Until 2012, Orient Heights was the only Blue Line station in East Boston that had not yet been fully rebuilt (since its 1952 opening) for better accessibility. (The only others on the line were Government Center and Bowdoin, both in downtown Boston). Due to this distinction, until then it was the last remaining station in the MBTA that still had a 1967 system map, which showed the Charlestown and Washington Street Elevateds on the Orange Line and the Green Line A branch. The station was literally falling apart, with the sagging platforms held up by 2x4s.