With just 521 daily boardings in FY 2019, Suffolk Downs is the least-used fare-controlled station on the MBTA subway system.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) purchased the abandoned right-of-way in 1941 to extend the East Boston Tunnel rapid transit line.

[3] The defunct Suffolk Downs racetrack is to the north, and Belle Isle Marsh Reservation to the south and east.

[5] The dominant architectural form of the station is the symmetrical footbridge structure designed by architect Eduardo Lozano.

[6]: 77  The design was inspired by medieval fortified churches, with battered walls to discourage climbing and iron palisades to separate paid and unpaid areas.

It was initially only used for seasonal service to the Great Ocean Pier, which closed in 1893; the Lynn and Boston Street Railway began operating the line full-time on July 17, 1893.

[19]: 231  In 1930, the BERy constructed a small yard, Gladstone Loop, north of Waldemar Avenue near the former Belle Isle station.

[17] A new station, Suffolk Downs, was built at the former Belle Isle site when the horse-racing track opened in July 1935.

[21] On June 10, 1936, the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway sold its remaining streetcar lines in Chelsea, Everett, and Revere to the BERy.

[20] A one-stop rapid transit extension to Suffolk Downs station opened on April 21, 1952 – the first day of the racing season.

[12]: 104  However, the MTA reactivated the Suffolk Downs spur, running a streetcar shuttle to the track until the racing season ended on June 28.

[20]: 31  Most of the streetcar trackage was later removed, though the switches to the Suffolk Downs spur and a short segment on Walley Street remain extant.

[12]: 104 The second phase of the Revere Extension (cut short due to limited funds) opened to Wonderland on June 19, 1954, with a second track and platform added to Suffolk Downs station for full-time service.

[12]: 104  The Orient Heights–Revere Beach trackless trolley line was rendered redundant by the extension to Wonderland and was discontinued on June 18, 1955, ending bus service to the station.

[26][28] From February 1 to December 16, 1981, Sunday service between Orient Heights and Wonderland was replaced by shuttle buses due to budget cuts.

Blue Line service temporarily ended at Orient Heights and buses served the closed outer stations during the project.

[36] However, during the 2013 reconstruction and closure of Orient Heights, Suffolk Downs was used as the terminus of the replacement shuttle bus service.

[39] Averaging just 521 daily boardings in FY 2019, Suffolk Downs is the least-used fare-controlled station on the MBTA subway system.