Lake Merritt station
General information | |||||||||||||||||||
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Location | 800 Madison Street Oakland, California | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 37°47′52″N 122°16′00″W / 37.797773°N 122.266588°W | ||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | BART A-Line | ||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 island platform | ||||||||||||||||||
Connections | AC Transit: 18, 62, 88, 96 ACMC Highland Shuttle | ||||||||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||||||||
Parking | 207 spaces | ||||||||||||||||||
Bicycle facilities | racks, 84 lockers | ||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||
Opened | September 11, 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||
Passengers | |||||||||||||||||||
2024 | 2,760 (weekday average)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||||||
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Lake Merritt station is an underground Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located east of Downtown Oakland near the eponymous Lake Merritt. It is the nearest BART station to Chinatown, Laney College, and Jack London Square station.
History
The construction of Lake Merritt station and the adjacent BART Administration Building leveled three blocks of Chinatown - one of several major displacements in the area, along with I-880, Laney College, and the Oakland Museum of California, that took place in the mid-20th century.[2] The station opened on September 11, 1972 - part of the first section of BART to open.[3]
A largely-unused oval courtyard adjacent to the fare lobby includes reliefs of sea creatures and birds designed by William Mitchell. Now-closed portholes in the reliefs allowed the public to peer into the BART Operations Control Center.[4]: 5 Walls in the station feature tile work in red, black, and off-white by Alfonso Pardiñas.[4]: 4
The BART Administration Building was located in a dedicated six-story office building constructed concurrently on top of the station. In 2003, due to potential risk of earthquake damage, the headquarters was moved away from the station to leased space in the Kaiser Center.[5] The former Administration Building was dismantled in 2009 and 2010.[6]
Bathrooms at underground BART stations were closed after the September 11 attacks due to security concerns. The bathroom at Lake Meritt station reopened on June 28, 2022, after a renovation, with an attendant on duty during all operating hours.[7] On September 8, 2022, the BART Board approved plans for a 457-unit residential development to replace the station parking lot, with two additional phases planned.[8]
Station layout
The station has a single island platform located two levels below ground, with a fare mezzanine above it. The station has four entrances from Oak Street between 8th Street and 9th Street.[9]
References
- ^ "Monthly Ridership Reports". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. June 2024.
- ^ "Lake Merritt Station Area Plan" (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. December 2014. pp. 2–4.
- ^ "BART Chronology January 1947 – March 2009" (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2013.
- ^ a b Weinstein, Dave. "How BART got ART". CA-Modern. Eichler Network.
- ^ "Board approves purchase of new headquarters saving public funds in future" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. September 12, 2019.
- ^ "Earthquake safety work planned for Lake Merritt Station" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. May 13, 2009.
- ^ "Restrooms now open at Montgomery and Lake Merritt" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. June 28, 2022.
- ^ "BART Board approves hundreds of homes for Lake Merritt Station" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. September 8, 2022.
- ^ "Station Map - Lake Merritt". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014.
External links
Media related to Lake Merritt station at Wikimedia Commons
- Bay Area Rapid Transit stations in Alameda County, California
- Stations on the Berryessa/North San José–Richmond line
- Stations on the Berryessa/North San José–Daly City line
- Stations on the Dublin/Pleasanton–Daly City line
- Railway stations in Oakland, California
- Railway stations in the United States opened in 1972
- Bay Area Rapid Transit stations located underground
- Railway stations in California at university and college campuses
- San Francisco metro stubs
- San Francisco Bay Area railway station stubs
- Alameda County, California building and structure stubs