Louis Stokes Station at Windermere

Infobox Station
name=Louis Stokes Station at Windermere
type=RTA rapid transit station

---

image_size=260
image_caption=
address=14233 Euclid Avenue
East Cleveland, Ohio 44112
coordinates=coord|41|31|50|N|81|35|6|W|type:railwaystation_region:US-OH|display=inline,title
line=rail color box|system=GCRTA|line=Red
other=Bus # 3 (Superior)
Bus # 6 (Euclid Ave.)
Bus # 28 (East 276–Euclid)
Bus # 30 (East 140th–Hayden)
Bus # 37 (East 185th–Taylor)
Bus # 41A (Warrensville–Aurora)
Bus # 41C (Warrensville–Columbus)
structure=Elevated
platform=Island platform
tracks=
parking=410 spaces [2007 Park-and-Ride Inventory/Survey, [http://www.noaca.org/06transitguide.pdf NOACA 2006 Transit Network Guide] , June 2007, p. 29.]
bicycle=
baggage_check=
passengers=
pass_year=
pass_percent=
pass_system=
opened=March 15, 1955
closed=
rebuilt=June 22, 1997
ADA=Yes
code=
owned=Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
zone=
former=Windermere
services=
mpassengers=
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.

Notable places nearby

* East Cleveland
* Nela Park

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,cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = About RTA: History of Public Transit in Greater Cleveland
work = RTA Website
publisher =
date =
url = http://www.gcrta.org/ar_RTAhistory.asp
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-06-03] 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. [cite news
last = Exner
first = Rich
coauthors =
title = Red Line rapid marks 50 years in service
work =
pages = A1
language =
publisher = The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
date = March 14, 2005
url = http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:CPDB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=108D9BD89956CF6D&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0D1C2ED46ABD2E15
accessdate = 2007-06-02 ]

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 acre 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. [cite press release
title = RTA's Red Line Rail Service to Operate from New Windermere Station
publisher = Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
date = June 20, 1997
url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19521809.html
accessdate = 2007-06-07 ] 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. [cite news
last = Perkins
first = Olivia
coauthors =
title = Unique site to help put kids on track Head Start opens at RTA train stop
work =
pages = B1
language =
publisher = The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
date = November 23, 2002
url = http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:CPDB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F7818AA2AD06A4A&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0D1C2ED46ABD2E15
accessdate = 2007-06-02 ] 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.riderta.com/rapidtransit_loc_stokes.asp Louis Stokes Rapid Station page from RTA Website]
* [http://www.ecpl.lib.oh.us/picarchive/publictransportation.htm Photos of Windermere Car Barn from East Cleveland Public Library]