Louis Stokes Station at Windermere
Encyclopedia
Louis Stokes Station at Windermere is a rapid transit
station
on the RTA
Red Line
in East Cleveland, Ohio
, USA. It is located on the northwest side of Euclid Avenue (U.S. Routes 6
and 20
) between Bryn Mawr and Doan Roads. It is the eastern terminus of the Red Line
and the bus rapid transit HealthLine
.
On February 4, 1952, CTS broke ground for its rapid transit behind the Windermere Car Barn,
on the same embankment as the Nickel Plate
railway tracks. The new station, called simply "Windermere Station," opened with the CTS Rapid Transit on March 15, 1955.
As originally constructed, the station included on the embankment level a car yard and car shops for the rapid transit and a loop to allow trains to turn around if needed (although the car sets all had operator cabs are both ends). On the south side below the tracks, there were a fare collection headhouse, three bus loading loops and a small free parking lot off Euclid Avenue, along with an elevated walkway over the bus loops to the Euclid Avenue parking lot. A pedestrian tunnel beneath the embankment carrying rapid transit and railway tracks connected the station to a larger free parking lot on the northwest side of the tracks. The entrance to the northwest parking lot was from Hayden Avenue. The Hayden bus garage was also built adjacent to the northwest lot to replace the Windermere Car Barn.
The Windermere car shops were abandoned when RTA opened its new $23-million Central Rail Maintenance Facility opened on April 29, 1984 on a 20 acres (8.1 ha) site at East 55th Street
. The Hayden parking lot also closed as the additional parking was not needed and use of the tunnel was perceived by most passengers as a security risk.
The original station was demolished and an entirely new station was constructed as part of RTA's program of station reconstruction beginning in the late 1990s. The new $12.7-million station opened on June 22, 1997.
The turnaround loop and the car shops were eliminated. In November 1997, RTA re-named the station “Louis Stokes Station at Windermere” in honor of the Congressman Louis Stokes
“for his many years of unwavering support.” In 1998, RTA completed a $21-million renovation of the Hayden bus garage.
The property directly southwest of the Euclid Avenue parking area has been used for the construction of a Head Start Center, which was dedicated November 22, 2002.
It was the first Head Start Center in Greater Cleveland built next to a rapid transit station, making the facility accessible for many of the families eligible for Head Start who do not have cars.
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
station
Metro station
A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated. At crossings of metro lines, they are multi-level....
on the RTA
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is the public transit agency for Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and the surrounding suburbs of Cuyahoga County. RTA is the largest transit agency in Ohio, providing over 44 million trips to residents and visitors of the Cleveland area in 2010...
Red Line
Red Line (Cleveland)
The Red Line is a rapid transit line of the RTA Rapid Transit in Cleveland, Ohio, running from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport northeast to Tower City in downtown Cleveland, then east and northeast to Windermere...
in East Cleveland, Ohio
East Cleveland, Ohio
East Cleveland is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and is the first suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. The population was 17,843 at the 2010 census....
, USA. It is located on the northwest side of Euclid Avenue (U.S. Routes 6
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 , also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to...
and 20
U.S. Route 20
U.S. Route 20 is an east–west United States highway. As the "0" in its route number implies, US 20 is a coast-to-coast route. Spanning , it is the longest road in the United States, and the route sparsely parallels Interstate 90...
) between Bryn Mawr and Doan Roads. It is the eastern terminus of the Red Line
Red Line (Cleveland)
The Red Line is a rapid transit line of the RTA Rapid Transit in Cleveland, Ohio, running from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport northeast to Tower City in downtown Cleveland, then east and northeast to Windermere...
and the bus rapid transit HealthLine
HealthLine
The HealthLine is a bus rapid transit line run by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The line runs along Euclid Avenue from Public Square in downtown Cleveland to the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland...
.
History
Prior to being a rapid transit station, the site was the location of the Windermere Car Barn of the Cleveland Railway and its successor, the Cleveland Transit System (CTS). As streetcars were retired in favor of buses, Windermere also became a bus garage.On February 4, 1952, CTS broke ground for its rapid transit behind the Windermere Car Barn,
on the same embankment as the Nickel Plate
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...
railway tracks. The new station, called simply "Windermere Station," opened with the CTS Rapid Transit on March 15, 1955.
As originally constructed, the station included on the embankment level a car yard and car shops for the rapid transit and a loop to allow trains to turn around if needed (although the car sets all had operator cabs are both ends). On the south side below the tracks, there were a fare collection headhouse, three bus loading loops and a small free parking lot off Euclid Avenue, along with an elevated walkway over the bus loops to the Euclid Avenue parking lot. A pedestrian tunnel beneath the embankment carrying rapid transit and railway tracks connected the station to a larger free parking lot on the northwest side of the tracks. The entrance to the northwest parking lot was from Hayden Avenue. The Hayden bus garage was also built adjacent to the northwest lot to replace the Windermere Car Barn.
The Windermere car shops were abandoned when RTA opened its new $23-million Central Rail Maintenance Facility opened on April 29, 1984 on a 20 acres (8.1 ha) site at East 55th Street
East 55th (RTA Rapid Transit station)
East 55th is a station on the RTA Red, Green and Blue Lines in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The station entrance is located on the west side of East 55th Street just north of the intersection with Bower Avenue and the eastern terminus of Interstate 490....
. The Hayden parking lot also closed as the additional parking was not needed and use of the tunnel was perceived by most passengers as a security risk.
The original station was demolished and an entirely new station was constructed as part of RTA's program of station reconstruction beginning in the late 1990s. The new $12.7-million station opened on June 22, 1997.
The turnaround loop and the car shops were eliminated. In November 1997, RTA re-named the station “Louis Stokes Station at Windermere” in honor of the Congressman Louis Stokes
Louis Stokes
Louis Stokes is a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives....
“for his many years of unwavering support.” In 1998, RTA completed a $21-million renovation of the Hayden bus garage.
The property directly southwest of the Euclid Avenue parking area has been used for the construction of a Head Start Center, which was dedicated November 22, 2002.
It was the first Head Start Center in Greater Cleveland built next to a rapid transit station, making the facility accessible for many of the families eligible for Head Start who do not have cars.