Needham History: Fireworks! Illuminations! Cheers!

Progress comes to the somewhat sleepy burgh of Needham.

“Keep Your EYE on Needham.” A billboard posted by the Needham Board of Trade around 1920 advertised the many suburban joys of living in Needham.

“Fireworks! Illuminations! Cheers!”

“The electric railroad has penetrated into the somewhat sleepy burgh of Needham and the people of that place are enthusiastic over the prospective benefits which are to result to them from the coming of the road… It is not unlikely that Needham and the other towns along the route will become among the most attractive suburban districts about Boston. Its drawback of inaccessibility is now largely overcome…”
(Boston Record, 1897)

The electric streetcar – the Trolley – came to Needham on May 12, 1897 in a burst of celebration (“Everybody Enthusiastic!! Fireworks! Illuminations! Cheers!”). This was the first form of local transit, and provided an easy and convenient means of getting over very great distances. It was also less expensive. The steam train provided service to Boston for thirty to fifty cents; the trolley covered the distance in the same amount of time, and cost only a dime. Better still, the trolley traveled over a network of local town roads, so you could get to all sorts of places that the train, which only ran toward Boston, did not reach – Newton, Wellesley (which cost 5 cents and took 14 minutes), Natick, and even (should you so desire) Felchville (10 cents, 34 minutes) and Robert’s Crossing (10 cents, 61 minutes).

And once you got to these towns, you could just keep going. Because the streetcar was a network, it could take you much farther for not much money – to Worcester, Lowell, even (if you had the time) New York: “A trip on the electric cars from Boston to New York can now be made in forty-nine hours at a cost of $2.30. Most Needham people however will continue to ride to Boston in one hour and a half for ten cents” (Needham Chronicle, 1899).

Needham had four streetcar lines, and each one was an independent company. Each one originated at the intersection of Great Plain Avenue and Chapel/Chestnut Streets and headed out from there in a different direction.

The Needham-Newton Street Railway (1897-1927) was the first and most successful of the trolley lines, running north up Chapel Street to Highland Avenue, through Needham Heights, and on to Newton via Central Avenue to Upper Falls. From Newton you could continue eastward to Boston or north to Lowell.

The Natick & Cochituate Street Railway (1899-1919) ran west up Great Plain Avenue to Wellesley Center. Wellesley was a hub, so you could change there for a trolley to Natick, Framingham, or even Worcester.

The Needham-Boston Street Railway (1899-1920) went east, turning onto Dedham Avenue and then traveling along what is now the grassy median on Harris Avenue, to Roslindale and Boston. It was poorly-constructed, slow, and uncomfortable, and the line was often shut down by snow. The extension of rapid train service from Needham Junction in 1906 reduced its ridership considerably, despite the higher cost.,/p>

The fourth line, the Natick-Needham Street Railway (1900-1903), ran up Chestnut Street to Dover, Natick and Framingham. This line was never well used, and closed after only three years.

Part of the c. 1920 schedule of the Needham-Newton Street Railway, listing routes, fares, and transit times.

And indeed, as the Boston Record predicted, after 1900 Needham and the surrounding towns began to develop into some of the most attractive of Boston’s outer suburbs. The streetcar opened up the whole area between the rail lines to easy and efficient travel for everyone. Suddenly the small towns outside the city became viable and even desirable residential locations. Local businessmen quickly bought up sections of land, which they divided up into house lots. Ads for these lots touted the clean air and water, electricity, and especially the streetcars.

The Needham Board of Trade, which had previously concerned itself with more storefront issues, also got into the act. They began to actively promote Needham as a desirable residential suburb. Proclaiming “Keep Your EYE on Needham,” they also emphasized Needham clean air and water, and easily-available transportation (“65 Trains a Day. 3 electric car lines.”) But there was more – Needham Welcomes You and the Babies – Excellent Schools – Buy Now, Watch Values Grow – Live in Needham to Live Long. No longer farmland, no longer just a summer haven for wealthy city transplants; Needham was now a place for modern growing families to put down stakes and stay.

For the trolleys, broad service for little cost eventually proved unsustainable, and the trolleys began to lose money. They tried to boost ridership by promoting pleasure destinations – day trips to scenic routes, amusement parks, and beaches. Norumbega Park (5 cents, 45 minutes) and Revere Beach were trolley parks – built at the end of the line to encourage riders to take the streetcar. Soon, however, the companies were unable to meet their costs, and the lines began to fail, replaced by a more efficient (if less enjoyable) motor bus service. Trolley service in Needham lasted for just under thirty years; two of the lines were closed by 1920, and the last line to Upper Falls closed in 1927.

Nevertheless, by then the transformation had happened. In 1900 when the trolleys opened, the town population was 4000 people. By 1910, it had grown 25%, to 5000. By 1930 when the trolleys closed, it had nearly tripled, to 11,000. Needham welcomes you and the babies.

A postcard of Needham Heights Square circa 1920, shows a car on the Needham-Newton Street Railway. The tracks run along the side of Highland Avenue. The “7-20-4” sign on the corner of West Street lists the trolley schedule.

Gloria Polizzotti Greis is the Executive Director of the Needham History Center & Museum. For more information, please see their website at www.needhamhistory.org.