Metro Art Journeys by Bike: Exposition Park 

𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬/𝘜𝘚𝘊 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘴 𝘖𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘴𝘬𝘪

Metro Art and Metro Bike Share invite you to experience a multimodal tour of Los Angeles through the eyes of local artists. Each of the 12 artworks displayed in “Journeys,” the new exhibition at Union Station, focuses on a particular Metro-accessible neighborhood within Los Angeles County. The artists captured the look and feel of each place from a personal perspective, highlighting special, surprising, unexpected, or lesser-known facets of those communities.  

This Ride Guide will take you from the exhibition itself to see the neighborhood that inspired one of the artworks--Stas Orlovski’s interpretation of Expo Park/USC (seen above). Combining a dramatic indigo sky, romantic architecture, archival imagery, and a dense landscape of roses, Orlovski visually intertwines history and the natural world to depict a place that is both familiar and exotic, a place dreamed about and remembered. This guide will also stop at two additional Metro stations and feature additional art inspired by our community and the many ways we move through Los Angeles.

Land Acknowledgement:
It is important to note that Los Angeles County and this bike route occupy the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Tongva, Chumash, and Kizh. 

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Art & Inspiration Along the Way

Kajsa, Sjodin, San Pedro

• Union Station- Journeys Continued: LA Communities Through the Eyes of Artists: builds on a Metro Art exhibition from 2017 and focuses on L.A. County neighborhoods and cities “through the eyes of artists.” Local artists capture the look and feel of each community from a personal perspective, highlighting special, surprising and/or lesser-known facets of that place. Neighborhood parks, street food vendors, family bicycle rides and local landmarks along daily commutes are among the subjects for these distinctive works of art. Featured artists include: William Acedo, Roberto Benavidez, Lindsay Carron, Jasmine Delgado, Ja’Rie Gray, Sandra Low, Sevag Mahserejian, Stas Orlovski, Levi Ponce, Ana Serrano, Kajsa Sjodin and Miki Yokoyama.
  
• Jefferson/USC Station featuring Urban Dualities by Samuel Rodriguez: Rodriguez weaves a visual narrative that includes fragments of building facades, vintage rail cars, human figures, and fictional characters. Each art panel is visually divided by the silhouette of bike frames, resembling the layout of a comic book. The artist draws on imagery associated with bicycles to emphasize the human powered modes of transport along the line. Each panel is an invitation to engage the mind in a playful fantasy along the route between starting point and destination.
• The Exposition Park Rose Garden: The Rose Garden is operated by the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks and has been since 1928. The Rose Garden is visited by hundreds of Angelenos and tourists each year. It is often used as an urban oasis by the local Community as a place of quiet and refuge. On most weekends between April and November, it is the location of choice for weddings and photographs of family gatherings. The Rose Garden is open daily from 9:00 am - sunset. It is closed to the public from January 1st - March 15th of each year for annual maintenance.
• Architecture at USC: From the Rose Garden looking north, you’ll be able to see the south-end of USC’s campus. The original campus spanned an eight-acre area near what is now the intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Hoover Street, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. USC opened its doors to fifty-three students and ten teachers on October 6, 1880. Nearly forty years later, in 1919, the university commissioned John Parkinson to develop the first formal master plan for its campus. Parkinson was the preeminent architect in Los Angeles from the turn of the twentieth century through the 1930s. Parkinson envisioned a stately campus of Romanesque Revival buildings, a style popular at the time for civic and educational institutions. Based on the architecture from medieval Europe, Romanesque Revival design features symmetrical façades, arched windows and doors, and intricate sculptural decoration. Typically, buildings were faced with brick and cream-colored limestone, or with other materials in similar colors.

Start/Endpoint:
-Start: Union Station West Portal
-End: Vermont & Exposition Bike Share Station

Use the E Line from Exposition/Vermont Rail Station to 7th & Metro Center, transferring to B Line (Red) or D Line (Purple) to return to Union Station or connect to other neighborhoods in Los Angeles. 

