Convention Center station is a light rail station on the

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

and

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lines of the St. Louis MetroLink system. This subway station is located beneath the intersection of 6th Street and Washington Avenue in St. Louis'

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

History

Convention Center was built within the historic

Downtown Tunnel The Downtown Tunnel on Interstate 264 (Virginia), Interstate 264 (I-264) and U.S. Route 460 Alternate (Chesapeake–Norfolk, Virginia), U.S. Route 460 Alternate (US 460 Alt.) crosses the Southern Branch Elizabeth River, Southern B ...

, constructed in 1874 to carry trains between the

Eads Bridge The Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the cities of St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois. It is located on the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing, St. Louis, Lacled ...

and the Mill Creek Valley rail yards. The tunnel closed after a final

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

train passed through in 1974. Rehabilitation began in 1991 in preparation for the opening of MetroLink in 1993, which now uses the tunnel to connect communities in Illinois and Missouri via downtown St. Louis. In July 1992, just east of this station, a 175-foot section of the tunnel beneath Broadway and Washington Avenue collapsed, injuring no one. On January 20, 2023, Metro Transit announced that Convention Center will receive a cleaning and rehabilitation. Major projects include removal of aging escalators, construction of new staircases and upgraded lighting and way-finding. Work began shortly after the completion of the 8th & Pine station rehabilitation, with the station closing to the public on January 6, 2025. The station reopened to the public on June 2, 2025.

Station layout

The station's westbound platform is accessed via an entrance in the base of the former Stix, Baer, and Fuller flagship department store building, now known as The Laurel. The westbound side can also be accessed via a set of subway stairs on the northeast corner of 6th Street and Washington Avenue. The eastbound platform is accessed via a set of subway stairs, an escalator, and an elevator in the public plaza of 600 Washington in addition to another set of subway stairs across 6th Street.

Public artwork

In 1997, Metro's Arts in Transit program commissioned the work ''Birds in Flight'' by artists Peter Tao, Helen Lee, and Stuart and Stacey Morse for installation in the tunnel between the Convention Center and Laclede's Landing stations. The painted panels are meant to mimic the motion of a flying bird.

Notable places nearby

* America's Center * The Dome at America's Center * Downtown St. Louis * Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel * Missouri Athletic Club * National Blues Museum * Washington Avenue Historic District

References

External links

Convention Center station

Metro St. Louis
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Convention Center (St. Louis Metrolink) MetroLink stations in St. Louis Railway stations in the United States opened in 1993 Red Line (St. Louis MetroLink) Blue Line (St. Louis MetroLink) Railway stations located underground in Missouri 1993 establishments in Missouri