Civic Center (UN Plaza) is the Southeastern-most stop in the two-level Market Street Subway shared by BART and MUNI. BART curves due south of the station under Mission while MUNI continues under Market Street. The station's lower level opened for BART using third rail on November 5, 1973 with MUNI cars using catenary wire first starting to use the upper level in 1980. Each railroad has a single island platform for its two tracks with a long mezzanine on the level above. Each transit system has two separate fare control areas from the mezzanine. The mezzanine walls are lined in brick. The upper MUNI platform has a blue trimline that used to have Civic Center written in white within it. Conventional black MUNI Civic Center signs have since covered this text. The BART platform signs just say Civic Center, while the track walls that have a grey high trimline over off white signs say Civic Center/UN Plaza.
Our mezzanine tour starts at the extreme SW end. Here are staircases/escalators up to the NW corner of Market & Grove Street, in a small triangular plaza between these two streets, and another staircase across the street from here to near the intersection with 8th Street. A narrow passageway connects to the rest of the station. Next is one of the MUNI entrances with fare gates leading to a single staircase/escalators down to the upper level platform. Nearby are streetstairs (one with an escalator) that leads to the SE and NE corners of Market Street and 8th Street/Hyde Streets. Across from here is a BART entrance with a staircase that winds its way down, through the middle MUNI platform and a more major escalators/staircases. The public area of the concourse narrows, going around an ancillary area, nearly splitting the mezzanine in two before reaching the second MUNI Metro entrance with a single staircase/escalators down to that platform. To reach the street from here is a streetstair up to the SE side of Market Street. On the northwest side is the larger UN Plaza. This entrance reaches sunlight at mezzanine level with uniquely angled concrete walls bouncing light before the two escalators with a narrow staircase in between lead up into UN Plaza. The street elevator is also here up to Market Street just south of the plaza. Back underground is the main BART fare paid area with two sets of escalators and a staircase down to the BART platform. At the NE end of the mezzanine is the elevator that connects all three levels. BART passengers have a special gateless fare card reader and MUNI passengers have a Clipper Target. To reach the MUNI platform is a long walkway along one of the tracks. Near here are two final streetstairs, each up to Market Street just SW of 7th Street near Leavenworth Street.
Photo 1-6: 19 April, 2006; 7-11: 19 March, 2008; 12-19: 16 March, 2010, 20-34: 15 June, 2013; 35-46: 19 January, 2015
