Westlake/MacArthur Park station

Westlake/MacArthur Park is a heavy-rail subway station in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system. It is located at Wilshire Boulevard and Alvarado Street, across from the park of the same name in Los Angeles' Westlake District. This station is served by the B Line and the D Line.

Westlake/MacArthur Park
   
South entrance to station
Location660 South Alvarado Street
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Coordinates34.0570°N 118.2764°W / 34.0570; -118.2764
Owned byMetro
Line(s) B Line
 D Line
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Connections"Kiss & Ride" passenger drop-off area
Construction
ParkingExtremely limited (19 Spaces)
Bicycle facilities14 bike rack spaces
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Statusin service
History
OpenedJanuary 30, 1993 (January 30, 1993)
Services
Preceding station 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
The north entrance of the station. The red sign pillar uses the old design from 2003-2014.

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.[1]

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.

Right outside the station, MacArthur Park and a lively street scene of a largely Salvadorean, Guatemalan and Honduran population is in stark contrast to the Manhattan-like metropolitan environment one station to the east. The entrance to the station is only a few steps away from the landmark Langer's Deli, which is famous for its pastrami. Workers from downtown offices often jump on the B Line or D Line in order to have lunch there or send someone to pick up food for take-out. Langer's credits the Red Line's opening with saving their business in the late 1980s, when MacArthur Park's once glittering reputation had decayed to notorious at best. Langer's Deli is featured in one of 13 ceramic mosaic murals located inside the MacArthur Park station. 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.[2]

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.

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
Southbound/Eastbound →  B Line toward Union Station (7th St/Metro Center) →
→  D Line toward Union Station (7th St/Metro Center) →

Metro Rail service

B and D Line service hours are approximately from 5:00 AM until 12:45 AM daily.[3]

Bus connections

References
  1. "Purple Line station information".
  2. http://www.metro.net/news/simple_pr/Artwork-Westlake-MacArthur-Park-Metro-Rail-Sta/
  3. "Red/Purple Line timetable" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-05-10.



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