State (MBTA station)

STATE STATE
Eastbound Blue Line train at State in 2008
Location	200 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°21′31″N 71°03′28″W / 42.3587°N 71.0578°W / 42.3587; -71.0578Coordinates: 42°21′31″N 71°03′28″W / 42.3587°N 71.0578°W / 42.3587; -71.0578
Owned by	MBTA
Line(s)	Blue Line   Orange Line
Platforms	4 side platforms (2 on each level)
Tracks	4 (2 on each level)
Construction
Platform levels	2
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	December 30, 1904 (Blue Line) November 30, 1908 (Orange Line)
Rebuilt	1924 (Blue Line) April 26, 2011
Previous names	Devonshire (1904–1967) Milk/State (1908–1967) State/Citizens Bank (1997–2000) State/Aquarium (2004)
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	13,258 (weekday average boardings)
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Downtown Crossing toward Forest Hills Orange Line Haymarket toward Oak Grove Government Center toward Bowdoin Blue Line Aquarium toward Wonderland
Location

State, well known as State Street, is a subway station of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, USA, State is the transfer point between the Orange Line and the Blue Line, as one of the quartet of "hub stations" on the MBTA subway system.

What later became the Blue Line platforms of State station were opened in 1904, making it the oldest surviving MBTA rapid transit (heavy rail) station. (The Tremont Street Subway, opened in 1897, serves only Green Line (light rail) streetcars). After an extensive renovation which was completed in 2011, State is fully handicapped accessible.

The Blue Line section of the station was built along with the rest of the East Boston Tunnel in the first years of the 20th century and opened on December 30, 1904, serving streetcars running from downtown to East Boston. An unusual aspect of State Street station is the entrance built directly into one of Boston's best-known historic sites, the Old Massachusetts State House. This entrance often confuses first-time tourists and visitors with its unconventional location. The East Boston Tunnel station was originally known as Devonshire after the street which the Old State House is located on. The station is the only remaining station on the tunnel opened in 1904.

Effective April 18, 1924, the East Boston Tunnel was converted to heavy rail (metro) rolling stock. High platforms were installed, and trolley wire was replaced with third rail power.

The Washington Street Tunnel opened on November 30, 1908 to Main Line elevated trains running between Forest Hills and Sullivan Square. As with the other stations in the tunnel; the two platforms were treated as completely separate stations. The northbound platform was known as State since its main entrance was at the cross street of State Street, while the southbound platform was similarly Milk Street after its entrance from Milk Street. (The station pair was designated on some maps as Milk/State).