Expo/Crenshaw station
Expo/Crenshaw station is a light rail station in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system located in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles at the intersection of Crenshaw and Exposition Boulevards. During construction, it was known as the Crenshaw station. The station is the transfer point between the E Line, which stops at two street-level platforms alongside Exposition Boulevard, and the K Line, which has its northern terminus at a single island platform under Crenshaw Boulevard.
Expo/Crenshaw   | ||||||||||||||||
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 The K Line station in 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | 3428 Exposition Boulevard (E Line) 3630 South Crenshaw Boulevard (K Line) Los Angeles, California | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34.0225°N 118.3350°W | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side platforms (E Line) 1 island platform (K Line) | |||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 surface (E Line) 2 underground (K Line) | |||||||||||||||
| Connections | ||||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | At-grade (E Line) Underground (K Line) | |||||||||||||||
| Parking | 225 spaces (closed Sundays) | |||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Racks | |||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | October 17, 1875 | |||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | April 28, 2012 (E Line) October 7, 2022 (K Line)[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Previous names | 11th Ave | |||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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| Location | ||||||||||||||||
History
E Line
Originally little more than a stop marker on the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad and Pacific Electric interurban line, passenger service ended on September 30, 1953, with closure of the Santa Monica Air Line. It remained out of service and the station was eventually dismantled.
The new station at Exposition and Crenshaw Blvd, opened on Saturday, April 28, 2012, completely rebuilt for the service on the Expo Line (now known as the E Line).[2] It opened during the completion of Phase I of the E Line from 7th Street/Metro Center to Culver City.[2] Regular scheduled service commenced Monday, April 30, 2012. The station has near-side platforms.
K Line
Expo/Crenshaw became a transfer station when the K Line service began in late 2022. The Metro staff board ruled out an at-grade junction station between the K Line and E Line, stating that it was operationally not feasible. (Such a junction would result in three rail lines—the K, E, and the A Lines—sharing the single pair of tracks on Flower Street leading into 7th Street/Metro Center station, putting those tracks well above their capacity limit and causing delays.) Instead, a light rail subway station for the K Line was constructed under Crenshaw Boulevard between Exposition Boulevard and Obama Boulevard (formerly Rodeo Road) in order to allow for an extension of the K Line north through a D Line station and to the B Line's Hollywood/Highland station, where it will terminate via a route to be determined.[3][4]
Metro held a ceremonial ribbon cutting ceremony for the station on July 8, 2022, attended by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.[5] The station opened on October 7, 2022.[1]
Service
Station layout
The E Line platforms are located in the median of Exposition Boulevard on either side of its intersection with Crenshaw Boulevard, a major L.A. thoroughfare. The entrance/exit for the underground K Line platform is located at the southeast corner of the intersection. The E Line uses "near-side" platforms which are positioned on opposite sides of the intersection, and trains always stop at the platform before crossing the intersection. Because the E Line platforms are in the median with no under or above-ground pathways, passengers transferring between the E and K lines must cross the street.
| G | Side platform, doors will open on the right | |
| Westbound | ← E Line toward Santa Monica (Farmdale) | |
| Eastbound | E Line toward Atlantic (Expo/Western) → | |
| Side platform, doors will open on the right | ||
| Street level | Entrance/Exit, ticket machines | |
| B1 | Mezzanine | Faregates, ticket machines, to Entrance/Exit |
| B2 | Southbound | K Line toward Westchester/Veterans (Martin Luther King Jr.) → |
| Island platform, doors will open on the left or right | ||
| Southbound | K Line toward Westchester/Veterans (Martin Luther King Jr.) → | |
Hours and frequency
E Line trains run every day between approximately 4:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. Trains operate every 10 minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday, and every twelve minutes during the daytime on weekdays and all day on the weekends. Evening service (after 7 p.m.) is every 20 minutes.[6]
K Line service hours are approximately from 4:30 a.m. until 12:00 a.m. daily. Trains operate every ten minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday, and every 12 minutes during the daytime on weekdays and all day on the weekends. Night service is every 20 minutes.[7]
Connections
As of June 16, 2023, the following connections are available:[8]
- LADOT DASH: Midtown
- Los Angeles Metro Bus: 38, 209, 210
Parking
The station does not have its own parking lot, but instead leases 225 stalls in a 500-stall parking structure owned by the West Angeles Church of God in Christ for use as a park and ride. As part of this arrangement, the garage is not open to Metro passengers on Sunday when the church holds services.[9]
Notable places nearby
The station is within walking distance of the following notable places:
Station artwork
The station incorporates artwork by several artists.[10]
The art panels on the E Line platforms were created by artist Willie Middlebrook; his untitled installation uses manipulated photographs to depict the diverse population in interaction with the earth and the environment. The colors used were inspired by the stained glass windows of the nearby West Angeles Church of God in Christ.[11]
The K Line station entrance artwork is Inside Out – Outside In – Inside Out by Erwin Redl, a series of glazed glass panels with colored squares. By day these panels appear to project colors onto nearby surfaces and at night they make the station entrance appear as an illuminated jewel box. Like the earlier E Line art panels, the colors selected were inspired by the stained glass windows of the West Angeles Cathedral.[12]
The mezzanine level features two mosaic murals called At the Same Time by artist Rebeca Méndez. One mural features vertical segments showing the progression of time over 24 hours in 15 minute increments, portraying stars, the moon, and cloudy skies. The other mural depicts a lofted bird wing, visible while descending the escalators to the platform to evoke a long-distance avian migration, with the wings also referencing the angels called upon during sermons at the West Angeles Cathedral.[13]
The K Line platform has collages entitled Layered Histories by Jaime Scholnick. To create the piece, the artist used 11,800 photographs of the surrounding neighborhood to depict a colorful and abstracted street scenes, creating a time capsule reflective of the spirit of the surrounding community.[14]
References
- Patel, Tine (October 7, 2022). "LA Metro's new K Line opens today". CBS. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- Hymon, Steve (March 23, 2012). "Expo Line to open to the public on Saturday, April 28". The Source. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- "Crenshaw Transit Corridor Project Final Feasibility Study – Wilshire/La Brea Transit Extension" (PDF). Metro (LACMTA). May 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 29, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- "Feasibility study looks at possible routes for Crenshaw Northern". The Source. July 2018. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
- Garcia, Sid (July 8, 2022). "Pete Buttigieg takes first ride on Expo/Crenshaw K Line in South LA set to open in fall". ABC7 Los Angeles (KABC-TV). Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
- "Metro E Line schedule". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- "Metro K Line schedule". September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- "E Line Timetable – Connections section" (PDF). Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 16, 2023. p. 2. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- "Approve License Amendment with West Angeles Chuch of God in Christ". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 17, 2015. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
- Broverman, Neal (January 22, 2018). "An Early Look at All the Artwork Coming to the Metro Crenshaw Line Los Angeles Magazine". Los Angeles. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
- Yamamoto, Zipporah Lax (October 1, 2010). "Art for the Expo Line: Willie Middlebrook's Designs for Expo/Crenshaw Station". Metro The Source. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- "Inside Out – Outside In – Inside Out". Metro Art. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- "At the Same Time". Metro Art. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- "Layered Histories". Metro Art. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
Media related to Expo / Crenshaw (Los Angeles Metro station) at Wikimedia Commons
