Grand Circus Park station is a public transit station in downtownDetroit, Michigan, served by 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.
The station was reachable only by an external stairway from 1999 to 2015, when the David Whitney Building was closed. A new station lobby was constructed from August 2014 to June 2015 alongside the building's restoration, with a new elevator added to restore accessibility.[3][4]
Public art
On the platform stands Catching Up, a bronze sculpture by John Seward Johnson II, depicting a man reading a newspaper while waiting for a train. The newspaper depicted is the actual May 21, 1987 issue of The Detroit News, with a headline breaking the news of that year's merger of Chrysler and American Motors, and advertisements for defunct Detroit-area retail chains Crowley's and Farmer Jack.[5][6] The News is said to have chosen over the competing Detroit Free Press by a coin toss; the Free Press is instead featured folded atop the man's briefcase.[7]
QLine
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The QLine serves two street-level side platforms on Woodward Avenue north of Park Avenue and Witherell Street.[8] The QLine portion of the station is sponsored by General Motors' Chevrolet brand.[9]
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.[10][11]
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