The narrow gaugeBoston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad opened from East Boston to Lynn through Breed's Hill on July 29, 1875; there was initially no station at the modern site. A stop named Belle Isle opened at Waldemar Avenue around 1905 to serve a new housing development. Just from Orient Heights station, it closed sometime after the development failed in 1907. The former structure suffered a number of fires in 1925 and 1926 caused by sparks from locomotives. In 1928 the line was electrified, with pre-pay stations - more a rapid transit line than a conventional railroad. The station was reopened and renamed Suffolk Downs when the horse-racing track opened in 1935. Due to the Great Depression, the BRB&L shut down on January 27, 1940.
Rapid transit
In 1941, the Boston Elevated Railway bought the BRB&L right of way from Day Square to Revere Beach for use as a high-speed trolley line similar to the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line; these plans were delayed by the onset of World War II. However, the 1926 Report on Improved Transportation Facilities and 1945–47 Coolidge Commission Report recommended that the East Boston Tunnel line, which had been converted to rapid transit from streetcars in 1924, be extended to Lynn via the BBRB&L route rather than using it for a trolley line. In 1947, the newly formed Metropolitan Transit Authority decided to build to Lynn as a rapid transit line, and construction began in October 1948. The first part of the Revere Extension opened to Orient Heights on January 5, 1952. A one-stop extension to Suffolk Downs opened on April 21, 1952 - the first day of the racing season. The station had only one track and one platform until the second phase opened to Wonderland on January 19, 1954.
Renovations
The 1952 station lost its outbound platform to fire on February 14, 1976, leaving only the inbound platform open, which hurt attendance at races. The station was rebuilt in 1983 after the project received a $1.9 million grant from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration; the new accessible station fully opened on January 3, 1984. The station was closed for one year starting on June 25, 1994 as Suffolk Downs, Beachmont, Revere Beach, and Wonderland stations were rebuilt as part of the Blue Line Modernization Program. Blue Line service temporarily ended at and buses served the closed outer stations during the project. Because Suffolk Downs station had been completely rebuilt just a decade before, it needed just $3 million worth of work, compared to $9 million each at Revere Beach and Wonderland and $27 million for a completely new station at Beachmont. The stations reopened on June 24, 1995. Unusually for an MBTA rapid transit station, Suffolk Downs has no MBTA bus connections. However, during the 2013 closure of Orient Heights, Suffolk Downs was used as the terminus of replacement shuttle bus service.
