Wilshire/Vermont station
Wilshire/Vermont   | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  Top: View of upper floor platform bound for Union Station Bottom: View of lower floor platform bound for North Hollywood Station (B Line) or Wilshire/Western Station (D Line) | |||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||
| Location | 3191 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90005 | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°03′25″N 118°16′35″W / 34.0570°N 118.2763°W | ||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Metro | ||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | B Line D Line | ||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Connections | "Kiss & Ride" passenger drop-off area | ||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||
| Parking | none | ||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | 14 bike rack spaces | ||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||
| Status | in service | ||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||
| Opened | July 13, 1996 | ||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||
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Wilshire/Vermont is a heavy-rail subway station in the Los Angeles Metro system. It is located at Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, in Los Angeles' Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown District. This station is served by the B Line and the D Line.[1]
This is one of only two stations in the entire system that has underground side platforms, the other being the 7th Street/Metro Center station.
Location
As its name implies, Wilshire/Vermont station is located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue. The station itself is slightly to the northeast of the intersection, allowing diverging B Line trains to head north underneath Vermont. A number of educational institutions, including Southwestern University and the Robert F Kennedy Community Schools, are located nearby.
Transit-oriented development
Above the station is the Wilshire Vermont Station mixed-use transit village development, a $136-million apartment and retail complex designed by the architecture firm Arquitectonica and developed by Urban Partners and MacFarlane Partners on land owned by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The development opened in 2007 and includes apartments, retail, and (as of 2009) an adjacent middle school.[2][3] The property is managed by Greystar Real Estate Partners.
Station layout
| G | Street Level | Exit/Entrance |
| B1 | Southbound/Eastbound | → B Line toward Union Station (Westlake/MacArthur Park) → → D Line toward Union Station (Westlake/MacArthur Park) →
|
| Split platform, doors will open on the right | ||
| Mezzanine | faregates, ticket machines | |
| B2 | Northbound/Westbound | ← B Line toward North Hollywood (Vermont/Beverly) ← D Line toward Wilshire/Western (Wilshire/Normandie)
|
| Split platform, doors will open on the left | ||
The station is located where the B Line and D Line converge on their way to Downtown Los Angeles. The station is designed with two platform levels: eastbound D and B Line trains (to Union Station) use the upper level, and westbound D (to Wilshire/Western) and Northbound B (to North Hollywood) trains use the lower level.
Artwork
The artwork at the station depicts typographic letters and symbols designed by Bob Zoell. The letters on the pillars of the lower platform spell out "going by-by", what the B line and its patrons do when they zoom in and out of the station. Addition artwork at the station is the creation of Peter Shire. The Wilshire/Vermont station also contains the two longest continuous escalators in the state of California (in fact, west of the Mississippi;[4] these escalators stretch from the ground level to the lower platform of the Wilshire/Vermont station.
Bus connections
- Metro Local: 18, 20, 51, 52, 201, 204, 351
- Metro Rapid: 720, 754
- LADOT DASH: Wilshire Center / Koreatown
Popular culture
In 2009, a sign listing the Wilshire/Vermont station was used in a Geico "It's So Easy A Caveman Could Do It" commercial featuring the song "Let Me Be Myself" by Three Doors Down.
References
- ^ "Purple Line station information". Metro.
- ^ "People and Places: Los Angeles 2007.1016", Architecture Week, October 16, 2007 (accessed February 23, 2010).
- ^ Christopher Hawthorne, " Just keep your distance: The Wilshire Vermont Station is dramatic from far away. A walk in its courtyard exposes its flaws.", Los Angeles Times, October 3, 2007.
- ^ a b Hymon, Steve (August 11, 2014). "Transportation headlines, Monday, August 11". The Source. Metro. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
