Convention Place was a bus station in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, Washington, United States. It served as the northern terminus of the

Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel The Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT), also referred to as the Metro Bus Tunnel, is a pair of public transit tunnels in Seattle, Washington, United States. The double-track tunnel and its four stations serve Link light rail trains on ...

and was used by

King County Metro King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in t ...

and

Sound Transit Express Sound Transit Express (ST Express) is a network of regional express buses, operated by the multi-county transit agency, Sound Transit. The routes connect major regional hubs throughout 53 cities in three counties (King, Pierce, and Snohomish) i ...

buses.

Link light rail Link light rail is a light rail rapid transit system serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit providers, and consists of two non-connected lines: ...

, which stops at the tunnel's other four stations, did not serve Convention Place. From the station, buses continued onto the

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Calif ...

reversible express lanes or Olive Way via two exits. The station's platforms were accessed via a plaza located at the intersection of Pine Street and 9th Avenue near the Washington State Convention Center and

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. The station began construction in 1987 and opened on September 15, 1990. During planning of the Link light rail system in the 1990s, Convention Place was identified as a potential light rail stop or terminus, but was cut in favor of a deeper crossing of Interstate 5 towards

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

. The station was offered by Metro as a site for

transit-oriented development In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of urban development that maximizes the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transport. It promotes a symbiotic relationship betw ...

and attracted interest from the convention center for a potential expansion. After a stalled attempt in 2009, the expansion was launched in the early 2010s and Convention Place station was sold for $162 million. The station was closed permanently on July 21, 2018, a few months before bus service in the transit tunnel ended.

History

Breda 5234 at south platform of Convention Place station in 2000

The Metro Transit Committee selected the intersection of Pine Street and Interstate 5 as the preferred northern terminus for the proposed downtown transit system — either a bus tunnel or surface transit mall — in 1979. The busway alternative would have placed a major terminal at either

Westlake Park Westlake Park can mean: *Westlake Park (Seattle), a park in Seattle, Washington * MacArthur Park, formerly Westlake Park, in Los Angeles, California *Westlake Park (Houston) Westlake Park is a office complex located in the Energy Corridor, Houston ...

or a two-block section of Pine Street on the west side of Interstate 5. The bus tunnel was chosen by Metro in November 1983, including a northern portal at Pine Street and 9th Avenue. By early 1984, a site on Pike Street one block south of the planned tunnel portal was chosen for the city's planned convention center, which would open by the end of the decade. Construction of the northern portal station, later named Convention Place, began after the acquisition of a 16-unit

low-income Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income< ...

apartment building, a medical center, and several small businesses. SCI Contractors of

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was awarded the $74.5 million contract for the Pine Street segment, including Convention Place and

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stations, in February 1987. The Pine Street ramp to the Interstate 5 express lanes was closed in April, along with a segment of Pine Street between 3rd and Boren avenues. Excavation of the Pine Street tunnel was complete by the end of the year and temporarily

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ed during the

Christmas shopping season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

for use of Pine Street by automobile traffic. Excavation of the Convention Place station continued into the following year; by the end of 1988, construction of the exit ramp to Olive Way and the

electrical substation A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and ...

had been completed. The bus tunnel was completed in early 1990, and Convention Place station was dedicated during an opening celebration on September 14, 1990. Bus service in the tunnel began the following day, with the inaugural run traveling southbound from Convention Place station. At Convention Place and the tunnel's other terminus, International District, the

dual-mode bus A dual-mode bus is a bus that can run independently on power from two different sources, typically electricity from overhead lines like a trolleybus or from batteries like a hybrid bus, alternated with conventional fossil fuel (generally diesel ...

es used in the tunnel would switch from diesel fuel to electric

overhead wire An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipment ...

s, functioning as

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

es within the tunnel. The dual-mode fleet was replaced in 2004 with hybrid buses, which switch from diesel to their electric batteries at the termini.

Light rail plans and renovation

The bus tunnel was designed to accommodate light rail trains, including pre-installed rails that were later found unusable due to their inadequate insulation. In early light rail plans, Convention Place was listed as the northernmost downtown station before trains continued towards First Hill or

Eastlake Eastlake may refer to: Places ;Australia * Kingston, Australian Capital Territory, formerly called Eastlake ** Eastlake Football Club, an amateur Australian Rules Football Club named after that location ;United States * Eastlake, Lake County, C ...

. Voters in the Seattle metropolitan area approved the Sound Move package in 1996, funding a light rail system to be built by

Sound Transit Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacom ...

