Convention Center station (MetroLink)
{{Short description|Station in St. Louis MetroLink light rail system, Missouri, USA}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox station
| style = MetroLink (St. Louis)
| name = Convention Center
| image = Westbound platform at Convention Center, looking east (52046484233).jpg
| image_caption = Convention Center station platform
| address = 600 North 6th Street
| borough = St. Louis, Missouri
| coordinates = {{coord|38.630224|-90.189362|region:US_type:railwaystation|display=inline,title}}
| owned = Bi-State Development
| operator = Metro Transit
| platform = 2 side platforms
| tracks = 2
| connections =
| structure = Underground
| parking =
| bicycle =
| accessible = Yes
| status = Closed for rehabilitation
| opened = {{Start date|1993|07|31}}{{Cite news |last=Lindecke |first=Fred W. |date=August 1, 1993 |title=Area Riders Throng to Try MetroLink |pages=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75848225/metrolink-part-2-august-1-1993/ 6A] |work=The St. Louis Post-Dispatch |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75848210/metrolink-august-1-1993/ |access-date=April 15, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}
| rebuilt =
| pass_year = 2018
| passengers = 1,309 daily
| pass_rank = 12 out of 38
| services = {{Adjacent stations|system1=MetroLink (St. Louis)
|line1=Blue|left1=8th & Pine|right1=Laclede's Landing
|line2=Red|left2=8th & Pine|right2=Laclede's Landing
}}
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-custom = {{Infobox mapframe |shape=none |line=none |marker=rail-light |marker-color=#000 |zoom=15 }}
}}
Convention Center station is a light rail station on the Red and Blue lines of the St. Louis MetroLink system.{{Cite web |title=Convention Center Station |url=https://www.metrostlouis.org/metrolink-station/convention-center-station/ |access-date=September 12, 2022 |website=metrostlouis.org |language=en}} This subway station is located beneath the intersection of 6th Street and Washington Avenue in St. Louis' Central Business District.
History
File:Convention Center Construction.jpg
Convention Center was built within the historic Downtown Tunnel, constructed in 1874 to carry trains between the Eads Bridge and the Mill Creek Valley rail yards.{{Cite book |last=Primm |first=James, Neal |title=Lion of the Valley, St. Louis, Missouri 1764–1980 |publisher=Missouri Historical Society Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-883982-25-6 |edition=3rd |location=United States |pages=289–292 |language=en}} The tunnel closed after a final Amtrak train passed through in 1974. Rehabilitation began in 1991 in preparation for the opening of MetroLink in 1993, which now uses the tunnel to connect communities in Illinois and Missouri via downtown St. Louis.{{Cite web |title=St. Louis Freight Tunnel |url=https://bridgehunter.com/mo/st-louis-city/st-louis-freight-tunnel |access-date=September 12, 2022 |website=Bridgehunter.com}} In 1992, just east of this station, a portion of the tunnel beneath Washington Avenue and Broadway collapsed, injuring no one.{{Cite web |title=St. Louis Freight Tunnel |url=https://bridgehunter.com/mo/st-louis-city/st-louis-freight-tunnel |access-date=September 27, 2022 |website=Bridgehunter.com}}
On January 20, 2023, Metro Transit announced that Convention Center will receive a full rehabilitation.{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Jasmine |date=January 20, 2023 |title=Periodic Changes to Evening and Weekend MetroLink Service |url=https://www.metrostlouis.org/nextstop/periodic-changes-to-evening-and-weekend-metrolink-service/ |access-date=January 24, 2023 |website=Metro Transit – Saint Louis |language=en}} These improvements include updating elevators, escalators and stair access, lighting upgrades, improved signage and wayfinding, cleaning, and general infrastructure upgrades like new walls and flooring.