Metro opened the Wilshire/La Cienega station on May 8, 2026. It is the first Metro subway station in the city of Beverly Hills, at the city's eastern edge. The entrance is on the northeast corner of Wilshire and La Cienega boulevards. One stop east is Wilshire/Fairfax, which Metro describes as home to "Museum Row." The Academy Museum's visitor page puts that station at 6026 Wilshire Boulevard, across the street from the Academy Museum and LACMA complex. LACMA's ticket policy adds one more detail. People who live in L.A. County and show a valid ID get in free on weekdays after 3 p.m.
Together, those facts make a weekday afternoon at LACMA practical without driving or parking. You ride one stop, cross the street, and pay nothing at the door.
The rest of the line matters less for Beverly Hills right now. The downtown commute and Century City both come later.
Why this fall is the version worth trying
There's a reason to try this now rather than wait for the whole line. Beverly Hills' second station is the one long called Wilshire/Rodeo. The Metro Board officially renamed it Beverly Dr in May 2025, and its entrance will sit at the southwest corner of Wilshire and Reeves Drive. It isn't open yet. Metro's September 2026 community-meeting schedule forecasts service at Beverly Dr and Century City in spring 2027, then the two Westwood stations in fall 2027. The slide marks every date as subject to change. Until then, Wilshire/La Cienega is the end of the line. When Section 2 opens, Century City/Constellation will take over as the terminus.
So for now the subway mostly serves eastbound trips from Beverly Hills, and Museum Row is the closest one. Metro says the new stations added an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 riders a day in May 2026. Over the same period, D Line ridership rose 62% compared with a year earlier. Those are line-wide figures, not museum attendance. Still, they show the extension carrying riders within its first month.
It also helps that the museums are having a strong season.
What one stop reaches this fall
LACMA opened the David Geffen Galleries to the public on May 4, four days before the station. Members got early access starting April 19. The opening installation covers roughly 6,000 years of art and is organized around oceans and sea routes. It has more than 80 presentations, including Van Gogh's Tarascon Stagecoach, Matisse's La Gerbe and Georges de La Tour's The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame.
LACMA's dated exhibitions run on their own schedules. The Academy Museum shares a complex with LACMA, and the Petersen is at 6060 Wilshire Boulevard.
| Venue | Show or event | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| LACMA | Fashioning Chinese Women: Empire to Modernity | Closes October 12, 2026 |
| LACMA | Eileen Cowin: Between Panic and Paradise | Through January 3, 2027 |
| LACMA | Textile Alchemy: The Art of Reiko Sudo & NUNO | Through March 7, 2027 |
| LACMA | Home of the Future and The Kitchen and Its Discontents | Through March 14, 2027 |
| Academy Museum | The Horror Show and Zombies! | Through July 25, 2027 |
| Petersen | Made in America | Through December 27, 2026 |
| Petersen | A Fast & Furious Legacy | Through April 4, 2027 |
| Petersen | Flat Out: The Art of Joshua Vides | Through July 5, 2027 |
The first row is the urgent one. Fashioning Chinese Women closes on Monday, October 12, nine days from today. That leaves the weekdays of the week of October 5 as the best chance to see it after 3 p.m. without paying.
The other LACMA shows run into 2027, so there's no rush. Home of the Future and The Kitchen and Its Discontents opened together on September 27 and are a paired look at domestic design. They make a good first visit for anyone who follows architecture and interiors.
What free after 3 p.m. actually saves
The free window shows up best next to the full price. A Los Angeles County adult pays $25 for general admission, and an adult from outside the county pays $30. County residents get free entry after 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Visitors from outside the county still pay $30 then. So two adults from Beverly Hills spend $50 on a Saturday morning and nothing on a Thursday at 3:15.
Children and teens who live in the county get in free at any time. LACMA also offers free general admission to everyone on the second Tuesday of each month. If you'd rather go on a weekend, a Metro pass takes $2 off general admission. LACMA recommends booking a timed-entry ticket ahead, because walk-up slots can sell out. Booking is the safer choice for the free window too.
Friday is LACMA's busiest-programmed day this season. Jazz at LACMA runs on Fridays from April through October. October 9 is one of the last chances to pair the jazz season with the closing week of Fashioning Chinese Women.
