A station at Riverside, named for its location just east of the railroad's bridge over the Charles River, opened in the 1850s.

The 1995-built platforms were raised slightly above track level; these made the station accessible when low-floor light rail vehicles arrived in 2002.

Riverside is the only surface-level Green Line station with a prepayment (fare controlled) platform area.

A track connection still exists with the main line; catenary is installed up to the junction for offloading vehicles delivered by the railroad onto the light rail network.

From October 23 to 25, a commuter rail shuttle was run from a temporary platform at Riverside to South Station using the old track connection.

[6][7] A private group plans to restore the pedestrian underpass at the former mainline station as part of a trail network in the area.

[11] On February 12, 2009, the MBTA authorized an 85-year lease of a portion of the Riverside parking lots for a mixed-use development.

A second phase in the early 2030s would add a 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) office/lab building, about 100 residential units, and a second garage.