After taking the 41, we had two options: take the 39 down to Forest Hills, or make the 10 minute walk to Green Street. I figured I’d have plenty more chances to go to the former, whereas the latter is no longer served by any buses. So after a walk through a nice residential neighborhood, we ended up at Green Street Station.

The station’s headhouse.

The station’s entrance is, unsurprisingly, on Green Street. Outside there are a few sheltered bike spaces, as well as an essay and poem about the neighborhood on a plaque. The headhouse is pretty nice, made of brick and glass.

The mezzanine.

The station’s mezzanine is very big and spacious. There’s a big area even before the fare gates with a few benches and fare machines. Speaking of the fare gates, five of ’em is definitely more than needed here, which is great. Also, there’s weird art spread throughout the station – you have to look around to notice it, but it’s basically colored shapes suspended from various places. Pretty cool stuff.

The platform, looking down the middle.

After the fare gates, the station becomes pretty much the exact same thing as Roxbury Crossing (and the other Southwest Corridor stations in general). There’s a staircase, an upward escalator, and an elevator that all lead down to the platform. And aside from a cool light fixture at the northern end of the platform, it’s the same thing as Roxbury Crossing. You can still hear – but not see – Commuter Rail and Amtrak trains going by (it happened here with an Acela), there are still pointless shelters in an already sheltered area of the platform, and the place is still tranquil, even more so than Roxbury Crossing. So even though we had to wait 10 minutes, it wasn’t that bad in the almost empty station.

A train coming in.

Station: Green Street

Ridership: This station’s tranquility can probably be credited to the fact that it has the lowest ridership on the entire Orange Line, with about 3,600 riders per weekday. Most of these riders are probably locals from the surrounding area – large houses to the west, and smaller apartments to the east.

Pros: This is a really nice, quiet station. I love little neighborhood stations like this, with mostly small side streets around them. It’s busier than, say, Shawmut, but certainly still has that quiet element to it. The station is clean, and I like the art installations throughout.

Cons: Of course, this station suffers from the same problem as the rest of the Southwest Corridor: bland, 80’s architecture. And once again, those weird bench shelters are pointless.

Nearby and Noteworthy: There are some businesses to the immediate east of the station, including a café right across the street. And about a half mile to the west is Jamaica Plain Center, with lots of retail and a few bus connections (Green Street itself has none, though the 42 is three blocks to the east).

Final Verdict: 8/10
Having seen two Southwest Corridor stations, I think I like this one more. I can’t say I’m too sure why I’m more of a Green Street fan over Roxbury Crossing, but perhaps it’s because of how relaxed it is. It feels even more tranquil than the latter, though they’re about the same in most other regards.

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