Glendora, CA, December 4, 2025 - The Metro A Line light rail system is marked with public art inspired by the natural surroundings and cultural significance of each city the train passes through. On September 19, 2025, the nine-mile extension of the A Line opened to the public, with new stops in Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne and Pomona. Each station features artwork by a city-selected artist, and Glendora resident and artist Michael Hillman has been working on his installation for more than two decades.
“I wanted the people on the train to know they’re in Glendora,” Hillman shared in a Foothill Gold Line video. “The basic art for the station is focusing on the plant life, the foothills, the flora of the area.”
To create the earthquake-resistant, oval columns at the station, Hillman worked with QCP for a completely custom design, drawing inspiration from Glendora’s citrus groves and foothills.
“This project is a long time coming,” he says. “We visited QCP about 10 years ago and talked about the possibilities, and then I created drawings, value studies, and three three-dimensional clay models. The top part of the column was my work, and then we used a wavy pattern from QCP's repertoire for the bottom, because we were trying to make it look like foothills.”
The design team took Hillman’s drawings and models and worked with him over a Zoom call, making the necessary adjustments. After that, Hillman visited the factory and met to review images and renderings before the molding process began.
“It was pretty phenomenal,” he says. “I’ve been working on this for 20 years now, and it was really exciting to finally see it in three-dimension. Because I live and work in Glendora, it’s kind of a legacy for me to have this artwork, which hopefully lasts decades—maybe 100 or even 200 years, who knows? It’s very fulfilling to drive by it every day.”
Hillman’s process also included intricate tile designs, and he used Bisazza tiles to create a textural, raised effect and an incredibly thoughtful mosaic pattern. Oranges, lemons, and bougainvilleas are all featured in various mediums.
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