Grand Circus Park station is a public transit station in DowntownDetroit, Michigan that services both the Detroit People Mover and the QLine.[2] The station takes its name from the adjacent Grand Circus Park. It is also the terminus of the D2A2 commuter bus to Ann Arbor, and serves as a transfer point to SMART's FAST Michigan and Woodward express bus lines.
A station has existed since September 20, 1976 with the opening of the Detroit Citizens' Railway, later the Detroit Downtown Trolley, a heritage streetcar line operating until 2003. The People Mover station opened July 31st, 1987. Streetcar service returned with the opening of the QLine on May 12, 2017.
Detroit People Mover
The station occupies the first two floors of a structure attached to the historic David Whitney Building. It is located at the intersection of Park Street and Woodward Avenue near Washington Boulevard, in the Grand Circus Park Historic District.[2] Accessible by stairway only after the David Whitney Building closed in 1999, the station underwent a major renovation between August 2014 and June 2015 to make it ADA-compliant, to coincide with the reopening of the David Whitney as an Aloft hotel and apartments.[3]
QLine
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The station has a transfer to the QLinelight rail outside along Woodward Ave. The QLine station is heated and features security cameras and emergency phones. Passenger amenities include Wi-Fi and arrival signs.[4] The QLine portion of the station is sponsored by General Motors' Chevrolet brand.[5]
Heritage trolley
Detroit Downtown Trolley stopped at Grand Circus Park in front of the line's carhouse, 1988
The station was the northern terminus of the Detroit Downtown Trolley, having a double-track boarding area just south of the carhouse near Park Avenue. The east half of Washington Boulevard was converted into a pedestrian mall, and later the Detroit People Mover included an exit-only staircase near the trolley stop.
In June 2003 the Detroit Downtown Trolley abruptly ended service. In February 2004 the carhouse was demolished, with mall sculptures removed that year, the pedestrian mall was fully displaced by vehicle traffic in 2005.[6][7]
