Forest Park–DeBaliviere station is a

St. Louis MetroLink MetroLink is the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan mass transit system serving Missouri and the Metro East area of Illinois. The system consists of two rail lines (Red Line and Blue Line) connecting St. Louis Lambert International Airport and ...

station. It is located at the northeast corner of Forest Park Parkway and DeBaliviere Avenue in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Missouri and is designated as the primary transfer point for riders between the

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

lines.

History

The station opened on July 31, 1993, as one of the original stations in the MetroLink system. It was originally constructed with

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

s and a single entrance serving the westbound platform. Access to the eastbound platform required walking the length of the westbound platform and crossing the tracks at the end. As part of the Cross-County extension of MetroLink from Forest Park–DeBaliviere to Shrewsbury-Lansdowne I-44, the station was reconstructed with an

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

to allow easy cross platform transfers between the Blue and Red lines and two station entrances, one on either side of DeBaliviere Avenue.

2022 Flooding

On July 26, 2022, the Forest Park-DeBaliviere and

Delmar Loop The Delmar Loop, often referred to by St. Louis residents simply as The Loop, is an entertainment, cultural and restaurant district in University City, Missouri and the adjoining western edge of St. Louis near Washington University in St. Louis an ...

stations were flooded in a catastrophic

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...

ing event that shut the system down for close to 72 hours. Damage to the stations, rolling stock, ballast, signaling infrastructure, fiber optics, etc. is estimated to be $40 million. On September 5, 2022, Metro announced new schedules to accommodate repairs being made to the system. It is estimated repairs could take six months or longer.

Location

This station is located just to the north of

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...

. Attractions in the park include the

St. Louis Art Museum The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is one of the principal U.S. art museums, with paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from all corners of the world. Its three-story building stands in Forest Park in St. Louis, M ...

Saint Louis Zoo The Saint Louis Zoo, officially known as the Saint Louis Zoological Park, is a zoo in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri. It is recognized as a leading zoo in animal management, research, conservation, and education. The zoo is accredited by the ...

Missouri History Museum The Missouri History Museum in Forest Park (St. Louis), Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri, showcases History of Missouri, Missouri history. It is operated by the Missouri Historical Society, which was founded in 1866. Museum admission is free t ...

and

The Muny The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first s ...

in addition to athletic fields, biking and running trails, and golf courses. In 2022, two large developments opened on the former

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...

lot and strip mall adjacent to the station. One of the largest transit oriented developments in St. Louis to date, the two projects brought 437 new residential units and nearly 40,000 square feet of new commercial space to the area surrounding the station. Included in the garage are 115 free park and ride spaces for Metro customers. The

Loop Trolley The Loop Trolley is a , 10-station heritage streetcar line in and near the Delmar Loop area of greater St. Louis, Missouri. It opened for service in 2018, then shut down in 2019 after revenue fell far short of projections. Service resumed in 202 ...

system, a

heritage streetcar Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles. Trains It may concern trains that have been removed from service and later restored to their past condition, or have never been removed from service, like UP ...

service that travels along DeBaliviere Avenue and

Delmar Boulevard Delmar Boulevard is a major east-west street in St. Louis, Missouri. Route description Delmar Boulevard starts at North 14th Street in Downtown St. Louis, as a westward extension of Convention Plaza. It passes through the neighborhoods of Down ...

to the

Loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...

, and operates from about April to October, has a stop adjacent to the entrance of the MetroLink station.

Station layout

The platform is accessed via an elevator or set of stairs on either the east or west side of DeBaliviere Avenue.

Notable places nearby

The station is within walking distance of the following notable places: *

Public artwork

In 2016, Metro's Arts in Transit program commissioned the work ''Vehicle.Destination.Imagination.'' by Con Christeson and Catharine Magel for this station. The mural, located along the south retaining wall, combines three-dimensional elements with vibrant colors to celebrate the spirit of the St. Louis region.

References

External links

St. Louis Metro
MetroLink stations in St. Louis Railway stations in the United States opened in 1993 Delmar Loop Trolley Blue Line (St. Louis MetroLink) Red Line (St. Louis MetroLink) {{StLouis-struct-stub