Needham Center (MBTA station)

NEEDHAM CENTER
Needham Center station in June 2010
Location	Great Plain Avenue & Eaton Square Needham, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°16′49″N 71°14′16″W / 42.2804°N 71.2378°W / 42.2804; -71.2378Coordinates: 42°16′49″N 71°14′16″W / 42.2804°N 71.2378°W / 42.2804; -71.2378
Owned by	MBTA
Line(s)	Needham Line
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Connections	MBTA Bus: 59
Construction
Bicycle facilities	6 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	2
History
Opened	June 1, 1853
Closed	October 13, 1979 - October 19, 1987
Rebuilt	1887, 1980s
Previous names	Great Plain, Needham Plain, Needham
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	975 (weekday inbound average)
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Needham Heights Terminus Needham Line Needham Junction toward South Station

Needham Center is a commuter rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Needham Line, located just north of Great Plains Avenue (MA-135) in downtown Needham, Massachusetts. The first station at Needham opened in 1853; it burned in 1887 and was replaced with a stone station, some of which is still in place. The station is fully handicapped accessible.

On June 1, 1853, the Charles River Branch Railroad was extended from Newton Upper Falls into Needham as the first stage of a line to Dover and beyond. The railroad was not able to follow its original plan to go through the East Village, Needham's historical center, because one landowner refused to sell; instead, it was routed to Great Plain station in Great Plain Village further to the east. Great Plain served as the terminus of the railroad until it was extended to Medway in 1861 and to Woonsocket in 1863.

With the coming of the railroad, Great Plain Village eclipsed East Village as the primary business district of Needham, and it officially became the town center in 1879. The station's name was gradually changed to Needham Plain, then Needham.

By the 1880s, the line was part of the New York and New England Railroad. The original gable-roofed wooden station burned in 1887 and was replaced with a stone station with a turreted roof. Most of the building was destroyed in the mid 20th century, but one corner remains and is part of a restaurant.

The line became part of the New Haven Railroad's Midland Division in 1898. In 1906, the New Haven opened the Needham Cutoff, a faster route to Boston that avoided the rival Boston and Albany Railroad's Highland Branch tracks. The line through Needham was thus downgraded from an intercity route to a branch line.