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Church
S Shuttle train at Church station in December 2017
General information
Location	Market Street at Church Street and 14th Street San Francisco, California
Coordinates	37°46′4.13″N 122°25′44.64″W / 37.7678139°N 122.4290667°W / 37.7678139; -122.4290667
Owned by	San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
Line(s)	Market Street subway
Platforms	2 side platforms (underground) 4 side platforms (surface)
Tracks	2 (Muni Metro – underground) 2 (Muni Metro – surface) 2 (historic streetcar – surface)
Connections	Muni: 22, 37
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Accessible	Yes
Architect	Reid & Tarics Associates
History
Opened	June 11, 1980
Services
Preceding station Muni Following station Castrotowards Balboa Park K Ingleside Van Nesstowards Embarcadero Castrotowards SF Zoo L Taraval Castrotowards San Jose and Geneva (Balboa Park) M Ocean View Castrotowards West Portal S Shuttle At surface stops Market and Sancheztowards 17th Street and Castro F Market & Wharves Market and Dolores / Market and Buchanantowards Jones and Beach Church and 16th Streettowards Balboa Park J Church Church and Dubocetowards Embarcadero
Location

Church station or Church Street station is a Muni Metro light rail station in San Francisco, California. It is located at the six-way intersection of Market Street, Church Street and 14th Street in the Duboce Triangle neighborhood.

Station layout

The station consists of two side platforms next to the tracks on the second level down with the concourse mezzanine level overlooking it. At both Church Street station and Castro Street station, there is only one stairway on each side of Market Street leading into the station. (All other stations on the Market Street subway have entrances spread out along the length of the station.) One of these entrances is located on the northwest corner of Market and 14th Street, and the other is on the southwest corner of Market and Church Street. The street elevator is on the north side of Market Street west of 14th Street. Originally freestanding, it was incorporated in the façade of an apartment building constructed in 2017–2020.

The J Church line, which enters and exits the Market Street subway tunnel in a portal near the station, connects to this station at two surface-level platforms. The inbound stop is near the corner of Church and Market Streets, while the outbound stop is near the corner of Church and 14th Streets. The F Market & Wharves streetcar line, running along Market Street, also has stops at the intersection. The N Judah line also exits the Market Street tunnel before reaching the Church Street station and stops one block away at Church and Duboce Avenue.

History

The station was constructed by BART as part of the Market Street subway. The BART Board approved the name "Church Street" in December 1965. Service at the station began in June 1980. The station was featured in the 1982 Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy film 48 Hrs. Seismic retrofitting of the station took place in the first half of 2009.

As part of August 2020 changes to Muni Metro, the J became an all-surface line. The J terminated at the inbound platform on Church Street, providing an accessible transfer between the J and subway trains. A mini-high platform was to be constructed on the inbound platform at Church and Duboce, and an outbound mini-high platform was to be built on Church Street south of Market Street, allowing the J to be re-extended slightly to Duboce Street in October 2020. The forced transfer at Church station – which requires J Church riders to cross two streets and use two elevators to transfer – was criticized by disability advocates.

However, on August 25, 2020 – just days after the changes – all Muni Metro service was again replaced by buses. J Church rail service resumed on December 19, 2020, with both new mini-high platforms in use and Duboce as the new terminus. The platforms were painted with a mural, Them (Ramp) by Simon Malvaez, in early 2021.

In 2022, new decorative railings were added on both Market Street boarding islands as part of the Upper Market Street Safety Project. They feature a quote from Harvey Milk's 1977 "You've Got to Have Hope" speech, as well as an illustration of streetcar #1051, which is dedicated in Milk's honor.

References

1. Cerny, Susan Dinkelspiel (2007). An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area (1st ed.). Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith. pp. 501–502. ISBN 978-1-58685-432-4. OCLC 85623396.
2. Callwell, Robert (September 1999). "Transit in San Francisco: A Selected Chronology, 1850–1995" (PDF). San Francisco Municipal Railway. p. 58.
3. "Conditional Use Authorization" (PDF). San Francisco Planning Department. January 9, 2020.
4. Page & Turnbull (March 2007). "Primary Record" (PDF). California Department of Parks and Recreation.
5. "Names Approved for 38 Rapid Transit Stations Around Bay". Oakland Tribune. December 10, 1965. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Mendoza, Joe (2010). Muni Metro: Bay Area Transit Album Vol. 2: San Francisco's Light Rail Lines + Streetcar & Cable Car lines. San Francisco CA: Metro City Books. p. 22. ISBN 9781453640869.
7. "Earthquake Safety Program Construction Updates (archive)". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. 2009.
8. ^ "J Church Transfer Improvements". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. 26 June 2020.
9. Graf, Carly (August 18, 2020). "Muni 'improvements' could make things harder for seniors, accessible". San Francisco Examiner.
10. "Bus Substitution for All Rail Lines" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. August 25, 2020.
11. Maguire, Mariana (December 7, 2020). "Upcoming Muni Service Expansions Phase-in Rail Service, Add Bus Service" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
12. "This Route is Shortened". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. December 19, 2020. Archived from the original on December 20, 2020.
13. Streeter, Jonathan (March 2, 2021). "Temporary Ramps Provide a Platform for Local Artists" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
14. "Upper Market Safety Project: Summer 2021 Construction Update" (PDF). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. June 2021.
15. "Streetscape Plan" (PDF). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. June 2021.
16. Bajko, Matthew S. (October 19, 2022). "SF project adds Milk nod to Castro arterial". The Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved October 24, 2022.

External links

Media related to Church station (Muni Metro) at Wikimedia Commons

• Muni Metro stations
• Market Street (San Francisco)
• Western Addition, San Francisco
• Railway stations located underground in California
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1980