About the Artist

Joyce Kohl is an accomplished artist based in Altadena, California with experience in cast iron and metal sculpturing. In 2004, she completed a major sculpture utilizing cast iron artifacts from farming, shipping and industrial machinery for a Park & Ride in DuPont, Washington. Other work includes a set of sculptures for the San Joaquin Valley Centennial Celebration of the two major industries in the area – farming and oil. Joyce also designed and created the tile and sculptural AIDS Wall in Zimbabwe.

Joyce graduated with a Masters of Art from California State University Fullerton and is the past recipient of the Fulbright-African Regional Research Grant, Zimbabwe, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship.

Based on her preliminary design concept, Joyce was selected by the city of Claremont’s Station Design and Art Review (SDAR) Committee, later ratified by the city council, in 2005. As the Foothill Gold Line from Glendora to Montclair continues to move from planning to reality, Joyce has taken her preliminary design concept and work with the SDAR Committee and Claremont community, and advanced the design to be incorporated into the project’s construction.

Station Art Plan

Joyce’s art plan is derived from her conversations and experience in the city and her conclusion that Claremont has an astonishing number of people (within the colleges and community at large) who are thinking “outside of the box” – in a vast number of fields, utilizing many languages.

The most prominent element of the station artwork will be an internally illuminated iconic landmark located at the corner of First Avenue and College Avenue, near the entrance to the station parking facility. The sculpture is planned to be 16 feet tall and give the illusion of line drawings of two boxes, back to back at skewed angles. The boxes will have letters, symbols and numbers from the different ‘languages’ spoken in Claremont in glass. Each image will represent a story from Claremont. People showcased will include scientists, medical researchers, artists, musicians, social scientists, various educators, experts on religion, historians and creative writers.

For more information on the artist and artwork, click here for the latest station fact sheet.

Future Plans

During 2006-7, the Construction Authority worked with the City of Claremont (along with all other Foothill Gold Line cities from Pasadena to Montclair) to explore their visions for integrating transit oriented developments (TOD) near the future station.

A premiere example of transit-oriented development along the Foothill Gold Line corridor is found in Claremont with the Claremont Village Expansion project located just west of Indian Hill Boulevard and immediately north of the current Metrolink and Foothill Gold Line right-of-way.

Within walking distance of Claremont’s historic downtown shopping and business district as well as the Metrolink (and future Foothill Gold Line) station, the project includes three core components:

Village Walk: This “new-urban design” residential neighborhood of 173 homes includes condominium lofts, town homes and duplexes, and open space areas.

The Packing House: Arteco Partners, recognized in the region for successful adaptive reuse projects and in particular for support for creative arts communities, was selected to bring new life to Claremont’s historic 1922 Citrus Packing House. The project, which officially opened in April of 2007, shines within this TOD for its detailed architectural renovation and a variety of creative storefronts and arts/entertainment venues.

The Shops and Offices, directly across the street from Village Walk and The Packing House further expands office, retail and entertainment opportunities for the City of Claremont, and includes a five-screen, 816-seat Laemmle Theater complex and Casa 425, a 28-room boutique hotel.

A 477-space parking structure supports the TOD with 6,000 square feet of retail space on Indian Hill Boulevard.

The Construction Authority and city began a new dialogue through another TOD study in 2010, which revisited the earlier concepts following the economic downturn. In 2016, the Construction Authority measured the progress of TOD implementation since the first segment of the line opened for passenger service in 2003, including reviewing the potential TOD that could take place near the stations looking forward. Click here to learn more about the TOD Studies.

First/Last Mile Plans

The first/last mile plan for the future Claremont station is overseen by Metro. Metro coordinated with the Construction Authority and City of Claremont to create a first/last mile plan for the Claremont station area. The plan was adopted by the Metro Board of Directors on June 27, 2019.

To learn more about the first/last mile plan for the future Claremont station, click here to visit Metro’s first/last mile plan website. NOTE: If you click on the link, you will be directed away from this website.