Monrovia station

Monrovia station

Company type	Light rail station
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	March 5, 2016 (2016-03-05)
Headquarters	Monrovia, California , United States
Area served	Los Angeles Metro Rail network
Products	Light rail transit services

Monrovia station is a ground-level light rail stop on the A Line within the Los Angeles Metro Rail network. Situated at the intersection of Duarte Road and Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia, California, it commenced operations on March 5, 2016, as part of Phase 2A of the Gold Line Foothill Extension Project.

History

Monrovia’s inaugural railway tracks and station were established in 1887 by the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad, which was founded in 1883 by James F. Crank. This line connected downtown Los Angeles with the San Gabriel Valley. Ownership changed hands in 1887 when the railroad was acquired by the California Central Railway, later merged into the Southern California Railway in 1889, and eventually sold to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe) in 1906, becoming known as the Pasadena Subdivision.

In 1887, the Myrtle Avenue Railroad operated a mule-powered streetcar service from Monrovia station to downtown, utilizing gravity for its downhill return journey. This mode of transportation was discontinued by the early 1920s. The first Pacific Electric railcar reached Monrovia in 1906; however, service on the PE Pasadena and Monrovia line ended in 1951. The nearby Santa Fe Middle School derives its name from this historic railway.

The existing station incorporates the 1926 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe depot, designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style, which replaced an earlier wooden depot dating back to 1886. Passenger train service at Monrovia ceased by April 1956, although ticket sales continued into the late 1960s. Both Santa Fe and subsequently Amtrak operated the Southwest Chief and Desert Wind through Monrovia until 1986, when passenger routes were redirected. Rail service continued through the San Gabriel Valley until a bridge in Arcadia was damaged during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. With completion of the Gold Line, initiatives were launched to rehabilitate the historic 1926 station building.

The Santa Fe Depot has been featured in multiple Hollywood productions, most notably appearing twice in the 1966 film The Trouble with Angels, during its opening and closing sequences.

Vehicle maintenance facility

In conjunction with the light rail expansion, Metro and the Gold Line Authority constructed a 27-acre Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Facility located east of Monrovia station. Known as Metro Division 24 Yard, this $53 million complex provides servicing, cleaning, and storage for up to 104 light rail vehicles. It is positioned just north of the rail corridor between California Avenue and Shamrock Avenue.

Connections

As of , available transit connections include:

• Foothill Transit:

Neighborhood and destinations

The city of Monrovia has developed the Station Square Transit Village Mixed Use District surrounding the station area, integrating retail outlets, residential units, office spaces, and pedestrian-friendly features. Construction for phase one began in 2017. Between the station itself and the I-210 Foothill Freeway lies the Station Square Transit Center, which includes a park-and-ride facility alongside newly built apartment complexes. Restoration plans for the historic 1926 Monrovia Santa Fe train depot are underway; however, its intended future function remains undecided .

External links

• Foothill Extension Construction Authority official site
• Metro’s Foothill Extension project page
• Supporters’ blog: I Will Ride – Foothill Extension