Wilshire/La Cienega station

Wilshire/La Cienega
Wilshire/La Cienega station under construction in August 2023
General information
Location	8485 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, California
Coordinates	34°3′55″N118°22′33″W / 34.06528°N 118.37583°W / 34.06528; -118.37583
Owned by	Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Under construction
History
Opening	2025;1 year's time (2025)
Future services
Preceding station Metro Rail Following station Terminus D Line D Line Extension Phase 1 Wilshire/Fairfax toward Union Station Wilshire/Rodeo toward Century City/Constellation D Line D Line Extension Phase 2
Location

Wilshire/La Cienega station is an under construction, underground rapid transit (known locally as a subway) station on the D Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system in Beverly Hills, California, at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard. ^[1] It is in the design/construction phase of the D Line Extension project. ^[2] The tunneling work from the east (Wilshire/La Brea station) was completed in May 2021 and the tunneling work from the west (Wilshire/Rodeo) was completed in January 2023. ^[3] Originally the project was slated for completion in 2023. The station's opening is now scheduled for 2025. ^[4]

Station site & layout

Located at the intersection Wilshire Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard, the new, one-story subway station will provide access to the trains below via escalators, elevators, and stairs. The entrance will be located on the northeast corner of the intersection. Underground, the station will include an upper level concourse for ticketing, and at the level of the tracks a passenger platform for boarding and egress. ^{[5] [6]}

The site of the new station was formerly occupied by a Citibank. It was demolished circa 2016 to provide a temporary staging yard. Another staging yard is at the northwest corner of Wilshire and Gale Drive, where Luther Burbank Savings had been located. These yards support the multi-year construction project.

Local attractions

Adjoining the new northeast-corner station will be the following.

• On the northwest corner, a three-story structure for Cedars-Sinai offices, and a Wells Fargo branch.
• On the southwest corner, a 10-story office building, with a Chase branch. ^[7] On its ninth floor is the Turkish Consulate. ^[8]
• On the southeast corner, a 10-story, oval-footprint office building. Its architectural panache initially served to advertise itself as the headquarters of Great Western Savings. In a 1997 merger GW was acquired by Washington Mutual. ^[9] WaMu's branch there was held up in 2003. ^[10] The branch closed in 2008 following WaMu's purchase by JPMorgan Chase. ^[11] The building itself was sold by Larry Flynt in 2013 to Douglas Emmett, ^[12] a listed real estate company. Outside, a large equestrian statue of John Wayne (crafted in Italy) stands near the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hamilton Drive. ^{[13] [14]} The building's third floor houses the Brazilian Consulate. ^[15]

From the site of the new station, going south on La Cienega Boulevard a block and a half, is the Douglas Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study and the Margaret Herrick Library. Across La Cienega to the east is the triangular La Cienega Park. On Wilshire Boulevard, two commercial theaters are short walks away: for stage shows to the east the Saban Theatre; for film to the west the Fine Arts Theatre by Screening Services Group. Restaurant Row stretches north along La Cienega. ^{[16] [17]}

Notes

1. Elijah Chiland (2020).
2. "Purple (Line D) Extension" (2022).
3. Jennifer McLawhorn. "LA Metro Finishes 5 Years of Tunneling for D Line Subway Extension Project". RT&S. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
4. @Metro (2024).
5. Wilshire/La Cienega Station.
6. Thomas Curwen (2017).
7. Cf., Eric Brightwell (2012).
8. Turkish Consulate.
9. Barry Stavro (1997).
10. Krikorian and Haines (2003).
11. David Ellis (2008).
12. Eric Hayden (2013).
13. Henry Kamm (1984).
14. Gary Wayne (2018).
15. Brazilian Consulate.
16. Eric Brightwell (2012).
17. Wilshire/La Cienega Station.

Sources

• @Metro, D Line Subway Extension Project – Section 1, Accessed 2024-07-09.
• Thomas Curwen, "Climb inside the massive tunnel 60 feet below downtown L.A.", in the Los Angeles Times, May 14, 2017. Accessed 2018-12-09.
• David Ellis, "JPMorgan buys WaMu. In the biggest bank failure in history, JPMorgan Chase will acquire massive branch network and troubled assets from Washington Mutual for $1.9 Billion", at CNN Money, Sept. 26, 2008. Accessed 2018-11-11.
• Erik Hayden, "Larry Flynt sells Hustler HQ for $89 Million", in The Hollywood Reporter, May 15, 2013. Accessed 2018-11-11.
• Henry Kamm, "John Wayne Rides Again", in The New York Times, June 24, 1984. Accessed 2018-11-11.
• Greg Krikorian and Errin Haines, "1 Killed, 1 Flees in Bank Shoot-out". © in the Los Angeles Times, Feb. 15, 2003.
• Joe Linton, "Metro Committee approves $200M cost overrun for Purple Line Extension", la.streetsblog.org, August 21, 2020. Accessed 2020-09-08.
• Barry Stavro, "Shareholders approve Great Western merger", in the Los Angeles Times, June 14, 1997. Accessed 2018-11-11.
• Gary Wayne, "The John Wayne Statues", at Seeing Stars in Hollywood website, 2018. Accessed 2018-11-11.
  • Consulate General of Brazil in Los Angeles. Accessed 2018-11-15.
  • Purple (Line D) Extension Transit Project, Metro website (2022), Accessed 2022-10-25.
  • Purple Line Extension, "The long awaited Metro Purple Line Subway Extension is now under construction", 'Overview' at Metro.
  • Turkish Consulate General in Los Angeles. Accessed 2020-08-27.
  • "Wilshire/La Cienega Station", at Purple Line Extension Project (Summer 2016).