{{Cite web |title=Transit Infrastructure Improvements |url=https://www.metrostlouis.org/metro-projects/transit-infrastructure-improvements/ |access-date=January 24, 2023 |website=Metro Transit – Saint Louis |language=en}} The rehabilitation began shortly after the completion of the 8th & Pine station rehabilitation,{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Jasmine |date=2024-03-27 |title=8th & Pine Station to Close for Three Months for Station Improvements |url=https://www.metrostlouis.org/nextstop/8th-pine-closure/ |access-date=2024-03-27 |website=Metro Transit – Saint Louis |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Troxell |first=Karen |date=2024-10-25 |title=MetroLink Station Construction Updates: 8th & Pine and Civic Center |url=https://cmt-stl.org/metrolink-station-construction-updates-8th-pine-and-civic-center/ |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=Citizens For Modern Transit |language=en-US}} with the station closing to the public on January 6, 2025. {{Cite web |date=December 13, 2024 |title=8th & Pine MetroLink Station Reopens on Monday, December 16 |url=https://www.metrostlouis.org/nextstop/8th-pine-metrolink-station-reopens-on-monday-december-16/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213225115/https://www.metrostlouis.org/nextstop/8th-pine-metrolink-station-reopens-on-monday-december-16/ |archive-date=December 13, 2024 |access-date=January 13, 2025 |website=Metro Transit St. Louis}}
Station layout
File:600 Washington Plaza 2016.jpg
The station's westbound platform is accessed via an entrance in the base of the former Stix, Baer, and Fuller flagship department store building, now known as The Laurel. The westbound side can also be accessed via a set of subway stairs on the northeast corner of 6th Street and Washington Avenue. The eastbound platform is accessed via a set of subway stairs, an escalator, and an elevator in the public plaza of 600 Washington in addition to another set of subway stairs across 6th Street.
| table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3
|style="border-top:solid 1px gray" width=50 valign=top|G |style="border-top:solid 1px gray" valign=top|Street level |style="border-top:solid 1px gray" valign=top|Entrance/exit, buses |
| style="border-top:solid 1px gray;border-bottom:solid 1px gray" width=50 rowspan=5 valign=top|P Platform level |style="border-top:solid 1px gray;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;text-align:center" colspan=2|{{small|Side platform, doors will open on the right}} |
| style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray"|Westbound
|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray"|← {{rcb|MetroLink (St. Louis)|Blue|inline=yes}} toward {{Stl|MetroLink (St. Louis)|Shrewsbury}} {{small|({{Stl|MetroLink (St. Louis)|8th & Pine}})}} |
| Eastbound
|{{0|←}} {{rcb|MetroLink (St. Louis)|Red|inline=yes}} toward {{Stl|MetroLink (St. Louis)|Shiloh–Scott}} {{small|({{Stl|MetroLink (St. Louis)|Laclede's Landing}})}} → |
| style="border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-top:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 1px gray;text-align:center" colspan=2|{{small|Side platform, doors will open on the right}} |
Public artwork
In 1997, Metro's Arts in Transit program commissioned the work Birds in Flight by artists Peter Tao, Helen Lee, and Stuart and Stacey Morse for installation in the tunnel between the Convention Center and Laclede's Landing stations. The painted panels are meant to mimic the motion of a flying bird.{{Cite web |title=Birds In Flight |url=https://www.artsintransit.org/portfolio/birds-in-flight/ |access-date=October 3, 2022 |website=Arts in Transit, Inc |language=en-US}}
Notable places nearby
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.metrostlouis.org/metrolink-station/convention-center-station/ Convention Center station – St. Louis Metro]
- [https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.630091,-90.18938&spn=0.001449,0.002403&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=38.630009,-90.189404&panoid=5IghdTjF-s1bYij7ShypsA&cbp=12,323.26,,0,6.33 North 6th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Convention Center (St. Louis Metrolink)}}
Category:MetroLink stations in St. Louis
Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1993
Category:Red Line (St. Louis MetroLink)
Category:Blue Line (St. Louis MetroLink)