Over the past week, local leaders in South Los Angeles unveiled the new Hyde Park Metro Station, which is dedicated to late rapper Nipsey Hussle.
As the Los Angeles Times reports, the Metro station is located between the intersections of Crenshaw Boulevard with Slauson and 59th Street, which is near Hussle’s Marathon Clothing Store. During the dedication ceremony on Saturday, L.A. city councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson spoke about the late rapper’s legacy.
“After he caught the vision and he understood what the train would mean to this community and his neighborhood and businesses like his, he got very involved in making sure that this train worked on behalf of our people and helped us express and live out our possibilities and our hopes and our dreams,” said Harris-Dawson, who also noted how instrumental Nip was in getting the station built. “From Slauson and all the way to Vernon, you will see world-class pieces of art, celebrating the history and the legacy of African American people. Everybody who comes to L.A. and rides the train out of the airport is gonna see it. Is that all right?”
The station is just one of eight stations to be added to the K line in Los Angeles, which is a part of the $2 billion Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project. It connects with the existing Metro E Line and the C Line, and is expected to open in full later this year. All of the stations on the line will feature newly commissioned artwork. as well.
Additionally, the city said it will be improving pedestrian access to the station by installing safer sidewalks and crosswalks. “Metro and the City of Los Angeles are pulling out the stops to make our new Hyde Park K Line Station as safe and accessible as possible for our community,” said Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, the Metro board first vice chair. “Taken together, these improvements will vastly improve access to opportunity that Hyde Park has needed for decades.”