Lake Merritt station

Lake Merritt station is an underground Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located east of Downtown Oakland near the eponymous Lake Merritt. The station is served by the Orange, Green, and Blue lines. It is the nearest BART station to Chinatown, Laney College, and Jack London Square station.

Station layout

The station has a single island platform located two levels below ground, with a fare mezzanine above it. The station has four entrances from Oak Street between 8th Street and 9th Street.

A largely-unused oval courtyard adjacent to the fare lobby includes reliefs of sea creatures and birds designed by William Mitchell. Now-closed portholes in the reliefs allowed the public to peer into the BART Operations Control Center.^: 5 A fountain was originally located in the courtyard. Walls in the station feature tile work in red, black, and off-white by Alfonso Pardiñas.^: 4

History

The construction of Lake Merritt station and the adjacent BART Administration Building leveled three blocks of Chinatown – one of several major displacements in the area, along with I-880, Laney College, and the Oakland Museum of California, that took place in the mid-20th century. By August 1965, the city of Oakland preferred the name "Peralta Center" for the station. However, a BART committee recommended "Lake Merritt" that October, which was approved in December.

The station opened on September 11, 1972 – part of the first section of BART to open. Due to a national strike that year by elevator constructors, elevator construction on the early stations was delayed. Lake Merritt was the only station on the initial segment with elevators available upon opening.

The BART Administration Building was located in a dedicated six-story office building constructed concurrently on top of the station. In 2003, due to potential risk of earthquake damage, the headquarters was moved away from the station to leased space in the Kaiser Center. The former Administration Building was dismantled in 2009–2010.

Bathrooms at underground BART stations were closed after the September 11 attacks due to security concerns. The bathroom at Lake Meritt station reopened on June 28, 2022, after a renovation, with an attendant on duty during all operating hours. On September 8, 2022, the BART Board approved plans for a 457-unit residential development to replace the station parking lot, with two additional phases planned. As of March 2024, construction is planned to begin in mid-2024.

References

External links

Media related to Lake Merritt station at Wikimedia Commons

• BART – Lake Merritt