between Egleston Square and the Tremont House, starting at 11:45 p.m. from Egleston Square and leaving the Tremont House at 12:15.

This will establish a half-hourly electric car between the Tremont House and Dudley st.

By the old arrangement there were 160 trips daily between Franklin st and Egleston sq; by the new schedule 272 trips will be run between Tremont House and Egleston sq. The running time to Egleston sq. will be from six to eight minutes quicker. The Forest Hills run will be shortened 24 minutes.

From Forest Hills the first car in the morning will leave at 6:02, the next at 6:22, then every 10 minutes till 8:42, then every 10 minutes till 7:12, then at 7:19, 7:27, and every 15 minutes until 10:27, then 10:57 and 11:12 will be the last car.

From Egleston Square the last trip of the all-night car will be 4:45 but, following that cars will start every 15 minutes until 6 o'clock, and after that hour up to 10:45 at night a car will leave at least every five minutes and part of the time every two or three minutes.

The regular stopping places between Forest Hills and Dudley st will be as follows: Morton, Burnett, Keyes, Greenwood av, Green, Cornwall, Forest Hills, Boylston, School, Walnut pk, Cobden, Dimock, Townsend, Marcella, Valentine, Oakland, Cedar, Circuit, St James, Bartlett, Cliff and Dudley sts. This side of Dudley st the cars will make the same stops as the other electric.

Streetcar Protest - 1874 Style

Boston Daily Globe March 24 1874

The Jamaica Plain Street Cars - A Woman's Protest.

To the Editors of The Globe:

Sir: Why will those who are in the habit of riding in the Jamaica Plain horse-cars allow themselves to be so jolted and shaken around without making the slightest complaint? I believe that patience is a virtue, but, beyond certain limits, it ceases to be such. If any of my fellow-passengers are so amiable that they prefer to sacrifice themselves for the good of the road, I have nothing to say in their behalf; but, believing that the majority of those who ride are not so inclined, I desire to venture a word. I was witness, a few days ago, of the dangerous effects produced upon a lady passenger by the horrible conditions of the road, and I know of other cases where permanent injury has followed, and where death itself was believed to have been hastened, if not largely caused, by it.

If the highway and the tracks are in such a condition that the drivers cannot possibly get along without "jumping" the track, and being off and on for long distances, have not the city authorities power to look into the matter, and have the street put in order? If it is not the fault of the track, why should such careless drivers be employed? Hoping that the aid of your valuable columns may be given to bring about a much-needed reform, I sign myself, unhappily,

A Sufferer

P.S. - If any officer or director or the road has any doubts about its condition, and will send his wife to ride over it, I will agree to accept her verdict.


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It's in little stories like this that you learn the little things about life in the past. The horse-drawn streetcars would jump the tracks - I wouldn't have though of that. I've read that the area between the two tracks was paved with cobble-stones, so when the wheels came out of the tracks, the wheels on one side would be in dirt, and the other side on cobbles. Kind of defeats the whole purpose, no? I imagine the spine would take a good going-over under those conditions.