Union Square/Market Street station
Union Square/Market Street station is a subterranean Muni Metro light rail stop situated at the southeast corner of Union Square in San Francisco, California. This station, inaugurated on November 19, 2022, is a component of the Central Subway initiative. It functions as the second-to-last northbound stop on the T Third Street route, which transitioned to the Central Subway on January 7, 2023.
History
Positioned beneath Stockton Street between Geary and Market Streets, the station's primary entrance is found on Geary Street at Union Square's southeast corner. At its southern extremity, it links to the mezzanine level of the existing Powell Street station outside the fare-controlled area. The Powell Street access point at Stockton and Ellis was purchased from BART for one dollar and was temporarily closed in 2014 to be adapted into a shared entryway.
Excavation work was completed by July 2017, followed by the pouring of concrete for the station’s floor slab.
Stockton Street reopened between Geary and Ellis on February 22, 2019. Muni routes // and bus services recommenced on February 25; trolleybus lines and resumed operations on April 13 after overhead wiring was reinstalled.
John King, architecture critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, described Union Square/Market Street as the "most disappointing in terms of design" among all Central Subway stations, highlighting its exposed concrete walls, prominent ceiling beams on the platform level, and an unremarkable entrance building.
The Central Subway was closed from February 26 through March 14, 2025, to address water leakage issues at Chinatown station.
Artwork
Among the ten art installations featured in the Central Subway system, three are installed at the Union Square/Market Street station:
- Lucy in the Sky, created by Erwin Redl, consists of numerous LED-lit translucent panels mounted on the concourse ceiling, designed to shift colors and present dynamic animations.
- Illuminated Scroll, a collaboration between Jim Campbell and Werner Klotz, is a stainless steel ribbon approximately long and wide that meanders above the platform area.
- Convergence: Commute Patterns, by Hughen Starkweather, portrays commute flow patterns across the Bay Area. These visuals are integrated into the glass flooring and elevator surfaces of the Union Square headhouse, layered atop a topographical map.