This past weekend I took a trip to one of the MBTA’s most uniquely named stations — Wonderland. Despite its faults, I give the T credit for giving its stations better names than “blah blah street” or “so and so avenue.” Some of my personal favorites include Alewife, Haymarket, Brandon Hall and Beachmont. For those interested in traveling to Wonderland, take the Green Line from Medford/Tufts to Government Center and then transfer to an outbound Blue Line train and take it all the way to the end of the line. The trip was about 45 minutes each way which is a bit long, but worth it in my opinion.
Usually, when I travel to stations for this column I’ll go with a specific goal in mind. Maybe I heard about a good restaurant in the area or maybe I like the surrounding neighborhood. However, when deciding where to go for this column I kept drawing blanks. So, I took a look at the MBTA map, and the name “Wonderland” intrigued me, so I decided to go. The station’s name originates from Wonderland Amusement Park which operated in the area from 1906 to 1911. Despite the theme park’s short existence, several other parks and businesses in the area adopted the name “Wonderland” so, when the station opened in 1954, it adopted the name, despite the original “Wonderland” being long gone.
As I stepped out of the station, the surrounding area unfortunately was not like the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz as the name would suggest. However, it was still quite nice. The station is a two-minute walk from Revere Beach, so I decided to pretend it was summer and stroll down the shore. The beach is lined with high-rise apartment buildings with varying architectural styles from modern glass buildings to brutalist designs. The presence of these beachfront buildings was almost reminiscent of Miami or Honolulu. (Is it a bit of a stretch to compare Revere, Mass. to Miami? Yes, but one can dream.) As I walked down the beach, I battled strong winds and sand blown in my face but nonetheless enjoyed gorgeous views of the ocean.
While it was far too cold to sunbathe and swim on my most recent trip, I traveled to Revere Beach last spring on a particularly warm day. The sand was soft and warm, and the water was ice cold, but I was still committed to diving in. Revere Beach is one of the few beaches easily accessible via the T. The only other I know of is Carson Beach, located near the JFK/UMass Station on the Red Line.
With its unique name and proximity to beautiful views and the beach, I highly recommend taking a trip out to Wonderland Station (but maybe wait until the weather warms up a little).
