Westlake/MacArthur Park station

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Westlake/MacArthur Park
B Line  D Line 
HSY- Los Angeles Metro, Westlake-MacArthur Park, Upper Floor View.jpg
Westlake/MacArthur Park station mezzanine
Location660 South Alvarado Street
Los Angeles, California
Coordinates34°03′25″N 118°16′35″W / 34.0570°N 118.2764°W / 34.0570; -118.2764Coordinates: 34°03′25″N 118°16′35″W / 34.0570°N 118.2764°W / 34.0570; -118.2764
Owned byMetro
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Parking6 spaces,[2] kiss and ride facility[3]
Bicycle facilitiesMetro Bike Share station,[1] and racks
History
OpenedJanuary 30, 1993; 28 years ago (1993-01-30)
Previous namesWilshire/Alvarado
Services
Preceding station LAMetroLogo.svg Metro Rail Following station
Wilshire/Vermont
toward North Hollywood
 B Line 7th Street/Metro Center
toward Union Station
Wilshire/Vermont
toward Wilshire/Western
 D Line
Location

Westlake/MacArthur Park is an underground rapid transit (known locally as a subway) station on the B Line and D Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station is located near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Alvarado Street in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Westlake, after which the station is named, along with MacArthur Park, which is located across the street. Unlike most of Metro's other underground stations, which are built directly under a street, the Westlake/MacArthur Park platform is actually located south of Wilshire Boulevard and between 7th Street.[4] This design allowed a train storage area to be built under MacArthur Park, but necessitated draining the lake for several years to excavate build the tracks.

Westlake/MacArthur Park is one of L.A's five original subway stations: when it opened in 1993, it was the western terminus of the Red Line before completion of the Wilshire/Western branch (now called the D Line) and North Hollywood branch (now called the B Line) later that decade.

Right outside the station, MacArthur Park and a lively street scene of the neighborhood's largely Mexican, Salvadorean, Guatemalan and Honduran residents stand in stark contrast to the metropolitan environment dotted with skyscrapers just one station to the east.

History[]

MacArthur Park in 1993 during construction of the Metro Rail line
Main article: History of Los Angeles Metro Rail and Busway

Westlake/MacArthur Park was constructed by the Southern California Rapid Transit District, which later became part of today's LA Metro, as part of the first minimum operating segment (MOS-1) of the Metro Rail subway line. Ground was broken for the project on September 29, 1986.[5] Construction of the short 4.5-mile (7.2 km) starter line was challenging, and the Westlake/MacArthur Park station was one of the most ambitious parts of the project.

Crews would build a storage and turnback location for trains under MacArthur Park. Building the tunnel with a “pocket track” to store subway cars would involve completely draining the eight-acre MacArthur Park Lake and digging a cut-and-cover tunnel. After construction, crews refilled with 20 million gallons of water that required seven days to fill and beautified the entire park, adding a fountain, trees, benches and lighting.[6]

The improvements were welcomed by businesses in the area. Before construction began in the late 1980s, MacArthur Park's once glittering reputation had decayed as gangs and drug dealers came into the area.[7]

The MOS-1 segment along with Westlake/MacArthur Park station opened on January 30, 1993.[8] Ridership on the short line was slow at first, but one major beneficiary of the new line was Langer's Deli, located about a block away from this station. The subway made it easy for downtown workers to come over to the restaurant for lunch. The owners of Langer's would later credit the subway and the improvements to MacArthur Park with saving their business, which had been struggling in the 1980s.[9]

Westlake/MacArthur Park station would serve as the western terminus for trains for three and a half years, until the opening of MOS-2A along Wilshire Boulevard on July 13, 1996.

Service[]

Station layout[]

G Street level Exit/Entrance
B1 Mezzanine Faregates, ticket machines, to Exits/Entrances
B2 Northbound/
Westbound 		←  B Line toward North Hollywood (Wilshire/Vermont)
←  D Line toward Wilshire/Western (Wilshire/Vermont)
Island platform, doors will open on the left
Eastbound →  B Line and  D Line toward Union Station (7th Street/Metro Center) →

Hours and frequency[]

B Line trains run every day between approximately 4:30 a.m. and midnight and D Line every day trains run between approximately 5 a.m. and midnight

Towards North Hollywood or Wilshire/Western, trains operate every ten minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday, every twelve minutes during the daytime on weekdays and all day on the weekends after approximately 10 a.m. (with a 15-minute headway early Saturday and Sunday mornings). Night service is every 20 minutes.

Towards Union Station, trains operate every five minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday, every six minutes during the daytime on weekdays and all day on the weekends after approximately 10 a.m. (with a 7.5-minute headway early Saturday and Sunday mornings). Night service is every 10 minutes.[10]

Connections[]

  • Metro Bus: 2, 18, 20, 51, 603, Rapid 720
  • LADOT DASH: Pico Union / Echo Park

Station artwork[]

This station has two tile murals designed by Francisco Letelier, entitled El Sol (The Sun) and La Luna (The Moon). The station also has artwork by Therman Statom.

The porcelain murals, by Los Angeles artist Sonia Romero and fabricated by Mosaika Art & Design, were named one of the best public art projects in the United States by the organization Americans for the Arts.[11]

Langer's Deli is featured in one of 13 ceramic mosaic murals located inside the MacArthur Park station.

In popular culture[]

The station was also featured in the film Volcano as the Red Line subway outside MacArthur Park where a massive volcano erupted, causing an earthquake that derails Train no. 526 that was in the tunnel and lava eventually engulfed and melted it.

References[]

  1. ^ "Station Map". Metro Bike Share. 27 January 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  2. ^ "Metro Parking Lots by Line". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  3. ^ Southern California Rapid Transit District (August 15, 1984). Los Angeles Rail Rapid Transit Project: Union Station to Wilshire/Alvarado. U.S. Department of Transportation, Urban Mass Transportation Administration. pp. 17, 18.
  4. ^ "Westlake/MacArthur Park Connections" (PDF). Metro. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  5. ^ "25 Years Ago Today: Los Angeles' Red Line Subway Breaks Ground". Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive. September 29, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Sotero, Dave (January 29, 2013). "First phase of Metro Red Line celebrates 20-year anniversary". The Source. Retrieved 2021-11-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Hamilton, Denise (1997-06-26). "Heart in the Rye Place : Langer's Has Mastered Deli-Cate Art of Survival". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  8. ^ Katches, Mark (January 31, 1993). "Red Line Rolls to Raves – It's Smooth Railing As L.A. Subway Opens". Los Angeles Daily News.
  9. ^ Stewart, Jocelyn Y. (2007-06-26). "Albert J. Langer, 94; founded acclaimed deli". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  10. ^ "Metro B Line/D Line schedule". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 12, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  11. ^ "Artwork for Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro Rail Station in Los Angeles recognized as one of nation's best public art projects". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Press release). June 21, 2011. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03.
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