Arcadia train station art revealed

After Metro introduced the largest and first public art project connected to an interstate freeway in California with the bridge over I-210 in Arcadia a couple years ago, Arcadia is getting even more public art courtesy of Metro at the Gold Line train station being built now on the northwest corner of the intersection of First Avenue at Santa Clara Street. The station will incorporate more artistic elements than most stations along the 11.5 mile Gold Line extension route to Azusa scheduled to be completed by fall 2015 and open for public service in 2016.

<Story continues below the following 5-minute video produced by Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority showing the planned art elements of the new station…>

The primary artistic links will be to Arcadia landmarks Santa Anita Park horse race track, the L.A. County Arboretum, and, of course, peacocks. The art-deco horse frieze art on the facade of Santa Anita will be echoed in the benches and some of the panels below the railings at the station. Gambling will be represented with little emblems of playing cards and the leg of the bench in the subtle shape of lucky number 7. The canopy roofs will feature a colorful abstract blow-up of the eye of a peacock feather in etched image glass.

The Arboretum is the inspiration for the 23-foot vertical weather vane between the two canopies of the station, which will include horses that will blow with the wind, and topped by a peacock.

Aside from the weather vane, all the other art elements were spearheaded by a committee of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce during the planning stages in the theid-to-late 2000s at the urging of former Chamber Executive Director Beth Costanza with the support of the City of Arcadia.

— By Scott Hettrick