Wilshire/Western is the terminus of what is now called the Metro Purple Line, the original branch of the red line which opened on July 13, 1996. The red line ran with two branches when the extension to Hollywood in 1999. Proposals to extended the purple line, the most ambitions is the 'Subway to the Sea' all the way to Santa Monica beneath Wilshire Blvd have been made for years and were part of the original design for the Metro Subway. Presently an extension to La Cienga opening in 2020 and Westbood/VA (via UCLA) by 2026 are in the Environmental Impact Statement phase.
The station itself has a single island platform for terminating trains. In the middle of the platform two staircase/up escalators at each end and an elevator in the middle lead up to a mezzanine, above the platforms on the walls of the mezzanine are to large murals entitled People Coming and People Going by Richard Wyatt. To reach the street a passageway leads past turnstiles (installed after my visit) to a staircaes with an escalator on either side plus an elevator up to the NE corner of Wilshire Blvd and Western Avenue.
All photos taken on 17 March, 2008
Wilshire/Western