Culver City station

Culver City station
Company type	Light rail station
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	June 20, 2012; 14 years ago
Headquarters	Culver City, United States
Area served	Culver City, California
Owner	Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Culver City station is an elevated light rail stop on the E Line within the Los Angeles Metro Rail network. Positioned on a dedicated right-of-way along Exposition Boulevard, it lies between Venice Boulevard/Robertson Boulevard to the west and Washington Boulevard/National Boulevard to the east. This station serves the community of Culver City, California, from which it derives its name.

Hours and frequency

Trains on the E Line run daily starting around 4:30 a.m. and continue until approximately 12:30 a.m. During weekday peak periods, trains arrive every ten minutes. Outside peak hours on weekdays and after 8 a.m. on weekends, service frequency is about every twelve minutes, with early weekend mornings seeing intervals of 15 to 20 minutes. Overnight service operates at 20-minute intervals.

Connections

As of December 2024, available transit connections include:

History

The location currently occupied by Culver City station was originally known as La Ballona Station on the Los Angeles and Independence Railway dating back to 1874, situated near today’s Washington Boulevard. By 1889, the name Ivy Station had replaced the earlier designation in official documents.

In 1903, the Los Angeles-Pacific Railroad constructed the Venice Short Line through this vicinity, establishing an interurban rail line separated from steam railroads by an underpass. In 1908, tracks connected with the Santa Monica Air Line, enabling interchange and leading to the station being renamed Culver Junction. Notably, in 1915, a branch of the Los Angeles County Free Library operated briefly at this location.

The Venice line ceased operations in September 1950, ending its role as a junction; all passenger services ended by September 30, 1953. Nevertheless, "Culver Junction" remained a recognized name for the area on maps. When light rail service resumed in June 2012, the station adopted the name Culver City.

Nearby stands the historic Ivy Substation, which provided DC power via rotary converters until 1953 and has since been converted into The Actor's Gang Theater. Presently, electrical power for trains is supplied from a smaller facility located beneath the elevated platform.

Upon reopening on June 20, 2012, Culver City station functioned as the western terminus of the Expo Line before transitioning into a through-station with the extension reaching Downtown Santa Monica on May 20, 2016.

Notable places nearby

Situated at the northeastern boundary of Downtown Culver City—a prominent hub for retail, arts, and entertainment—the station offers convenient access to several key cultural and commercial destinations within walking distance:

Helms Bakery
Ballona Creek Bike Path
Hayden Tract
Museum of Jurassic Technology
Kirk Douglas Theater
Ivy Substation (historic former power facility for this station)
Ivy Station (a mixed-use development featuring residential units, retail spaces, a hotel, and serving as HBO’s west coast headquarters)

Station artwork

Tom LaDuke's artwork, entitled Unknowable Origins, is displayed at the station. The pieces present gently depicted scenes of Culver City as seen from hillside vantage points, incorporating stylized portraits of prominent local personalities within each panel.

External links

Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California, A Chronology of Changes in Rail Passenger Operations of the Pacific Electric Railway Company, accessed January 2008