Alewife Station is the northern terminus of the
MBTA (that's Boston)
Red Line. It's located at
Alewife Brook Parkway and
Cambridge Park Drive in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, just by the
Somerville line. The easiest way to get there, however, is down Route 2. The structure of the roads around Alewife that aren't the highway is highly nonlinear.
Alewife is the departure point for all outbound trains to Tufts, Harvard, MIT, and downtown Boston from Cambridge and Somerville, eventually extending out to Braintree.
The significance of the station is more than this, though -- it's also the easiest way for any uninitiated travelers to get into Boston. Alewife is outside of the urban sprawl (for the most part); the drive there is through Lexington and Arlington, so you get a good view of the skyline and a fairly scenic drive. The parking garage is $4.50 -- this may sound high, but the next-best option for parking outside of the city is at Riverside. Riverside sounds great, since parking is only $2.50; but it's a $3.00 fare into the city. If you're traveling alone, the cost is the same. If you're with at least one other person (and why travel alone?), you're saving money.
This is why Alewife is fun; it's empty in the middle of the night and there's a Burger King open whenever you need it. The ride is pretty peaceful until Harvard Square, and even then it's just good-natured liberal arts kids riding across Cambridge in search of a night out.
Alewife also services local buses and is a stop on the Minuteman Bike Trail.
It's a quality terminal if you're taking an excursion to Boston, is the point. Cheap, efficient, and non-threatening for tourists, not to mention all us bored citizens of the westerly part of the state.
How to Get There:
North (Newbury, New Hampshire, Maine, Nova Scotia)
Take I-95 South (or I-93 South to I-95), and take exit 29A (Rt. 2 East).
Follow Route 2 for five or six miles until you see the un-numbered exit (it's in the mid-forties) for Alewife (it's hard to miss, with the big T sign.)
West (Worcester, Springfield, the Berkshires, Albany, Los Angeles)
Take the Mass Pike (Interstate 90) East until Exit 14 (I-95)
Take I-95 North/Route 128 to exit 29A (Rt. 2 East).
Follow Route 2 for five or six miles until you see the un-numbered exit for Alewife (once again, watch for the big T sign.)
Southeast (Cape Cod, Brockton, South Shore)
Take I-495 North to I-95 North. Take exit 29A (Rt. 2 East).
Follow Route 2 for five or six miles until you see the un-numbered exit for Alewife (don't forget the sign!)
South / Southwest (Hartford, New York City)
If you have I-95 access, follow I-95 North.
Otherwise, take I-84 East to the Mass Pike East, then Exit 14 to I-95 North.
Take exit 29A for Route 2 East; look for the big T sign in the mid-forties.
Some information from mbta.com