Downtown Crossing is a rapid transit station located in the Downtown Crossing retail district in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the junction of the Orange Line and the Red Line as one of the quartet of "hub stations" on the MBTA subway system, as well as a major bus transfer location serving 13 MBTA Bus routes, including one Silver Line route.Downtown Crossing station is two levels deep. The upper (Orange Line) level, opened in 1908, stretches from Temple Place to Franklin Street under Washington Street. The lower (Red Line) level, opened in 1915, reaches from Washington Street to Chauncey Street under Winter Street. Downtown Crossing is the second busiest subway station in the MBTA network (behind only South Station), with an average of 23,478 entries per weekday in 2013. The Winter Street Concourse (opened in March 1979) allows access to the Green Line at Park Street without leaving their common paid area.HistoryThe Washington Street Tunnel carrying the Main Line Elevated opened on November 30, 1908. Stations on the tunnel were built in pairs with different names and separate entrances, an appeasement to merchants on the street who desired maximal pedestrian traffic. Stations were located at Summer northbound with entrances at Summer Street and Franklin Street, and Winter southbound with entrances at Winter Street and Temple Place.
