RIDING THE "T"

 I was excited to see this idea in the Feb/Mar issue of Cottages & Bungalows magazine. I live in the Boston suburbs, so these pictures are of special interest to me.

In Boston, we ride the "T", short for MBTA - Massachusetts Bay Transportation Area.

While Boston is the birthplace of American liberty, it is also the birthplace of American mass transportation. The Hub's transit system is the oldest in the nation (1631), having a history longer than that of American independence. It is interesting to note that the principle of the articulated or bending (in the middle) streetcar originated right here in Boston during the 1912-1913 era. Bostonians of the time dubbed this new type of equipment "two rooms and a bath".

If you are interested in more of the history of Boston's public transportation system, you can read about it HERE.

Remember the 1959 Kingston Trio folk song, "Charlie on the MTA"? That song was originally recorded in 1949 as a Boston mayoral campaign song for candidate Walter A. O'Brien, Jr., and was meant to call attention to O'Brien's opposition to the recent fare increase.

When I was in my 20's I lived in the Boston neighborhoods of Revere Beach, Everett, and Cambridge with my girlfriend and rode the T every day from our apartment(s) to work in downtown Boston in the financial district/waterfront. My office building on the waterfront overlooked the Boston Tea Party ship, the Beaver!