{"nrhp_refnum":"10001066","name":"Egleston Substation","other_names":["Boston Elevated Railway Substation"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3025 Washington St","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.31892784200005,"lon":-71.09695228099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-12-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Egleston Substation is a one-story electrical substation at 3025 Washington Street in the Roxbury section of Boston, built in 1909 for the Boston Elevated Railway Company. It is designed in an Italian Renaissance Revival style with a basilica-like form.","why_significant":"It was the first of a series of substations that converted alternating current to direct current for Boston's street railway and elevated lines during a period of expansion. It operated from 1909 to 1987 and is considered an intact example of the type. Its architecture and engineering, by a notable team, show the care given to what could have been a purely utilitarian building. It is significant at the local level under Criteria A and C.","narrative":"Egleston Substation, at 3025 Washington Street in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, was built in 1909 to convert alternating current into direct current for the Boston Elevated Railway's trolley and elevated lines. It was the first in a series of such stations built as the system expanded. The steel-and-concrete building is clad in stucco with red brick trim on a tall cast-stone base, and colossal round arches frame tall windows and entrance doors at both gable ends. Frederic F. Low is listed as architect on the building permit, with Robert S. Peabody as consulting architect and Stone & Webster as engineers. The substation operated until about 1987, when the elevated line on Washington Street closed, making it among the longest-operating transit substations in the country. A 2008 rehabilitation turned it into television studios and offices while keeping the steel structure, roof trusses and an original overhead crane. It retains its location, design, materials and workmanship.","period_of_significance":"1909-1960","architect_builder":"Frederic F. Low; Robert S. Peabody (architects); Stone & Webster (engineers)","architectural_style":"20th Century Revival/Italian Renaissance","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"No longer used as a substation; rehabilitated in 2008 and converted to television studios and administrative offices, housing a public access media center.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:10:51.577198-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/7969/63796935/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/10001066.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10001066/17066fc8be-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10001066/17066fc8be-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BostonMA_EglestonSubstation.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BostonMA_EglestonSubstation.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796935","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egleston_Substation","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16890937"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/egleston-substation-10001066/"}