S Train - Park Place (Day 10, stop #411)

Out:  This stop exits at a very residential part of Prospect Heights.  There are pretty much only residential buildings near the exit, which is in the middle of a long block.  There are some small commercial establishments near the intersection down the block, but nothing out of the ordinary.  The neighborhood still looks mostly black, but I did see a couple of white people around.  The housing is a mix of small apartments and row houses, with one big apartment block nearby.  Most of the buildings look in decent condition, and this neighborhood definitely looks more pleasant than those farther east on the C line.

In:  This is the only station in the system I would describe as “cute”.  There is a tiny platform to accommodate the two-car S train here, and, amazingly, the trains actually can arrive in both directions on just the one platform.  

Definitely have not seen that anywhere else as part of regular service.  The station house looks recently renovated, and the platform has a red metal roof and no walls.  The station is only a little above street level and from the platform you basically look into the backyard of some apartment buildings.  This stop really feels integrated into the neighborhood, as there is barely any boundary between it and the other residential buildings.  On the outside there is also black metal grating with a pattern I hadn’t seen before (see photo).