Just like old days
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WITH ALL due respect to the Adducis of Medford, they should be aware that in the 20th century, prior to World War II, Medford (as well as Arlington, Somerville, and Malden) were all crisscrossed with the streetcar lines of the Boston Elevated Railway. The planned extension of the Green Line would be a return to the days of easy access to the near northwestern suburbs, as the planners of the late 19th century so ably foresaw.
Without the streetcar, Boston would not have developed as it did in the 19th and 20th centuries. Population boomed, and people needed to have housing. The city could not keep up with the demand, and many people wanted to move from the more tawdry sections of the city.
The 1934 photograph of Davis Square, included with your article, is a great reminder of what most of Eastern Massachusetts once looked like. As you drive around, look at any city street that seems wider than most around it. That street almost certainly had a streetcar line running on it.
Edward Jacoby
Boston
