Culver City station is an elevated

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

station on the E Line of the

Los Angeles Metro Rail The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban rail transit system serving Los Angeles County, California, United States, consisting of six lines: four light rail lines (the A, C, E and K lines) and two rapid transit lines (the B and D lines), ...

system. The station is located on a dedicated right-of-way alongside Exposition Boulevard — between the intersection of

Venice Boulevard Venice Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare in Los Angeles, running from the ocean in the Venice district into downtown Los Angeles. It was originally known as West 16th Street under the Los Angeles numbered street system. A segment o ...

and

Robertson Boulevard Robertson Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles, in the U.S. state of California, that also passes through the incorporated cities of West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Culver City. Location Robertson Boulevard is a major north–south thorough ...

on the west and the intersection of Washington Boulevard and National Boulevard on the east. The station is located in the city of

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

, after which the station is named.

Service

Hours and frequency

E Line trains run every day between approximately 4:30 a.m. and 12:30 am. Trains operate every ten minutes during peak hours Monday through Friday, every twelve minutes during the daytime on weekdays and all day on the weekends after approximately 8 a.m. (with 15 to 20-minute headways early Saturday and Sunday mornings). Night service is every 20 minutes.

Connections

, the following connections are available: *

Big Blue Bus Big Blue Bus (stylized in lowercase) is a public transit agency that provides public bus services for the city of Santa Monica and the greater Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. The service, operated by the city of Santa Monica ...

(Santa Monica): Rapid 12 *

Culver CityBus Culver CityBus is a public transport agency operating in Culver City, California, currently serving Culver City, the unincorporated community of Marina del Rey, and the adjacent Los Angeles neighborhoods. Its regular fleet is painted bright ...

: 1, 1C1, 7 *

LADOT Commuter Express The Los Angeles Department of Transportation, commonly referred to as LADOT, is a municipal agency that oversees transportation planning, design, construction, maintenance and operations within the city of Los Angeles. LADOT was created by city o ...

: *

Los Angeles Metro Bus The Los Angeles Metro Bus is the transit bus service in Los Angeles County, California, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). Metro Bus operates in the Los Angeles Basin, the San Fernando Valley, and th ...

: ,

History

A railway stop known as La Ballona Station, along the Los Angeles and Independence Railway established 1874, was located on or near the site of what came to be known as Ivy Station, Culver Junction and Culver City station. La Ballona Station was located at what is now Washington Boulevard, which circa 1883 was known as the "Monte Vista and La Ballona Station Road" and which extended Washington Street west from Los Angeles. In 1886, the "surveyors of the Santa Monica Railroad have just crossed the S.P. track at Ballona, just where the county road crossed that track near La Ballona station. The terminus is finally fixed at South Santa Monica, near where the old Juan Bernard wharf is." When the Palms Depot opened in 1887 it was noted to be between La Ballona Station and Santa Monica. The name La Ballona Station was still in use as late as 1893; the name Ivy Station first appears in print in 1889.

Los Angeles-Pacific Railroad The Los Angeles Pacific Railroad (1896−1911) (LAP) was an electric public transit and freight railway system in Los Angeles County, California. At its peak it had of track extending from Downtown Los Angeles to the Westside (Los Angeles Coun ...

built the

Venice Short Line The Venice Short Line was a Pacific Electric (PE) interurban railway line in Los Angeles which traveled from downtown Los Angeles to Venice, Ocean Park, and Santa Monica via Venice Boulevard. The route was especially busy on Sundays, as Venice ...

though the area in 1903. The

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

railway was grade-separated from the steam railroad via an underpass. When The LAP began running cars over the Santa Monica Air Line in 1908, the tracks were connected to allow interchanges. The point was later renamed Culver Junction to reflect its new role. In 1915 the station briefly hosted the Culver City branch of the Los Angeles County Free Library. Culver City depot under construction circa 1923 LAPL Photos 27874 large

Culver City depot under construction circa 1923 LAPL Photos 27874 large

The Venice line closed in September 1950, making it no longer a junction; finally, all passenger service ended on September 30, 1953. The name "Culver Junction" remained on maps, referring to the immediate surrounding area. With service restoration along the corridor in June 2012, the new light rail station was named Culver City.

Ivy Substation Ivy Substation (also known as the Ivy Park Substation or Culver Substation) is a 99-seat theatre in Culver City, California which formerly housed power equipment for the nearby electric railways and Ivy station. It was listed on the National Re ...

, a

traction substation A traction substation, traction current converter plant, rectifier station or traction power substation (TPSS) is an electrical substation that converts electric power from the form provided by the electrical power industry for public utility s ...

building which housed mechanical

rotary converter A rotary converter is a type of electrical machine which acts as a mechanical rectifier, Power inverter, inverter or frequency converter. Rotary converters were used to convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), or DC to AC power, ...

s used to supply DC current to the line until 1953, is still standing near this station and has been converted into the popular Actor's Gang Theater. (Train power now comes from a much smaller building beneath the elevated platform.) Culver City station served as the initial western terminus of the Expo line from its re-opening on June 20, 2012. It became a through-station with the re-opening of the remainder of the line to Santa Monica on May 20, 2016.

Notable places nearby

Los Angeles Pacific Company Ivy Park Substation

At the northeast edge of Downtown Culver City, a major retail, entertainment and arts district, the station is within walking distance of several notable places: *

Helms Bakery Helms Bakery was an industrial bakery on the border of Los Angeles and Culver City, in Southern California, that operated from 1931 to 1969. Currently the buildings have been adapted for use as retail shops, restaurants, and furniture showrooms; ...

Ballona Creek Bike Path The Ballona Creek Bike Path (pronunciation: “Bah-yo-nuh" or “Buy-yo-nah” ) is a California bikeway classifications, Class I bicycle path and pedestrian route in California. The bike path follows the north bank of Ballona Creek until it ...

*Hayden Tract *

Museum of Jurassic Technology The Museum of Jurassic Technology at 9341 Venice Boulevard in the Palms district of Los Angeles, California, was founded by David Hildebrand Wilson and Diana Drake Wilson in 1988.Tony Perrottet" The Museum of Jurassic Technology: A throwback to ...

Kirk Douglas Theater The Kirk Douglas Theatre is a 317-seat theater located in Culver City, California, United States. Since 2004, it has been operated by the Center Theatre Group. History Built in 1946, as a Streamline Moderne movie palace with a seating capacity o ...

(a former power building for this station) *Ivy Station (apartments, retail, a hotel, and the west coast headquarters of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

)

Station artwork

The station's art was created by artist Tom LaDuke. Entitled ''Unknowable Origins'', the installation depicts softly rendered views of Culver City as seen from surrounding hillside viewpoints, with abstracted face shapes of notable people from Culver City appearing in each panel.

References

External links

*Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California
A Chronology of Changes in Rail Passenger Operations of the Pacific Electric Railway Company
accessed January 2008 {{Culver City, California E Line (Los Angeles Metro) stations Buildings and structures in Culver City, California Railway stations in the United States opened in 2012 2012 establishments in California Pacific Electric stations History of Culver City, California Transportation in Culver City, California Railway stations in Los Angeles County, California