Government Center station (Miami)

●● Government Center
●● Government Center
	Metrorail metro station; Metromover people mover station
	Government Center station is located at the base of the Stephen P. Clark Government Center building
Location	101 NW 1st Street (Metrorail); 138 NW 3rd Street (Metromover); Miami, Florida
Coordinates	25°46′33″N 80°11′45″W
Owned by	Miami-Dade County
Platforms	1 island platform (Metrorail); 2 side platforms (Metromover);
Tracks	2 (Metrorail); 2 (Metromover);
Connections	Virgin MiamiCentral; Metrobus: 2, 3, 7, 9, 11, 21, 51, 77, 93, 95, S (119), 120, 207, 208, 246, 277 and 500; Broward County Transit (BCT): 95, 595;
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Platform levels	4
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	GVT
History
Opened	May 20, 1984 (Metrorail); April 17, 1986 (Metromover);
Traffic
Passengers (2011)	3.2 million[1] (Metrorail) 3%
Passengers (Feb 2014)	299,806[2] (Metrorail (Miami))
Passengers (Feb 2014)	210,134[2] (Metromover)
Services
Location
	Government Center station Location within Central Miami Government Center station Government Center station (Miami)

Government Center station is an intermodal transit hub in the Government Center district of Downtown Miami, Florida. It is operated by Miami-Dade Transit and serves as a transfer station for the Metrorail and Metromover rapid transit systems and as a bus station for Metrobus, Paratransit, and Broward County Transit buses. The station is located near the intersection of Northwest First Street and First Avenue, a part of the Stephen P. Clark Government Center Building. It opened to service May 20, 1984, next to the site of a former FEC railway station which is now Virgin MiamiCentral.

History

Metrorail and Metromover station

Schematic of 2018 rapid transit and passenger rail service in the Miami metropolitan area

Development of the civic center was reinvigorated during the 1970s and early 1980s during a Downtown building boom. The boom spurred the development and construction the Stephen P. Clark Government Center, Metrorail, Metromover, and the Miami-Dade Cultural Plaza, which currently includes HistoryMiami and the Miami-Dade Public Library System Main Library.

Construction on the present-day Government Center station began in June 1982. The station was primarily designed by the Cambridge Seven Associates in collaboration with Edward D. Stone. The station was built by the Frank J. Rooney Construction Company. Metrorail service, between Overtown and Kendall, following the precise route of the FEC, commenced service May 1984.

An unused, partially completed ghost platform for a future East-West Metrorail line is adjacent to the west side of the mezzanine level below the current Metrorail station and is easily visible to passengers transferring from Metromover to Metrorail. This platform was part of the original design concept which interfaced with the atrium of the Miami-Dade County Administration Building, and the people mover station.

Florida East Coast Railroad station

Next to Government Center station is the former site of a railroad station developed in April 1896 as the southern terminus of Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway (FEC). The downtown passenger terminal was demolished by November 1963.[3] The FEC still owns the old station site, which was occupied by parking lots until 2014. It is now Virgin MiamiCentral, an intermodal transit hub. It has been served by Brightline (now Virgin Trains USA) higher-speed inter-city trains since 2018, and is planned to be served by Tri-Rail commuter trains starting in 2021. Government Center station is directly connected to Virgin MiamiCentral via a pedestrian bridge over NW 3rd Street.[4]

Station layout

A Metromover car waiting on the lower level of the Government Center station.

A Metrorail train is approaching the upper level of the Government Center station with the Dade County Courthouse in the background.

The second floor of the complex includes the main fare control for Metrorail and platforms for the Metromover loops, as well as the Metrofare Shops area. The third floor of the complex is a mezzanine for transfers between the two services. A ghost platform for a never-built east-west Metrorail line is located on this level. The fourth floor of the complex is the Metrorail platform. It is the highest transit platform of the Miami-Dade Transit system in height and can hold up to eight Metrorail cars.

