Until the completion of the Huntington Avenue subway from to a portal near Opera Place on February 16, 1941, streetcars ran on the surface from the Boylston Street portal. With the completion of the tunnel, Opera Place became an important short turn location; a siding was constructed adjacent to the inbound track. On May 21, 1947, the Boston Elevated Railway board voted to change the name from Opera Place to Northeastern University to reflect the growth of the adjacent Northeastern University. The stop was named on maps as early as the 1951, while most other surface stops did not appear separately until around 1990.