Saturday, March 19th’s celebration of the grand opening of Capitol Hill Station and the U-Link light rail line connecting downtown to UW via Broadway will include a day of parties at both of the stations on the new route. It will also include free rides and Broadway merchants giving away cool gifts to commemorate the more than six years of demolition, tunnel boring, and construction in the neighborhood to build the new subway.

Sound Transit officials last week were mulling the logistics of free rides on the 19th to facilitate partygoers who wanted to easily visit both the UW and Capitol Hill ends of the big day of celebration. Monday, the agency began distributing the free “tickets” for riders to use on the 19th.

Meanwhile, the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce has put the transit agency’s last bit of mitigation resources to work for a promotion involving businesses along Broadway and the legendary Red Wall that surrounded the construction site for years and was covered in community art organized by Sound Transit. Students at the Seattle Central Wood Technology Center have created hundreds of wood squares using portions of the construction wall and embossed the blocks with a star to commemorate the station’s opening. To get your block, stop by a Broadway business on the 19th and spend $5 or more then bring your receipt to the Capitol Hill Station launch party and look for the chamber’s booth. The first 400 with receipts will get a piece of the wall to take home.

Chamber director Sierra Hansen said the organization will also be providing merchants maps at the grand opening that show area businesses as well as a flipside showing off other commercial districts around the Hill. Hansen said a March 17th small business luncheon being organized by the chamber will also feature a special Red Wall commemorative gift.

Last summer as it was being taken down, CHS reported on the fate of some of the Red Wall’s most popular art.