The newly completed STV-designed station canopy at Pershing Square gives the station a stronger identity and higher visibility
Pretty much exactly a year ago, we learned that two subway stations in Downtown LA were getting new modern station canopies (courtesy of Metro) that would make the portals both more visible to riders (especially visitors unfamiliar with LA’s transit network) and to help protect the escalators and entryway from the elements. A year later, the two downtown stations — Civic Center and Pershing Square — have now completed construction on the new oval-shaped glass canopies.
Designed by New York-based architect firm STV Incorporated (collaborating on the new WTC transportation hub), the new canopies provide a stronger identity for LA’s subway stations, giving them not only a practical purpose, such as providing ample illumination at night for higher visibility and safety, but also elevating the status of LA’s burgeoning rail network at the same time. As many now know, LA has big transit ambitions with current rail construction projects totaling almost $12 billion (including the $6.3 billion Westside Subway Extension). That puts us at #2 in the entire country only behind New York with $20 billion in rail construction.
A view from within the Pershing Square station at the newly installed glass canopy above
A view of the city through the new glass canopy as one ascends up the escalator
The new canopies help make the station more visible to riders
Another view of the Pershing Square station with its new glass canopy
Can we move the toilette? It looks ridiculous and has no place there!
Agreed re: the public toilet. The canopy is a welcome addition, but the area around the stop is still used as an all day gathering place for some aggressive street people, and 5th street is a haven for drug dealing and panhandling. It would be nice to exit the station and not have to face all that on a day-in and day-out basis.
You’re absolutely correct about the riff-raff at the station. (At BOTH exits of the Pershing Square station). It desperately needs to be cleaned and these people dealt with. That’s unlikely to happen until Pershing gets its much needed extreme makeover.
Great pics Brigham. The portals are excellent additions to DTLA.
Agreed. move the homeless people and sketchy business from that area. Its disgusting and embarrassing for our city.
From what I’ve seen, the canopies really make their biggest difference at night. The station entraces are now very well lit after dark.
I live very close to Pershing and use the metro a fair amount. The hats are pretty nice and add much needed lighting at night. And yeah, these are really great shots Brigham.
As for the social issues, the police can’t just move ‘sketchy’ people. I just don’t see that happening. 5th is a drug haven, but more so between Spring and Broadway where I get offered Vicodin on a daily basis. They need to police that on a regular, hourly basis. As for removing the toilet, that will just result in more waste on the street. People gotta go and taking out the toilet won’t make them go elsewhere unless the city puts more portapottys in skid row.
To be honest though, the people who hang around 5th and Hill aren’t doing much harm. I’m much more concerned about what goes on at the exit on 4th and Hill, between the metro stop and Angel’s Flight. Every night there’s a serious encampment that springs up, replete with tents and dozens of people. Serious drugs are going on there, lots of drinking, and I’ve seen several piles of human crap lately on Olive. It’s a total blight. With the Grand Central market makeover coming (along with later hours) and the eventual Hotel Clark opening, something will need to be done about the situation there. We walk our dog that way a lot at night and it has gotten super shady, so much so that my wife won’t go that way alone anymore. The irony (and sadness) of watching them build the subway hat next to a large homeless encampment is not lost on me. I wrote to Huizar who passed me off to his local downtown representative who pretty much blew it off.
Living in NYC for a number of years… the NYPD does move ‘sketchy’ people. I’ve seen it numerous times.
Don’t think they should eliminate the toilet, just move it. It has no connection to the subway stop and seems to attract more street people to hang out there. Agree re: 5th between Broadway and Spring, but between Hill and Broadway is pretty bad too. Maybe the new Walgreen’s will help the area a little too?
Canopies are great but agree that 5th Street desperately needs more policing. We also need a real, comprehensive plan for getting people off the streets. Right now 1,000 people sleep on the streets of downtown every night because there aren’t enough shelter beds. City and county leaders have utterly failed to deal with the problem even though other cities, like New York, have made dramatic reductions in the number of unhoused people through increased services, outreach, shelter beds and permanent housing. Not sure what it’s going to take for the politicos to finally address this issue.
Agreed, but IIRC Guiliani took a much harder line on quality of life crimes as well, kind of a carrot and stick approach. I get the sense that a lot of the homeless that do sleep around 4th and Hill don’t necessarily want to be in the shelter.
They need to add way more toilets, enough so that average people
can find a clean, empty one when needed. I had to walk half a mile
to find one once- had to walk all the way to the library.
Just like adding more lanes to a freeway – adding more toilets – is not the solution.
Well, it’s not a long term solution but not adding toilets somewhere (I’ve read that skid row needs more toilets) is denying the current reality.
Hunter: man, I had to go bad, and there was *no frigging place to do it*. That’s the way to drive people away from downtown.
Canopy number 3 is already under construction with the superstructure already complete. It is located at the base of Angels Knoll Park/4th & HIll Street. I like the structures and the design, however I wish they were a color rather than institutional gray. They kind of blend into the landscape during the day.
Brigham, can you show pics of these at night? Also regarding the homeless problem, it’s never going away as long as skid row is around the corner. Many of the homeless people prefer sleeping on the street than in the shelter for their own reasons, they just go there to have a meal and come back.
Their error was to put so much homeless incampments in one spot, and now they’re payig the price. Other cities have them spread out through the city to where it’s not a huge problem.
The canopies are great indeed. The homeless problem could possibly get a lot worse:
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/01/two_skid_row_parks_run_out_of_money_could_close_friday.php
Wow, these look very sexy. I saw other pics on a different website and wasn’t too impressed. I can’t wait to see them in person. Really adds to the generally well designed and aesthetically pleasing subway stations found in Los Angeles.
I want to know just how these great-looking practical canopies are going to be kept clean. Do they swivel so someone can take a hose to them periodically, or ?
They don’t just self-clean in the skies of LA!
As to the toilets, placing more of them throughout downtown might help. As to “non-sketchy” people needing of toilet facilities, Subway, McDonald’s, etc. have facilities, and are generally fairly clean and available.
Also, in that area, the Biltmore Hotel has plenty of bathrooms throughout the hotel.
I tried the McDonald’s on Broadway. NO PUBLIC BATHROOM. The situation is worse than you thought, I fear.
The LA Public Library at 5th and Flower has public restrooms.
Yes, that’s eventually where I went, but one shouldn’t have to hunt for public bathrooms for half an hour! WHY AREN’T PUBLIC BATHROOMS EASY TO FIND IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES?
It’s a similar situation in many other cities, especially in the US. NYC is just as bad…
Hahaha
A good rule of thumb whenever in a big city is to go to the nearest (nice) hotel. Their are usually excellent restrooms on ground level. Biltmore. JW Marriot. Etc.
There*.
Bonaventure. Omni. The best in downtown are definitely JW though.
Yep. Hotels and department stores. I used to be in NYC all the time and the Barneys has a spectacular bathroom.