9th Street station (Charlotte)
9th Street station is a light rail station on the LYNX Blue Line in Center City Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The station, which features side platforms on either side of the tracks, is located adjacent to 9th Street. Notable places near the station include First Ward Park and the UNC Charlotte Center City Campus. History. The station first opened for service on June 28, 2004, for the historic Charlotte Trolley, with one track and one platform, located south adjacent to 9th Street. Operating for little over 19 months, it was soon closed on February 6 , 2006 because of LYNX Blue Line construction at neighboring 6th Street Station. The station reopened on April 20, 2008 when Charlotte Trolley service resumed, but was soon scaled back to weekend and special events in 2009. On June 28, 2010, the Charlotte Trolley service to the station was discontinued and the station was closed for a second time. For the next few years, the station remained unused while planning and funding was established for the LYNX Blue Line Extension, which would incorporate 9th Street station. On July 18, 2013, the official groundbreaking took place near the 9th Street station for  the Extension; at the ceremony were the mayor of Charlotte Patsy Kinsey, UNCC chancellor Philip Dubois, federal transit administrator Peter Rogoff and N.C. Governor Pat McCrory, the former mayor of Charlotte and an initial supporter of the LYNX project. By 2016, the original side platform and structure was razed with construction started on a new station located north adjacent to 9th Street. On March 16, 2018, the station was reopened as part of the Blue Line Extension to UNC Charlotte. Public art. As part of the CATS Art in Transit program, 9th Street is a signature station design by Anna  Valentina Murch and Doug Hollis. Called "UMBRA", Latin for shadow; the title combines the practical and metaphorical nature of their artistic intent. Inspired by Charlotte's historic textile industry, all ten passenger shelters have white tensile fabric canopies, curved blue glass windscreens, white benches and fixtures, and a blue platform. Bicycle racks were designed by Darren Goins, using geometric abstract shapes. Nearby, along the rail trail, is "Halcyon Idyll I" and "Halcyon Idyll II", by Sharon Dowell. These murals cover approximately on five facades facing the sidewalk, located under 11th Street and Brookshire Freeway. Adjacent to the underpass murals is  a signal house wrapped in vinyl with a vibrant pattern titled "Coexist".