19th Street Oakland station

19th Street Oakland station

Company type	Rapid transit station
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	September 11, 1972 (1972-09-11)
Headquarters	Oakland, California , United States
Products	Bay Area Rapid Transit services (Orange, Yellow, Red lines)

19th Street Oakland station (displayed as 19th St/Oakland) is a subterranean Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) facility positioned beneath Broadway, spanning from 17th to 20th Streets within Oakland's Uptown neighborhood. It operates as a scheduled transfer hub for northbound Orange Line trains heading toward Richmond and Yellow Line trains bound for Antioch. The station comprises three underground tiers, with train tracks situated on the second and third levels. Services include the , , and lines, along with AC Transit bus connections at the Uptown Transit Center.

Commissioned in 1972 as a segment of BART’s original launch, the station underwent expansion between 1980 and 1986 through the KE Track initiative, which introduced an additional third track. Modern enhancements during the 2010s incorporated public artwork, a revamped entrance canopy, and a bike station. A comprehensive renovation from 2019 to 2023 added a new elevator and restored public restroom facilities. The commencement of Tempo bus rapid transit service in 2020 further improved regional transit integration.

Station layout

This station consists of three levels underground. The uppermost level serves as a concourse area equipped with ticket vending machines and faregates. On the second level, an island platform accommodates two northbound tracks (C1 and CX) traveling toward and . The third level features a side platform serving a single southbound track (C2) directed to or San Francisco. Notably, its blue brick design stands in contrast to the red brickwork found at the nearby 12th Street Oakland City Center station.

There are six public access points: two entrances each at 20th, 19th, and 17th Streets, including one via an alley connecting to Telegraph Avenue. Accessibility is supported by a street-level elevator near 17th Street on the east side of Broadway, along with platform elevators located at both ends. The mezzanine level offers direct access to the adjacent 1970 Broadway building and includes an unused entrance leading to 1955 Broadway. Across Broadway on 19th Street, a valet bike parking facility with a capacity for 130 bicycles operates within a storefront.

The nearby surface roads form an essential transfer point for AC Transit bus services. The Uptown Transit Center, inaugurated in September 2006 on 20th Street just west of Broadway, contains six sizable shelters designed to support passenger transfers. Bus routes serving this location include:

• Transbay: NL
• Rapid: 72R
• Local: 6, 12, 18, 33, 51A, 72, 72M
• All-Nighter: 800, 802, 805, 851

The Tempo route 1T operates from dedicated platforms situated on Broadway; its southbound stop lies just below 20th Street while the northbound terminal is positioned between 17th and 19th Streets.

History

The 19th Street Oakland station, a collaborative design effort by Gerard McCue and Associates along with other firms, commenced operations on September 11, 1972, as part of the inaugural BART segment. The station's name was officially adopted by the BART Board in December 1965. Service extended to Richmond in 1973 and further reached San Francisco via the Transbay Tube by 1974.

Initially, the station did not feature an elevator because the city prohibited sidewalk kiosk installations. In 1972, BART negotiated an easement with The Bank of Tokyo allowing construction of an elevator inside their building at 1750 Broadway, which became operational in April 1973.

At first, the station had side platforms serving one track each. Between 1980 and 1986, a significant renovation added a west track and transformed the upper platform into an island platform, enhancing peak-hour directional service capabilities.

Timed transfers between the Richmond–Fremont and Concord–Daly City lines were introduced in 1992. In 2010, northbound transfers were shifted to this station to streamline passenger movement.

Between October 2013 and September 2014, the city led renovations at the Telegraph Avenue entrance, which included installing Shifting Topographies, a kinechromatic sculpture created by Dan Corson. This entrance was temporarily closed again in early 2015 for adding colored glass panels. Unfortunately, the artwork suffered fire damage in March 2020.

To address escalator maintenance issues, BART developed and installed a prototype glass canopy at the northeast corner of 20th Street and Broadway from 2013 to 2015. This structure enhanced lighting conditions, shielded escalators from weather-related wear, reduced downtime by approximately one-third, and incorporated real-time train information displays. Its effectiveness prompted the installation of similar canopies at San Francisco stations starting in 2017.

Construction on the Oakland–San Leandro East Bay Bus Rapid Transit line (Tempo) began in August 2016. While initial plans called for surface stops on 20th Street at Uptown Transit Center, these were moved to Broadway after the Berkeley segment was canceled. The Tempo route 1T commenced service on August 9, 2020.

A bike station opened in a retail space at 19th Street in February 2015. By 2017, demand during weekday mornings surpassed available capacity; consequently, BART recommended building a larger facility near 21st Street. By August 2020, $1.17 million had been raised toward an estimated $8–9 million project to establish a new bike station with approximately 400 spaces.

A conceptual modernization plan was finalized in 2014. In July 2019, BART awarded a $32.7 million contract for renovations aimed at merging three paid areas into a single zone, installing a new platform elevator at the north end within fare control, and reopening restrooms that had been closed since 2001. The project also included public art installations.

Work commenced on January 25, 2020. Due to reduced ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic, several entrances were closed between April 2020 and June 2021. The northwest corner entrance was closed for six months beginning June 15, 2021; meanwhile, the Telegraph Avenue entrance had been shut earlier for upgrades. Renovated restrooms reopened on February 25, 2022. The project concluded with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held on January 21, 2023.

External links

• Official BART page for 19th Street Oakland
• Information on 19th Street/Oakland Station Modernization from BART