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Elmonica/SW 170th Ave station

Light rail station in Beaverton, Oregon, U.S.

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ5366864 ↗
Source-derived summary

Elmonica/Southwest 170th Avenue is a light rail station on the MAX Blue and Red lines in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. Named after a former station on the Oregon Electric Railway, it is the eleventh stop westbound on the Westside MAX. The side platform stop is located between Hillsboro to the west and Beaverton to the east.

Details

The station has two side platforms. To the northeast of the station is one of the facilities where MAX trains are stored and serviced, called Elmonica Yard, or "Elmo Yard" for short. As a result, most trains in the morning start here, and go west to Hillsboro's Hatfield Government Center station before heading to Gresham's Cleveland Avenue station, and service at the end of the day splits between terminating here or Merlo Road/Southwest 158th Avenue, and Hillsboro's Hatfield Government Center station and returning eastward to the yard.

History

Elmonica station is named after the area, which was named after a station on the old Oregon Electric Railway. The MAX line follows the old Oregon Electric right-of-way and shares several stop names with the old interurban. The name derives from the names of the daughters of an owner of land along the route. Samuel B. Stoy, a Portland insurance executive, owned property along the proposed OE line and only gave permission for the railroad to go through his property if the company agreed to name the station after his daughters, Eleanor and Monica. After the station was named Elmonica, this then led to the area around the station becoming known as Elmonica as well.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Elmonica/SW 170th Ave station” as light rail station in Beaverton, Oregon, U.S. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Elmonica, 170th and station.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current 260-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1998-09-12. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Elmonica, 170th and station providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Elmonica/SW 170th Ave station”, the useful work is to connect “light rail station in Beaverton, Oregon, U.S” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5366864. Authority coordinates are 45.510, -122.851. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Elmonica/SW 170th Ave station”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Elmonica/SW 170th Ave station primary sources, Elmonica/SW 170th Ave station archive and Elmonica research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Elmonica/SW 170th Ave station”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Elmonica/SW 170th Ave station” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.