A Collection of Public Art Use this guide to plan your tour of Victory Station. Station Style: Design merges fun and function With nods to downtown Dallas' colorful history and touches of playful whimsy, Victory Station is designed for both aesthetic appeal and efficient function. The station boasts four platforms for DART Rail and its companion Trinity Railway Express (TRE) commuter service between Dallas and Fort Worth. While the platforms are topped by DART's familiar gull-wing canopies, the supporting columns are unique to Victory with rich terracotta brick. "We looked at the architecture of the AAC, which came from the historic warehouse district in the West End, and we created a modernized version of that," says Craig King, manager of DART's Art and Design Program. The platforms - longer than at most DART Rail stations to accommodate longer commuter trains - have pavement patterns that evoke balls bouncing wildly in every direction. Under the canopies, station design artist Pamela Nelson created game boards, playing fields and cards - some familiar, some whimsical. A pedestrian plaza leads visitors from the station to the AAC's front door. While a standard width now, the plaza will be expanded to almost 130 by 300 feet - roughly the dimensions of a football field - inviting gatherings of fans and friends before and after events. Partners for the common good Victory Station and the 1.2-mile rail extension from West End Station and Union Station represents a $79 million investment in public transit as well as a unique collaboration between DART, the City of Dallas, and Victory, a development of Hillwood and Southwest Sports Realty. "The big challenge was to have a design that would serve the public best and would get the approval and investment of the private developers," says Elias Sassoon, assistant director and chief engineer in Dallas' Development Service Department. "We all had to compromise a little, but now we have something we can all be proud of." The key issues for DART were staying on budget and staying on schedule with the agency's larger expansion plans. "This is our gateway to the Northwest, and it was important that we stay on track," says Tim McKay, DART's senior vice president for project management. "The main issue for Victory was that light rail had to be accessible to the entire district, and it had to be safe and not disrupt pedestrian traffic flow," says Jonas Woods, president of Hillwood Capital. "We achieved all of that as we brought the benefits of DART Rail into this new urban environment."