Little Tokyo/Arts District station

Little Tokyo/Arts District was an at-grade light rail station in the Metro Rail system. It was located at the intersection of First and Alameda Streets, on the edge of Little Tokyo and the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles. The station was served by the L Line.[1] It opened in 2009 as part of the Gold Line Eastside Extension, and closed in October 2020, and will be replaced by a new underground station with the same name opening in 2022.

Little Tokyo/Arts District
Location	200 N Alameda St, Los Angeles
Coordinates	34.0498°N 118.2380°W
Owned by	Metro
Line(s)	L Line
Platforms	1 center platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	none
Bicycle facilities	12 bike rack spaces 4 lockers
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Status	Closed
History
Opened	November 15, 2009
Closed	October 24, 2020 (surface station)
Rebuilt	August 2022 (planned underground station)
Services
Preceding station Metro Rail Following station Pico/Aliso toward Atlantic L Line Union Station toward APU/Citrus College
Future services Preceding station Metro Rail Following station Historic Broadway toward Downtown Long Beach A Line Union Station toward APU/Citrus College Historic Broadway toward Downtown Santa Monica E Line Pico/Aliso toward Atlantic
Location

Location

Both the original Little Tokyo/Arts District station and the new one under construction are located on the border of two neighborhoods, Little Tokyo to the west and the Arts District to the east. A number of educational attractions are near the station, with the Southern California Institute of Architecture, Japanese American National Museum, and the Geffen Contemporary branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art.[2]

This area was once a key area for trains in downtown. James M. Davies, for whom the large tract was named, subdivided the area in 1891. Several railroad lines from different companies connected through this site. Davies great-nephew, Robert Davies Volk, was the owner of the lots at First and Alameda streets with brick buildings shaped to fit the long-gone rail lines.[3] The structures had played an important role in the cultural life of the Little Tokyo neighborhood for decades before the site was cleared for the future station.[4] Los Angeles Railway P Line yellow streetcars operated on the surface of 1st Street[5] until 1963, including a call at Alameda.

Future station

Construction site of the new station

The new Little Tokyo/Arts District station will be underground, located on the west side of Alameda with entrances 500 feet (152 meters) south of the original station; it is being built as part of the Regional Connector project. The Regional Connector is a light rail tunnel through Downtown Los Angeles that will connect the current Metro Rail A, E, and L Lines. Under current plans, the station will be served by both the restructured A Line, connecting Long Beach and the San Gabriel Valley, and the restructured E Line, connecting Santa Monica and East Los Angeles. The new station was originally referred to as 1st St/Central in planning documents, but was ultimately assigned the same name as the existing station.[6] The decision to rebuild the station underground was driven in part by traffic concerns on Alameda and 1st Street caused by at-grade trains.[7] The Regional Connector is scheduled to open in 2022.[8]

Preliminary work for the underground station required the demolition of two modest single-story brick store buildings with one of the structures dating back to at least 1898.[4] The above-ground station was briefly closed in early 2016 due to the relocation of tracks for the Regional Connector project.[9] The above-ground station was again closed for the final time on October 24, 2020, and the underground station is planned to open 22 months later.[10]

Bus connections

The following bus routes stop at Little Tokyo/Arts District:

Class	Route	Western/southern terminus	Eastern/northern terminus
Local	30	Mid-City Pico-Rimpau Transit Center (shortline) via Pico Boulevard West Hollywood Sunset Boulevard and San Vicente Boulevard via San Vicente Boulevard	Little Tokyo/Arts District eastern terminus (shortline) East Los Angeles Indiana Gold Line Station via 1st Street
Local	40	Redondo Beach South Bay Galleria via Hawthorne Boulevard, Crenshaw Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard	Union Station

The station is also served by several LADOT DASH Buses

Landmarks

• Japanese American National Museum
• Little Tokyo
• The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

References

1. "Gold Line station information".
2. Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension destination map LACMTA Retrieved 2009-10-12
3. Fischer, Greg (August 26, 2014). "Tracking Some Early Train History: Upcoming Regional Connector Station Site Played a Key Role in L.A.'s Early Transportation Scene". Los Angeles Downtown News. Civic Center News, Inc.
4. Zahniser, David (March 15, 2014). "Buildings slated for tear-down were rich part of Little Tokyo history". Los Angeles Times.
5. H.P. Noordwal (1938). "Route Map Los Angeles Railway Electric Car and Bus Routes" (Map). Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. Los Angeles Railway. "Alternate link" (Map). via Google.
6. http://thesource.metro.net/2017/02/23/actions-taken-today-by-the-metro-board-of-directors-7/
7. "Regional Connector Update". The Source. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
8. https://www.metro.net/projects/connector/
9. https://www.metro.net/projects/notices/regional_notice_120105/. Retrieved 2015-01-13. Missing or empty |title= (help)
10. Hymon, Steve (15 September 2020). "Bus shuttles to replace L Line (Gold) service between Union Station and Pico/Aliso Station during 22-month closure to complete Regional Connector". Metro. The Source. Retrieved 16 September 2020.

External links

Media related to Little Tokyo / Arts District (Los Angeles Metro station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Eastside Extension page LACMTA