Recent comments in /f/boston

MoreRandomWords t1_j672qvq wrote

Reply to comment by mini4x in I took a 2 1/2 hour flight from Chicago to Boston. It took me 2 1/2 hours to get from Logan to Watertown Square by jenkneefur28

Unfortunately the data agrees with you. I pulled the reliability data from the MBTA Performance Dashboard for yesterday and the Thursday prior to pulling the trolleybuses from service.

Route Jan 26 2023 (30 day) Mar 10 2022 (30 day)
71 81% 80%
73 82% 80%

Seems like things haven't changed much. Other than more pollution, of course.

5

MrRemoto t1_j671xo0 wrote

Reply to Boston movie/documentary suggestions by allicatw

The Verdict is Paul Newman at his prime. Boondocks Saints is always a crowd pleaser. Manchester by the Sea was gut wrenching but amazing. For actual documentaries Netflix owns Boston. Trial 4, This is a Robbery, and How to Fix a Drug Scandal are all really well made.

22

PresentScientist4278 t1_j67139j wrote

Reply to comment by EducationalElevator in 8-month-old baby injured in Duxbury family tragedy dies, DA says by Jezebels_lipstick

The sudden sympathy for a killer of children—her own children—is something that struck me too. It says a lot about society’s views towards race, class, and gender. If she was anything but a white woman from Deluxebury, people would be treating this a lot differently. Anyone who kills children is clearly mentally sick, but when it’s anyone else we don’t parse out diagnoses, we just call it f’ed in the head and they’re a monster undeserving of any modicum of compassion.

3

commentsOnPizza t1_j6701as wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in I took a 2 1/2 hour flight from Chicago to Boston. It took me 2 1/2 hours to get from Logan to Watertown Square by jenkneefur28

So, I'm guessing this was more a joke than a question, but the Blue Line basically pre-dates the airport by 19 years. The East Boston tunnel was opened in 1904 and ran from Maverick to what is (basically) now Government Center with stops at what is now Aquarium and State.

The 1954 extension to Wonderland used the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad right of way to get to Wonderland. Hence, the airport station is where it is. It wasn't really placed there so much as that was where they could get the train to go.

Back in 1954, air travel wasn't that common like it is today. Check out the airport in the 1920s: https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:cn69mx627, https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:cn69mz00f, https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:cn69mx962, https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:cn69mx848, https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:8k71nz49t. Even in 1936, it looks like basically nothing: https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:cn69mx741. Even in this image circa 1955-1964, it's still pretty primitive looking: https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:m0472z357. It's definitely starting to take shape, but doesn't seem like that big a deal.

Ultimately, a lot of our train lines run along rights of way that already exist and it can be difficult to get new ones. Plus, diverting the train to the airport itself likely would have required quite a tight turn and the 1950s were starting to be the era when rich people wanted to use their cars. Boston was spared some of the auto-supremacy thanks to governors Volpe and Sargent, the latter who cancelled many of the highways that would have cut through Boston including the Inner Belt (which would have run through Union, Inman, Central, Cambridgeport, BU, North Brookline, and Melnea Cass Blvd), the Northwest Expressway (which would have run through Arlington, North Cambridge, Porter, and Union), and the Southwest Expressway (which is where the Orange Line is today).

Yes, it's disappointing that the Blue Line isn't closer to the airport, but given the time it was built and the right of way that existed, it seems less ridiculous. And as bad as it is, most American cities basically don't have public transit...though how I'd love something like DCA where the stop is right at the terminal. At least we were spared three additional highways cutting our city apart?

2

wet_cupcake t1_j66yv67 wrote

Reply to Boston movie/documentary suggestions by allicatw

Varies which time periods/subjects you’re interested in.

The Revolution: Boston Bloody Boston is a nice little documentary during, you guessed it, the Revolutionary War.

A Reckoning In Boston follows Clemente Course students through their upbringing and racial history.

Few youtube videos of the Chinatown Massacre are very interesting.

To me anything Winter Hill Gang or Patriarca Crime family on youtube is also fascinating. Black Mass with Johnny Depp was eh at best.

I love The Town and the Departed but obviously those are Hollywood spins.

11