This Gold Line station is clearly for people in the  neighborhood at nearby homes, produce warehouses as well as the Mendez Learning Center.  It is just across the river from downtown.

Initially, the Pico Aliso station seems unremarkable, but lining both sides of the roof of the station are a striking series of portrait masks, which must be seen from across the street.  They are virtually invisible when you look up from the station platform.

Three of the 27 bronze masks on the Pico Aliso Gold Line station. The artist, Rob Nielson, modeled them on people who live in the nearby neighborhood.

Each face is unique in this series of portraits of Angelenos.

To answer your question: that building with stark modern architecture across the street from the station is the Mendez Learning Center.

You will realize it is a high school in early afternoon when the students pour out of the buildings and onto the Gold Line train heading east.  The Mendez family is famed for filing the first anti-segregation lawsuit.