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Metro Bike Share Stations along route:

• Spring & 3rd
• 7th & Spring 
• 7th & Hill 
• Grand & 8th
• Grand & Olympic
• Figueroa & 11th
• Figueroa & Pico
• 28th & Figueroa
• 32nd & Figueroa
• Figueroa & McCarthy Way
• Vermont & Exposition

Accessible via Bus and Rail (for assistance in planning your trip, please visit Metro Trip Planner):

• Metro Bus: Metro J Line, LAX FlyAway Bus, 2,4, 30, 28, 40, 45, 70, 76, 78, 79, 92, 704, 91
• Metro Rail: Union Station via Metro B, D, and A Lines
• LADOT: 431, 431B, 437, 437A, 437B, 438, 438B, 439, 448, 534, Union Station/Bunker Hill, Lincoln Heights/ Chinatown, A, B, D

Conditions: 5-mile route, mostly flat, in bike lanes. Please be alert and courteous while you ride and use your best judgement. 

Notes: Always return your Metro Bike to a Metro Bike Share station to end your trip. Never leave your Metro Bike unattended!

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Directions:

• This ride begins with a walking tour of the inside the Passageway Art Gallery at Union Station. As you enter Union Station, head to the passageway that connects the many above-ground platforms. You will see lightboxes on either side of the passageway displaying artworks. Orlovksi’s art can be found on the south wall.  
• When you are ready to ride, release a Metro Bike from Union Station West Portal. 
• Exit towards Alameda Street and begin riding in the bike lane up Los Angeles St.
• Turn right into El Pueblo de Los Angeles and continue past the historical monument. Dismount and use the crosswalk to continue straight through the small art park adjacent to La Plaza de Cultura y Artes. We recommend you walk your bike through this area and take the time to enjoy the artworks, including a piece of the Berlin Wall and Transportapueblos: The Resilientes, a wood sculpture with resources, maps, and messages for those immigrating inscribed along with a section of the Berlin Wall titled “The Wall Against Walls.”  
• Turn right into the plaza and follow the pathway right around the courtyard. Please ride safely, dismount if needed, and be courteous to pedestrians. 
• At the light, use the crosswalk to safely turn left onto Spring St.  
• Turn right onto 7th St. 
• Turn right onto W 11th St.
• Turn left onto S Figueroa St.
• If you would like to see the artworks featured at Jefferson/USC Station, please dock your Metro bike at Figueroa & Jefferson Metro Bike Share station and proceed one block west to the station. As a reminder, Metro Bikes are not allowed on rail platforms at any time. When you are ready to resume riding, undock a Metro Bike and use the crosswalk to cross Figueroa and begin riding in the bike lane again. 
• Turn right onto State Dr. 
• Turn right onto Exposition Park Blvd. 
• Continue onto the pedestrian path. 
• Turn right onto Bill Robertson Lane.
• Dismount and walk through Jesse Brewer Park. 
• Be sure to use the crosswalk to reach the Vermont & Exposition bike share station.
• Be sure to dock your bike properly at Vermont & Exposition. Listen for the 3 beeps to ensure your bike has been returned.  

To Return to Union Station: 

• Cross Exposition Blvd on Vermont towards the rail platform that services the Exposition/Vermont Station. If you are headed to Union Station, you will stand on the south side of the platform. 
• This station only provides access to the E Line (Exposition) which ends in East LA. Change trains to use the B or D or A lines at 7th St/Metro Ctr to reach Union Station. Be sure to check which side of the platform is heading towards Union Station or Atlantic as its terminus. Alternatively, you can use the B, D or A Lines  to explore other neighborhoods in LA!  

Reminder: 
Always properly return your Metro Bike to end your trip. Never leave a Metro Bike unattended during your trip. Riders will be charged penalty fees up to $2,500 for missing or improperly docked bikes. Report missing or stolen Metro Bikes to 844.857.2453