Andover (MBTA station)

ANDOVER
Andover station, facing north (outbound)
Location	17 Railroad Street Andover, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°39′28″N 71°08′41″W / 42.6579°N 71.1446°W / 42.6579; -71.1446Coordinates: 42°39′28″N 71°08′41″W / 42.6579°N 71.1446°W / 42.6579; -71.1446
Owned by	MBTA
Line(s)	Haverhill Line
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	150 spaces ($4.00 daily) 4 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities	6 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	5
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	519 (weekday inbound average)
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Ballardvale toward North Station Haverhill Line Lawrence toward Haverhill
Third Railroad Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Third Railroad Station
Show map of Massachusetts Show map of the US
Location	100 School Street, Andover, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°39′23″N 71°8′43″W / 42.65639°N 71.14528°W / 42.65639; -71.14528
Area	9 acres (3.6 ha)
Built	1906-07
Architectural style	Shingle Style
MPS	Town of Andover MRA
NRHP Reference #	82004809
Added to NRHP	June 10, 1982

Andover is a commuter rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Haverhill Line, located near the town center of Andover, Massachusetts. The station has one platform with a mini-high platform for handicapped accessibility serving one track, while the second track lacks a platform. The previous station building, used from 1907 to 1959, is still extant; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as Third Railroad Station.

The Andover and Wilmington Railroad opened between its namesake cities in August 1836 as a branch line off the new Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L). A small wooden Greek revival station was built near the center of Andover. The line was soon extended north, and in 1842 in merged into the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M). After building its own route to Boston in 1845, the B&M looked to expand its passenger base to compete with the B&L. In 1848, the B&M relocated its main line from Ballardvale to North Andover to the west in order to serve the new mill town of Lawrence.

The line was moved several blocks west in Andover, away from the busy intersections of the town square. A small house was converted into a temporary station, which was soon replaced by a larger L-shaped station with a large train shed. A brick freight house was built sometime between then and 1875.

In 1906, the B&M began construction of a new station, as residents complained about the smoky conditions inside the train shed. The new station, a copy of Beverly Depot designed by Bradford Lee Gilbert a decade earlier, opened on September 1, 1907. It was used as the station until 1959; in 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Third Railroad Station.