4F	Southbound	← Green Line, Orange Line toward Dadeland South (Brickell)
	Island platform
	Northbound	← Green Line toward Palmetto (Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre) → ← Orange Line toward Miami International Airport (Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre) →
3F	Mezzanine	Transfer between Metromover and Metrorail, site of ghost platforms
2F	Side platform
	Outer loop	← Omni Loop toward School Board (Third Street) ← Brickell Loop toward Financial District (Third Street)
	Inner loop	← Inner Loop clockwise loop (Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr.) →
	Side platform
	Metrofare	Shops, Metrorail fare control, walkway to Virgin MiamiCentral
G	Street level	Exit/entrance, buses

Places of interest

Downtown Miami
- Neighborhoods: Arts & Entertainment District, Park West, and Miami Jewelry District
Miami Art Museum
Historical Museum of Southern Florida
Miami Main Library
Stephen P. Clark Government Center
Miami-Dade County Courthouse
Museum Tower
Courthouse Center
U.S. Courthouse Building
Freedom Tower
The Congress Building
Downtown Omni Bus Terminal
American Airlines Arena
Bayside Marketplace
Flagler Street
Bayfront Park
Museum Park
Miami Art Museum
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
New World School of the Arts
Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus
Olympia Theater
Miami Beach and South Beach (via lettered Metrobus routes)

Transit connections

Government Center with the Dade County Courthouse in the background and HistoryMiami in the foreground on the right

Metrobus

Route #	Route Name	Route Map	Note
2	The Mall at 163rd Street via NW 2 Ave and North Miami Avenue	Map	Weekend service terminates at NE 84 St and 2 Ave
3	Aventura Mall via Biscayne Boulevard	Map	24-hour service
7	Dolphin Mall via NW 7 St	Map
7A	Miami Airport Station via NW 7 ST/ NW 42nd AVE	Map
9	Aventura Mall via NE 2 Ave	Map
11	Downtown Miami ↔ Florida International University (FIU) Modesto Maidique Campus via Flagler Street and West 107 Ave (SR 985)	Map	24-hour service; alternate terminus at Mall of the Americas
21	Northside station via West 12 Ave	Map
51	Flagler MAX (Downtown Miami ↔ West Miami via Flagler St)	Map	Weekdays only; limited-stop
77	Downtown Miami ↔ Miami Gardens at Miami Gardens Drive/North 183 St or 199 St via NW 7 and NW 2 Ave. (US 441)	Map
93	Biscayne MAX (Aventura via Biscayne Boulevard)	Map	Weekdays only; limited-stop
95	95 Express (Golden Glades Tri-Rail station and Park and Ride Lot via I-95)	Map	Afternoon rush hours only
S (119)	Aventura Mall via Miami Beach and Collins Avenue	Map	24 hour service
120	Beach MAX (Aventura Mall via Miami Beach and Collins Ave)	Map	Limited-stop
207	Little Havana Connection (Downtown Miami ↔ Little Havana via SW 7 St & 1 St)	Map
208	Little Havana Connection (Downtown Miami ↔ Little Havana via Flagler Street & SW 8 St)	Map
246	Night Owl (Downtown Miami ↔ The Mall at 163rd St via Civic Center)	Map	Overnight service only
277	NW 7th Ave MAX (Downtown Miami ↔ Golden Glades station via NW 7 Ave)	Map	Weekday rush hour only; limited-stop
500	Midnight OWL (Downtown Miami ↔ Dadeland South station)	Map	Overnight service only

BCT

Route #	Route Name	Route Map	Note
95	95 Express (Downtown Miami ↔ Pines Boulevard (SR 820) at Flamingo Road (SR 823) via I-95 and Pines Blvd)	Map	Weekday rush hour only; limited-stop
595	595 Express (Sunrise BB&T Center ↔ Downtown Miami and Brickell via I-95)	Map	Weekday rush hour only; limited stop

Gallery

Three modes of transit operating simultaneously at Government Center during afternoon rush hour
The Government Center Metromover transfer station
A Metromover train is approaching Government Center station
Passengers exit a northbound Metrorail train during rush hour
Platforms overlooking the contemporary US Courthouse building.
The ghost platform that is on the mezzanine level
A closer view of the ghost platform
A Metrorail sign in the plaza
View toward the southeast of the city center, with the FEC passenger trains and the Dade County Courthouse foreground, circa 1930s
Critical Mass Miami assembling at Government Center

gollark: Are there any open mesæ, though?

gollark: Insufficient privileges.

gollark: "Ravenholm" not found.