. A 1998 report from Sound Transit stated that a light rail line continuing north from downtown would be unable to use Convention Place due to its shallow height and recommended its abandonment. Metro and several members of the Sound Transit Board requested that the station be kept and modified in order to serve the expanded convention center, delaying a decision for several months. In their preferred alternative for the Central Link light rail project, published in 1999, Sound Transit selected a tunnel route that avoids Convention Place. Sound Transit took ownership of the four southern bus tunnel stations in 2000, while King County Metro retained Convention Place for potential redevelopment into office or hotel use. Sound Transit began re-evaluating the light rail project in 2001 due to a funding shortfall and the discovery of soil issues along the route of the planned tunnel to the University District. The light rail line was shortened to the segment between Downtown Seattle and

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , branded as SEA Airport and also referred to as Sea–Tac (), is the primary commercial airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is in the city of SeaTac, which ...

, leaving the remainder to Capitol Hill, the University District, and Northgate for a future expansion. The Sound Transit Board chose Convention Place as the northern terminus of the line in September 2001, but was replaced by a Westlake terminus in the Record of Decision issued by the

Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administratio ...

in May 2002. Further study of Convention Place as a light rail station on the northern extension was discontinued by Sound Transit later that month after the agency's study concluded that it would have no effect on ridership and lead to greater engineering difficulties. For the extension's Eastlake alternatives, a new rail-only station would have been built below street level. The bus tunnel was closed on September 23, 2005, for a two-year renovation of the four stations set to receive light rail service. The ramps from the Interstate 5 express lanes to Convention Place remained open during construction, allowing buses to continue onto 9th Avenue towards Stewart Street. A short tunnel under Pine Street on the south side of the station was also built as a future

turnback A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

area for trains and as part of the extension to Capitol Hill. The tunnel was reopened on September 24, 2007, with the other stations receiving major refurbishment and Convention Place retaining its original equipment.

Closure and redevelopment

Convention Place Station demolition, viewed from Boren Ave

Convention Place station had been envisioned by Metro as a site for high-rise development since the transit tunnel was designed in the 1980s. The eventual abandonment of the station after buses are phased out of the transit tunnel spurred Metro to offer the land to developers for $32 million in 2000, and eventually

air rights Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning, or renting, land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by others. This lega ...

that allow for continued transit use. A feasibility and market study was planned to be published in 2001, but was later put on hold. In 2008, the Washington State Convention and Trade Center Board proposed a $766 million addition to the convention center on the site of Convention Place station, doubling the amount of exhibition space. The expansion, which would have been completed in 2014, was put on hold after the state legislature turned down a tax increase to support the project. The convention center revived its expansion plans in 2012, conducting a feasibility study and acquiring nearby properties along Olive Way; in early plans, the convention center offered to build a mixed-use complex atop the station in addition to exhibition space. Negotiations between the convention center and transit agencies began in 2014 and ended with a preliminary agreement in November 2015 to sell the station. Under the preliminary agreement, Metro would sell the station for $147 million, to be paid over a period of thirty years with interest, and end bus service in 2019 or 2020. A finalized sale was approved by the

King County Council The Metropolitan King County Council, the legislative body of King County, Washington, consists of nine members elected by district. The Council adopts laws, sets policy, and holds final approval over the budget. Its current name and structure i ...

in June 2017, raising the cost to $162 million and closing the tunnel to buses as early as March 2019. In May 2018, the

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-l ...

approved a

street vacation A street vacation, also known as an alley vacation or vacation of public access, is a type of easement in which a government transfers the right-of-way of a public street, highway or alley to a private property owner. The process, which varies betwe ...

for the project and the closure of the transit tunnel in March 2019, pending surface street improvements for transit. The station was closed on July 21, 2018, and was replaced by a set of new stops on 9th Avenue serving the tunnel's remaining buses. A $4 million bus ramp was constructed to connect 9th Avenue to the transit tunnel and will be temporarily used while the rest of the station is demolished. A traction power substation for surface

trolleybuses A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

was removed in 2018, prior to construction of the convention center expansion. After the station site was fully cleared and construction of the convention center expansion began, the temporary ramp was demolished. The remaining buses using the transit tunnel were moved to surface streets and truncated at light rail stations on March 23, 2019.

