Grand Circus Park station
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Grand Circus Park | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Grand Circus Park station, with elevated People Mover platform in background, and a QLine train in the foreground. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Intersection of Park Avenue and Woodward Avenue Detroit, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°20′09″N 83°03′02″W / 42.33578°N 83.05052°W | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Detroit Transportation Corporation (People Mover) M-1 Rail (QLINE) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 3 side platforms | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 1 (People Mover) 2 (QLINE) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections |  DDOT 4 SMART FAST Michigan & Woodward D2A2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | September 20, 1976 (Detroit Citizens' Railway) July 31, 1987 (DPM) May 12, 2017 (QLINE)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | June 2003 (Detroit Dowtown Trolley) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 2015 (DPM) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Grand Circus Park station is a public transit station in downtown Detroit, Michigan, served by the Detroit People Mover and the QLine.[2] The station takes its name from the adjacent Grand Circus Park. It is also the terminus of the D2A2 commuter bus to Ann Arbor, and serves as a transfer point to SMART's FAST Michigan and Woodward express bus lines.
A station has existed since September 20, 1976 with the opening of the Detroit Citizens' Railway, later the Detroit Downtown Trolley, a heritage streetcar line operating until 2003. The People Mover station opened July 31st, 1987. Streetcar service returned with the opening of the QLine on May 12, 2017.
Detroit People Mover[edit]
The People Mover station occupies the first two floors of a structure attached to the historic David Whitney Building. It is located at the intersection of Park Street and Woodward Avenue near Washington Boulevard, in the Grand Circus Park Historic District.[2] Grand Circus Park is the nearest People Mover station to the Fox Theatre, The Fillmore Detroit, Little Caesars headquarters, Little Caesars Arena, and the Hockeytown Cafe.
On the platform stands "Catching Up," a bronze sculpture by John Seward Johnson II, depicting a man reading a newspaper while waiting for a train. The newspaper depicted is the actual May 21, 1987 issue of The Detroit News, with a headline breaking the news of that year's merger of Chrysler and American Motors, and advertisements for defunct Detroit-area retail chains Hudson's and Farmer Jack.[3]
The station was reachable only by an external stairway from 1999 to 2015, when the David Whitney Building was closed. A new station lobby was constructed from August 2014 to June 2015 alongside the building's restoration, with a new elevator added to restore accessibility.[4][5]
QLine[edit]
![[icon]](File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2015) |
The QLine serves two street-level side platforms on Woodward Avenue north of Park Avenue and Witherell Street.[6] The QLine portion of the station is sponsored by General Motors' Chevrolet brand.[7]
Heritage trolley[edit]
The station was the northern terminus of the Detroit Downtown Trolley, having a double-track boarding area just south of the carhouse near Park Avenue. The east half of Washington Boulevard was converted into a pedestrian mall, and later the Detroit People Mover included an exit-only staircase near the trolley stop.
In June 2003 the Detroit Downtown Trolley abruptly ended service. In February 2004 the carhouse was demolished, with mall sculptures removed that year, the pedestrian mall was fully displaced by vehicle traffic in 2005.[8][9]
See also[edit]
- List of rapid transit systems
- List of United States rapid transit systems by ridership
- Metromover
- Streetcars in North America
- Transportation in metropolitan Detroit
References[edit]
- ^ Fleming, Leonard (March 9, 2017). "QLine to begin offering rides on May 12". Detroit News. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
- ^ a b Detroit Transportation Corporation Archived 2009-03-21 at the Wayback Machine . accessed 4.04.2012
- ^ Baetens, Melody (2023-03-26). "What's special about the May 21, 1987 issue of The Detroit News". The Detroit News.
- ^ "Local Contractor for Grand Circus Park Station". Detroit Transportation Corporation. 20 October 2014. Archived from the original on 25 January 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ Lawrence, Eric D. (2015-06-24). "People Mover's Grand Circus Station back in service". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ Runyan, Robin (December 9, 2016). "Here's what the QLINE stations will look like". curbed.com. Vox Media. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
- ^ "M-1 Rail Station Stops". M-1Rail.com. M-1 Rail. Archived from the original on 5 August 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Streetcar Systems- Michigan". Railway Preservation Resources. July 2, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
- ^ "Washington Boulevard Historic District". Detroit Historical Society. Retrieved January 2, 2024.