The Academy Museum and the Petersen set their own calendars
The Academy Museum doesn't have a free afternoon like LACMA's. General admission is $25 for adults and free for visitors 17 and under, and TAP card holders get $2 off. The museum is closed on Tuesdays, which matters if you're planning a weekday trip.
The Horror Show opened September 26 and is included with admission. It starts with a sound installation and a corridor called "The Hallway," then moves through six themed galleries: Gothic, Psychological, Science, Slasher, Religion and Ghosts. The films covered range from Frankenstein and The Shining to Get Out and Midsommar. The museum advises parental guidance for that show. The family-oriented Zombies! runs next door for the same dates.
These are the museum's dated events this fall:
- Monster Mash, Saturday, October 24, 11 a.m.: a vampire-themed day with special-effects demos, tours and monster appearances
- Museum After Dark, Saturday, October 31, 7 p.m.: a goth-themed Halloween party with a screening of The Craft, listed as sold out
- 50th anniversary of Carrie, Thursday, November 19, 7:30 p.m.: Sissy Spacek in person at the David Geffen Theater, currently listed as standby
The Petersen is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. That makes it the one Museum Row venue with no day off to plan around. Its fall calendar includes a Car Costume Party on Saturday, October 17, and Escape the Petersen on Friday, October 30.
One familiar stop is closed for now. The Museum at La Brea Tar Pits shut on July 7 for a two-year renovation, with completion expected ahead of the 2028 Olympics. Indoor exhibitions and general museum admission are on hold. Some outdoor areas of Hancock Park and the excavation sites remain open, and guided Insider Tours take visitors closer to the construction.
Getting to the platform from a Beverly Hills street
Getting to the station is the part to plan. Metro built no parking structure at either Beverly Hills station. The City directs riders to its existing public parking structures within a half-mile walk. Passenger loading zones near the entrances were still "being explored" according to the City's FAQ. Before getting dropped off at the corner, check the curb when you arrive.
Bikes are easier. Metro says each new station has new bike lockers. The City describes CCTV-monitored lockers and bike hubs at the station plaza. On the bus side, Lines 20 and 720 run along Wilshire and Line 105 runs along La Cienega. Metro describes the 720 as the limited-stop option for longer trips.
The City may add another link. An August 4, 2026 staff report described a proposed two-year microtransit pilot to connect riders to D Line stations. The report doesn't settle whether the pilot will go ahead.
Near the entrance, the station sits beside La Cienega's Restaurant Row. That includes Lawry's The Prime Rib at 100 N. La Cienega Boulevard, which has served Beverly Hills since 1938. Lawry's lists a murder-mystery dinner, "A Recipe for MURDER!," on October 16, 2026. That's a Friday, which could pair with an evening on the train.
What the street still looks like near the next station
Wilshire west of the open station is still under construction. In early September 2026, crews kept two lanes open in each direction through the Beverly Dr work zone while they continued station work around Sterling Plaza. Later in the month, sidewalk ramp, curb and gutter work was scheduled through October 2 at the corners of El Camino Drive and Wilshire. The City's June 2026 forecast expected restoration near Beverly Drive by November 2026. Repairs and paving west of Beverly Drive would continue into spring 2027.
Even the open station had paving work left. Metro scheduled a final paving weekend on Wilshire between La Cienega Boulevard and Willaman Drive, from 9 p.m. Friday, September 25, to 6 a.m. Monday, September 28. Wilshire was cut to one lane in each direction during that work. That was an advance schedule, so check Metro's construction notices before assuming the corner is clear.
Once Beverly Dr opens, residents of the Golden Triangle will have a closer station, and the line will run on to Century City. Until that forecast spring 2027 opening, Wilshire/La Cienega is the only Beverly Hills station, and LACMA is free for county residents after 3 p.m. on weekdays.
New transit changes how buyers judge a block well before it changes listing prices. Living one stop from Museum Row is something to price into a home and to show buyers, not leave out of the description. If you're weighing how the D Line affects a home on the east side of Beverly Hills, or how to present that to buyers, ACME Real Estate will walk the route with you. Work With Courtney.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
