Palms station


Palms is an elevated light-rail station on the E Line of the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system, at the intersection of National Boulevard and Palms Boulevard in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Location and design

The station is in Palms, Los Angeles, a dense residential neighborhood just south of I-10 and north of Culver City. It is within walking distance of the Castle Heights and Cheviot Hills neighborhoods.
The station location is adjacent to I-10, just west of the three-way intersection of National, Palms and Exposition boulevards and perched on an embankment above National Boulevard. Access is provided by stairs and elevators at the east end of the station.
Construction incorporated an existing steel bridge from the Air Line era and added a new concrete bridge, both immediately east of the station over the National/Palms intersection, as well as re-used an existing rail tunnel west of the station.

History

Bay View was a stop on the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad. It was renamed The Palms in 1886.
The Eastlake style Palms-Southern Pacific Railroad Depot building was situated approximately west of the present station location, on the south side of the tracks, and remained in active rail service until the closure of the Pacific Electric Air Line in 1953.
Used in many motion pictures, the building eventually fell into disrepair and abandonment, but was declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1963. A grassroots organization, S.O.S., moved it in February 1976 to the Heritage Square Museum grounds in the Montecito Heights community of the Arroyo Seco. It now serves as the museum's gift shop and visitor center.

Nomenclature

Originally slated to be renamed "National/Palms" on re-opening, it remains "Palms" as a result of a request by the Palms Neighborhood Council.
The council's resolution stated that:
On April 25, 2013, the Metro board of directors voted in favor of "Palms" as the official name of the station.

Bus connections