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Friday Slide Show: New Muni Metro Stations
29 December 2023
This month we took two trips downtown for the first time in years. On our latest excursion we used the new branch of Muni Metro running from Union Square to Chinatown. We took the trip with our Olympus E-PL1 with 14-42mm II R kit lens.
The 1.7-mile extension of the T-Third Street line is Muni's first rail transit expansion since the T line opened in 2007. It cost $1.95 billion and opened a year ago, almost four years later than planned.
We were trying to get from Union Square to North Beach but the line only goes as far as the middle of Chinatown. Consequently we took the 30-Stockton back. And we can't say it was slower or less convenient.
But what interested us was the design of the two new stations. Each Muni Metro station has its own distinct character, although it's often a subtle difference.
The Union Square station features in the first shots of the slide show welcomes you with wide sloping entrance lit by a multicolored light show on the ceiling.
Within the station, at the foot of a very long escalator is a winding ribbon of mirrored discs resembling a Chinese dragon running above the platform.
The Rose Pak station in Chinatown features two large painted steel sculptures by Yumei Hou from 2022 that resemble intricate Chinese paper cuttings. Except these are wall size. And not small walls, either.
The tunnel is so deep that you have one sculpture at the station level and another higher up. Here's what the plaques say:
Yangge: Dance of the New Year by Yumei Hou:
In her monumental artwork, traditional Chinese paper cut artist Yumei Hou depicts scenes from Yangge (Rice Sprout Song), a popular folk dance from the northern provinces of China. Capturing the celebratory spirit of the Dance of the New Year, Hou features characters from the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West: the Tang Monk, the Sand Monk, the Pig and the Monkey King. Also portrayed are the dragon and lion dances, a stilt dancer with firecrackers, a Manchu shaman holding a peace drum and other popular folk figures.
Yangge: Dance of the Bride by Yumei Hou:
In her monumental artwork, traditional Chinese Paper cut artist Yumei Hou portrays scenes from Yangge (Rice Sprout Song), a popular folk dance from the northern Provinces of China. Capturing the lively spirit of the Dance of the Bride, Hou features characters from a Manchu wedding celebration: a bride in a sedan chair, musicians, stiltwalkers, and fan dancers. Bringing further playfulness and whimsy to the compositionare a kitten, birds, butterflies and plants adorning the artwork’s border.
The new branch has been opened for just over a year now. The streetcars were not full but busy and we didn't have to wait any longer for them than any other streetcar.
It wasn't particularly convenient for us on this trip but we did enjoy the mix of utilitarian transportation and fine art. If we were going in the other direction to Chase Center or the ballpark, we suspect it would have been a different story.
