Transformation of 19th Street Station celebrated with a ribbon cutting

BART celebrated the transformation of 19th Street Station in Oakland with a ribbon cutting January 21, 2023, marking the end of a multi-year modernization project. The improvements to the station enhance the customer experience by providing a open concourse packed with aesthetic improvements.

"The new energy efficient lighting, combined with new public art installations, have brought a glow to the blue brickwork of this iconic station," said BART Director Robert Raburn. "The improvements have not only changed the look of the station but also the feel."

The project redesigned the concourse to merge three paid areas into one continuous paid area and eliminated hidden corners by using glass barriers instead of brick. Features also include repair of terrazzo flooring and ceramic wall tiles, a new north end elevator and the addition of bike channels. The project also involved the renovation and re-opening of the public restrooms on the concourse level, a milestone marked in February 2022. 

Representative Barbara Lee, who headlined the 2022 event, reprised her role as a guest of honor at the modernization ribbon cutting. 

The art program for the station was conceived in parallel with the overall station updates. Uptown Oakland's history as a mecca for music, dance and entertainment was the overarching theme established by the design team. Those elements are reflected in the curtain pattern found in the glass and metal barriers surrounding the concourse, the feature lighting, and the gold ceilings – each element imagining the entertainment destinations like the Fox, the Paramount and Sweet’s Ballroom.

The phone alcoves have been transformed to movie-kiosk like displays that will feature rotating artworks. The initial artworks are by Studio1500 of San Francisco, led by Julio Martinez. 

Three artists created art light boxes to make the stairwells lighter and brighter.

Artists featured at 19th Street Station: 

Ron M. Saunders, San Francisco 

Phillip Hua, San Francisco

Lisa and Hailey Banks, Chico (formerly of San Francisco) 

Julio Martinez, San Francisco 

Merge Conception Design: Los Angeles

The improvements were funded by State of California Proposition 1B funds, BART Measure RR funds, Caltrans (STIP) funds, Alameda CTC Measure BB funds, and a Federal Department of Transportation TIGER Grant, as part of the broader GO Uptown project with the City of Oakland.