Station layout

Convention Place station was situated on within two city blocks bounded to the south by Pine Street, to the west by 9th Avenue, to the north by Olive Way, and to the east by Boren Avenue and Interstate 5. It was located at the northeastern edge of Downtown Seattle, near the Denny Triangle and

neighborhoods, and was one of two

stations to be partially open-air, alongside International District/Chinatown station. The station had one entrance, a plaza at the corner of Pine Street and 9th Avenue, which was across the street from the

and one block from the Washington State Convention Center. The plaza included seating areas, planters, rider information, a

ticket vending machine A ticket machine, also known as a ticket vending machine (TVM), is a vending machine that produces paper or electronic tickets, or recharges a stored-value card or smart card or the user's mobile wallet, typically on a smartphone. For instance ...

for ORCA cards, and a bicycle rack. The station's platform level was located below the plaza and connected by stairs, escalators, and elevators. Uniquely among stations in the transit tunnel, it had four

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a railway platform, platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or bus rapid transit, transitway. ...

s and five lanes for buses. Southbound buses were divided between three platforms, Bays C, D, and I, while northbound buses served the single platform containing Bays A and B. Northbound buses that terminated at Convention Place used Bay E, an additional drop-off only platform to the north of the Bay D platform. To the north of the platforms was a

layover 250px, Layover for buses at LACMTA's Los_Angeles.html" ;"title="Warner Center Transit Hub, Los Angeles">Warner Center Transit Hub, Los Angeles In scheduled transportation, a layover (also waypoint, way station, or connection) is a point where ...

area for buses with eleven lanes that were able to store a total of 22

articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is ...

es. The station had one all-day entrance ramp, at the intersection of Olive Way and 9th Avenue, and one all-day exit at Olive Way and Terry Avenue via a ramp from the northbound platform. A third ramp connected the transit tunnel to the reversible Interstate 5 express lanes and changed direction depending on time of the day.

Art and architecture

Convention Place was designed by architect Robert Jones, in collaboration with lead artists Alice Adams and Jack Mackie. Its public art was made to fit a garden theme with landscaping similar to nearby

Freeway Park Freeway Park, officially known as Jim Ellis Freeway Park, is an urban park in Seattle, Washington, United States, connecting the city's downtown to the Washington State Convention Center and First Hill. The park sits atop a section of Interstate ...

. The entrance to the station's plaza was under a pair of prominent white-tube arches that resembled a classic theater marquee, designed by Adams to emulate the Paramount Theatre and New York City's

Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. At , it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel f ...

; at night, the tubes were lit by neon lights. The plaza included seating areas and planters designed by Maren Hassinger, integrating an Asian

rock garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...

and natural forms carved into granite and concrete. Surrounding sidewalks included panels with a song title from Jimi Hendrix and a quote from activist Gordon Hirabayashi, along with their silhouettes. The station's support columns and retaining walls were sculpted into artificial cliffs and filled with plants and water features that once formed a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

down to the platform level that was designed by Mackie. Light and power poles in the station's layover areas were painted orange and green to continue the "Station in a garden" theme. A few years after the station opened, the retaining wall along Pine Street was converted from a graffitied wall into a

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelai ...

mural, featuring silhouettes of Seattle residents and poetry written by students from Seattle high schools.

Services

Convention Place was the only Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel station that was served exclusively by buses, with no

service. At the time of its closure, the station was served at four outbound bays by seven bus routes: six

routes and one

route. Bays A and B served three Metro routes ( 41, 74, and 255) that headed north and east via

; Bay C was served by three Metro routes (101, 102, and 150) that headed south toward the

SODO Busway The SODO Busway, also referred to as the E-3 Busway, is a busway in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It has four stops, including two that connect to Link light rail stations, and functions as an extension of the Downtown Seattle ...

; and Bay D was served by one Sound Transit route (550) that headed east on

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, a ...

. Convention Place station was also adjacent to several surface bus stops served by local and regional routes operated by Metro, Sound Transit, and Community Transit. Three Metro bus routes serving Capitol Hill and eastern Seattle stopped near 9th Avenue on Pine and Pike streets. Regional bus stops on Olive Way, Howell Street, and Stewart Street connected Convention Place to the Eastside area and

Snohomish County Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populo ...

. During closures of the transit tunnel, the Olive and Stewart bus stops were also used by tunnel buses that were re-routed onto surface streets.

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline, Convention Place Station (Seattle) 1990 establishments in Washington (state) 2018 disestablishments in Washington (state) Bus stations in Washington (state) King County Metro Transportation buildings and structures in Seattle