New Doc Explores 'The Race Underground' for Late-1800s Boston Transit

BOSTON, MA — A new documentary explores the origins of the Green Line — the angst, outrage and outright superstition that attended Boston's first below-ground line opening in 1897.

"The Race Underground" is based on a similarly titled book by The Boston Globe's Doug Most, "The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry That Built America’s First Subway."

Part of PBS' "The American Experience" series, it premieres Tuesday, 9 p.m. on WGBH 2.

The program draws on commentary from Most, fellow authors and historians.

A Globe correspondent draws the obvious parallels to Boston's Big Dig nightmare, but also to the current apparent paralysis when it comes to shoring up our struggling transit services.

He writes:

As the film points out, this transit revolution was far from rapid — it was slowed by the familiar obstacles of intransigence, greed, and fear. People feared change despite the intolerable conditions that existed. They feared the idea of going underground. Some of these fears were confirmed when a gas explosion killed 10 people as the excavation was underway, and chthonic superstitions and patriotic traditions both seemed violated when the digging unearthed the remains of 900 people buried during the Revolutionary War period. Meanwhile, those with power dithered or acted impulsively or didn’t act at all. Capitalists seeking to profit from the problem offered conflicting schemes based on their own interests, or blocked progress, or clung to the status quo.

Read more in the Boston Globe here, and catch "The Race Underground" next Tuesday.

Related: Take a Trolley Tour of Boston, Circa 1906 - Boston, MA Patch

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