LAist: The Red Line Station at Wilshire & Vermont: Legend or Legit?

Adam Villani

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 14:46:25 -0800

The Red Line is a lot better than the Gold Line. Because it runs past so many homes and crosses streets and has to deal with whiny NIMBYist South Pasadenans, the Gold Line is the poky little train that gets you there, eventually. The Red Line is lightning-fast. It's a subway, heavy rail.

ryan

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 14:44:26 -0800

Rough (and pricey) experience, sorry to hear it. I found this hidden station entrance late one night. Really though, at that intersection who needs a train. You should have headed immediately to the underground rooms @ loud karaoke music zone...so much to sing, so little time...

Zach Behrens

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 15:42:18 -0800

Just to clear up in regards to comment #9, those were Los Angeles County Sheriff's (LASD), not LAPD. LASD is the contracted police for anything MTA. LAPD training vs. LASD training are very different, in my opinion at least.

roonie

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 14:36:47 -0800

It's on Shatto, baby. And don't stay there too late at night; I waited there for over an hour after coming home from a show at the Avalon to catch the Red Line back to Wilshire/Western (I live there). Alas, I don't think a night train exists in that direction.

Oren

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 13:57:04 -0800

Zach: ding ding ding!

elizabeth

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 12:47:16 -0800

And where is the LAPD? Telling a couple of young ladies to take a stroll down Wilshire at that time of night isn't exactly protecting and serving too well, is it?

Zach Behrens

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 12:39:00 -0800

Does anyone notice something here? If this were something about the fire department, Brian Humphries would have responded quite quickly. If it were something in CD-13, Eric Garcetti or Josh (his press deputy) would have already chimed. Even LADOT will soon have a full time press person who I have personally offered to help blogging with. Now, where is the MTA?

sx70

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 11:22:27 -0800

yeah, it's hidden underneath the construction. you have to enter on shatto. (shatto is such a fun word to say)

Lindsay William-Ross

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 11:14:39 -0800

our cab driver was telling us about the construction that grew to essentially overtake the station entrance, and something about the land actually being owned by the mta. it's crazy how poorly marked it is, though. we passed the wilshire/normandie one, but knew it wouldn't do us any good to go down there; the sherrifs said it was the two stop wilshire/western end that was closed early.

admiralty

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:51:26 -0800

You may have already figired this out, but the Wilshire/Vermont station is on Shatto (one block east of Vermont) between Wilshire and 6th St. I've been using it almost every day since I moved to Koreatown about 8 months ago, and there's been a construction site basically right on top of the station the entire time. A couple of weeks ago, they expanded the construction, and now the station entrance is even more hidden than before. I went through a similar experience trying to find the station my first time, but it was morning on my way to work, and not nearly as harrowing as your experience. It has always been poorly marked and too hard to find. Heck, the Wilshire/Normandie station is pretty elusive too, and that's right down the street from me. They need to mark these a lot more clearly indeed. I do have to say that love being able to take the subway to work evry day. And the service is reliable, with frequent stops. But then again, I'm also just lucky that I live and work near Red Line stops. Most people don't, and that's this city's fault, along with the oil/tire/automotive lobby.

sam

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:34:52 -0800

I'm pretty sure there is one at Wilshire and Vermont, seeing that I used to drop someone off their every week to take the subway home...The Red Line sucks though. I hear the new one is quite nice (Gold Line?) If you linger around long enough(like around midnight) at Denny's next to the Wiltern you don't have to pay for parking!!! (Unless you pay when you enter, but I'm never early enough to do that). Just get some dessert.

Josh Strike

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:21:10 -0800

Lindsay, I have a theory that the reason Metro trains stop running a good 2 hours before closing time has to do with keeping DUI revenues high. If their failure to transport the drunkest among us is any indication, public safety is clearly not among their concerns.

Tristen

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:16:16 -0800

What a bummer! Let us know if it ever re-opens. I hate trying to park any where around the El Rey :(

elizabeth

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:12:23 -0800

What happened to the Red Line station at Wilshire and Normandie?