Success Story

City Hall Bus Transfer Center

Corpus Christi, TX (1991-1994)

PPS turned this transit center into an attractive place in itself, which attracts new riders by serving as a true community center.

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Using the money smartly, the city could kill two birds with one stone, addressing both low levels of bus ridership and the lack of destinations within the city center. PPS's concept was simple: The transfer center would become a unique downtown destination. Conceived as a town square centered around old-style train station sheds with Spanish architecture and terra cotta details, the station would be designed mainly for bus riders, not buses. Located across from City Hall and adjacent to the historic center of Corpus Christi, it would be linked to the surrounding neighborhood by pedestrian- friendly intersections, which 5,000 bus riders were projected to cross every day.

Completed in 1994, the City Hall station won a Federal Design Achievement Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. More importantly, it embodied the efforts of many people in Corpus Christi. Local architect John Wright was a major contributor throughout the process, and the 1500 hand-painted tiles that decorate the station were designed by local residents ranging from the Mayor to school children to inmates at a nearby prison. Today, downtown residents and workers go there to meet up with friends or simply people-watch. In short, it has become a true place.