Transit: Wilshire/Vermont Station Does Exist

This entry refers to the recent article on LAist, "The Red Line Station at Wilshire & Vermont: Legend or Legit?" where writer Lindsay William-Ross and her travel companions tried to take the Red Line from North Hollywood to Wilshire/Western and back. Unfortunately, they ran into some trouble on the way back. They were directed to take the subway at the Wilshire/Vermont station after being told that Wilshire/Western was closed for construction (and I assume this means Wilshire/Normandie was also closed). Unfortunately, they weren't able to find the Wilshire/Vermont station when they made their long walk eastbound on Wilshire Blvd.

While it's rare a station would be closed, here are some transit tips that might clarify the situation and be helpful to those traveling in the area, taken from my own personal knowledge of transit and the following ExperienceLA guides Getting Around Downtown LA and Koreatown Metro Adventure:

• Wilshire/Vermont Station: It does exist! But unfortunately there is a lot of construction surrounding the exterior, ground-level of the station. The entrance is actually on Shatto Place/Wilshire Blvd. The entrance has been narrowed down and increasingly tucked away given the recent demolition of the building adjacent to the station, but it's still there. Completed construction inside the station shows stairs that seem to head up to Wilshire/Vermont, so I imagine once construction is finished that station will be more accessible and live up to its name. See map above if you need a visual.
  
• Rapid 720 - Metro Rapid Wilshire: This Rapid bus runs east and west on Wilshire Blvd until sometime after midnight. Instead of walking down Wilshire Blvd, it might be best to take this Rapid instead. The bus will also take you into Downtown LA with easy access to the next available station 7th/Metro Station (on 7th/Figueroa Street).

-Charity Tran, ExperienceLA Web Coordinator