What Could've Been: The Cincinnati Subway and its Boston Inspiration
At the station known as Central on Boston's MBTA Red Line, you can get a good glimpse of what Cincinnati almost had, if only we had finished our subway...
Construction on Cincinnati's Subway to Resume, First Train Delivered!
It's been 84 years since construction of the Cincinnati Subway halted. Nearly two miles of unused tunnels have been sitting silently beneath the city streets since 1927. Despite efforts to try and revive the project - political corruption, economic climate, changing population trends and even war were one of the many historical circumstances that prevented the subway from ever seeing a train or rider. That is, until today.
Cincinnati's Subway
It was a good thing we were packing. We had our high powered flashlights and then some extras. It was pretty dark as we stepped onto the station platform. It seemed almost as if the power had gone out or if there weren't any lights installed at all. We traded jokes and conversation as we waited for our train. Cincinnati isn't really known for its subways. The stations are dark, cold and covered in dust and frankly the service is terrible. We waited on the platform for forever and not one single train ever came.
The Catacombs of Cleveland
In Cleveland, beneath the Veterans' Memorial Bridge, crossing over the Cuyahoga River, is an abandoned deck which once provided an exclusive right-of-way to Cleveland's streetcars, while motor vehicles whizzed by overhead.
Cincinnati's Other Abandoned Subway
When it comes to abandoned icons of the Queen City, the abandoned two mile never completed subway is usually at the top of the list. On the other end of downtown though, there's another abandoned subway... sort of. The Riverfront Transit Center was built with a vision in mind and sees sparse use these days. In many ways though, it's just Cincinnati's other abandoned subway.
The Cincinnati Subway
It was a cold night in March, 2008. I had just finished up photographing an assignment downtown when I met up with Zach. I was dressed in slacks, dress shoes and a nice button down shirt, hardly exploring clothing. I exchanged my dress shoes for muddy combat boots and my jacket for an old sweatshirt. We grabbed cameras and flashlights then headed out for a recon mission. We parked the car on Central Parkway, and walked over to the stone fence.
"That doesn't look too far down," I said.
"Yeah, we should be fine," Replied Zach.