Alewife station Minuteman Bikeway, Cambridge Linear Park, and the Fitchburg Cutoff Path. Alewife opened on March 30, 1985. Originally only to be a temporary terminus during construction of the Arlington section of the Red Line, Alewife became the regular terminus when the further extension was canceled. The station is named after Alewife Brook, a nearby tributary of the Mystic River, which in turn is named after the alewife fish which inhabits the Mystic River system. Alewife features six pieces of public art which were built as part of the first stage of the Arts on the Line program. Boston transportation planners expected
Alewife station like a way to capitalize on the original Route 2 investment. Until the late 1960s, there was little near the site of the Alewife station besides a largely abandoned industrial park, a chemical factory and a protected wetlands. Following principles that came to be known as transit-oriented development, the City of Cambridge zoned the area immediately near the station for high rise buildings, leading to the construction of the three massive Rindge Towers in 1971. Over the next several decades, a mini-city developed with office and research and development buildings in addition to the high rise housing. A state law