Places / People Mover / Stop 5 of 13
Detroit People Mover stationWater Square
Former names: Joe Louis Arena 1987–2022 · West Riverfront 2022–2025
The former Joe Louis Arena station, built for crowds and now being reshaped for a new riverfront neighbourhood.
- Code
- WS
- Opened
- July 31, 1987
- Boardings 2023
- 91,856
- Boardings 2024
- 45,018
01 / Story
The station’s story
Built in 1987 for Joe Louis Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings, the station had wide concrete ramps to swallow post-game crowds and a footbridge straight to the arena doors. Many riders parked elsewhere downtown and came here for the game. When the arena closed in 2017, the system lost one of its main sources of riders.
The arena and its footbridge were demolished in 2019 and 2020; two enclosed skybridges remain, to the Riverfront Towers and the old parking garage. With the restart on May 20, 2022 the station became West Riverfront, and on July 23, 2025 it was renamed Water Square after the district rising on the site. The Residences at Water Square tower opened in February 2024, and a 600-room JW Marriott is due in early 2027.
Ridership swings: 144,571 boardings in 2017, 91,856 in 2023 and 45,018 in 2024. Developer Sterling Group is contributing $500,000, and in July 2026 the DTC board approved a $1.7 million contract. The six-month work began on September 14, 2026: paint, new surfaces, interior and exterior lighting and rebuilt ramps, with two-day closures.
- The former Joe Louis Arena station
- Kamrowski’s “Voyage” mosaic
- Views of Windsor and the Ambassador Bridge
- Renovation from September 2026
02 / From the window
What you see from the car
This is the loop’s south-western tip. Look toward the river from the platform to see Windsor, the Ambassador Bridge to the west and the Renaissance Center towers to the east, where the car will head along the riverfront.
03 / Art in the Stations
Art at this station
Gerome Kamrowski · 1987
Voyage
Venetian glass mosaic
Two mosaics by surrealist Kamrowski evoke 17th-century mythological and astrological figures. Designed in sky blue, they were changed to orange to match Joe Louis Arena.
04 / Timeline
Station timeline
Joe Louis Arena station
With wide ramps for game-day crowds.
The arena closes
The Red Wings move to Little Caesars Arena.
The arena comes down
Along with the footbridge to it.
West Riverfront
A new name with the restart.
Water Square
Named after the district rising on the site.
Six-month renovation
New lighting, surfaces, paint and ramps.
The station is part of the loop today; today’s departures are shown above, per timetable.
05 / Curiosities
Curiosities
Kamrowski designed his 17th-century constellations in sky blue; they were made orange to match the arena.
The station appeared in the plans simply as “Arena”.
A closer look
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
Every figure is compiled from the sources below, including the DTC’s official pages, board minutes and its 2025–2026 planning documents. Where sources differ, we give both. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed and credited per author.
06 / Nearby
A short walk away
Places, restaurants and venues from our guide, with straight-line distance and an estimated walking time.
1 min walk · 43 mWayne HotelThe riverfront's grand hotel (1887–1922) at Third and Jefferson: room for 350 guests, three bars, a casino, a roller rink and some of Detroit's earliest auto shows.- 2 min walk · 112 mJW Marriott Detroit Water SquareComing soon: a 600-room JW Marriott luxury tower on the riverfront, where Joe Louis Arena used to stand. Opening is targeted for January 2027.
- 7 min walk · 436 mAnchor BarDowntown bar on Fort Street since 1959, with pizza, cold beer and one of Detroit's wildest gambling-raid stories.
7 min walk · 442 mGilbert Exposition Management Services (GEMS) – DetroitDetroit office of an Orlando-based trade show contractor, set up at Huntington Place for booth builds, printing and expo management.
7 min walk · 446 mDoubleTree Suites by Hilton Detroit Downtown – Fort ShelbyAn all-suite DoubleTree in a 1918 downtown hotel with a 1927 Albert Kahn tower, a short walk from Huntington Place. It's being turned into an Embassy Suites.
7 min walk · 446 mFort Shelby HotelThe hotel at Lafayette and First (1918–1974): it grew tall with Albert Kahn's 1927 tower, then sat empty for more than three decades before reopening in 2008.
7 min walk · 446 mCibo DetroitShareable, seasonal plates and cocktails inside the downtown Cambria Hotel, served nightly from 4 to 10 p.m.
7 min walk · 457 mCambria Hotel Detroit DowntownAlbert Kahn's 1936 Art Deco radio building on West Lafayette, a 154-room hotel since 2023 with the Cielo rooftop bar. Huntington Place is a short walk.- 8 min walk · 465 mRound Bar at Motor City KitchenThe circular bar inside the Fort Shelby hotel: 18 rotating local drafts, cocktails and a 2 AM last call on downtown's west side.
Around the station
- The Residences at Water Square 1 min
The apartment tower on the Joe Louis Arena site (2024).
- Detroit Riverwalk 2 min
The riverfront promenade right below the station.
- Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park 10–15 min
A riverfront park to the west along the Riverwalk.
- Wayne County Community College – downtown campus 5–6 min
The nearest station to the college.
- Riverfront Towers skybridge
Linked to the station by an enclosed bridge.
07 / Events
Events near this station
Upcoming events at nearby venues, from our event guide.
No events at nearby venues in our guide right now.
All events ↗