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America's First Subway

The year was 1895 and downtown Boston was in the midst of a traffic crisis. Horse-drawn carriages choked the streets as people crowded into the city for work, shopping and nightlife.

To deal with the problem, city planners opted for a revolutionary solution put the trolleys underground.

Joe McKendry , a professor at Rhode Island School of Design, tells the story in pictures and words in his new book "Beneath the Streets of Boston: Building America's First Subway."

Morning Edition host Bob Oakes and field producer Matt Largey recently met Joe outside the Park Street 'T' station for a tour of the first subway in America.

Tune in Tuesday morning to hear the story on Morning Edition.

This program aired on July 5, 2005. The audio for this program is not available.

Headshot of Bob Oakes

Bob Oakes Senior Correspondent
Bob Oakes was a senior correspondent in the WBUR newsroom, a role he took on in 2021 after nearly three decades hosting WBUR's Morning Edition.

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