NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND

Here are some tips and facts about the Metro Red Line subway, which opens to the public in the San Fernando Valley on Saturday. More details are available at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Web site at https://www.mta.net

* If you’re in the Valley, don’t worry about getting on the right train. From both North Hollywood and Universal City, all eastbound Red Line trains are headed to Union Station. (Unless you get off at Wilshire/Vermont and transfer to a westbound train headed for the Wilshire/Western station.)

* If you take the Red Line from the Valley to downtown, be sure on your route home to board a westbound train with a sign on the side of the car that says it’s headed toward Hollywood. Some westbound Red Line trains will travel a separate leg to Wilshire Center--with a final stop at Wilshire/Western--instead of the Valley.

* For the tourist, the station at Hollywood and Highland is close to movie theaters, including Mann’s Chinese, the Egyptian and El Capitan. At Universal City, you are across the street from Universal Studios. A tram can take you to the studios, CityWalk and the Universal Amphitheatre. You’ll also be steps away from Campo de Cahuenga, the historic site where the peace treaty was signed ending the Mexican-American War in California. At North Hollywood, you’re close to the NoHo Arts District and the Motion Picture & Television Academy.

* Art aficionados will get an eyeful at each of the three new stations, where about $1Lmillion in artwork was installed. The North Hollywood station features large ceramic murals of Valley history, including citrus groves, former Toluca Lake resident Amelia Earhart and Native American culture.

* Universal City features stylized tree sculptures and porcelain wall panels that reflect Mayan and Mexican influences. Hollywood/Highland has a dramatic sculpture of ceiling trusses and theatrical lighting.

Compiled by ANNETTE KONDO