The Incredible Architecture of the Washington Metro

The 11 types of stations on America’s most iconic metro system.

(Also sorry I pronounced McLean wrong)

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More cool DC Metro stuff-

[modalmixture]

I grew up riding the DC metro and absolutely love the original waffle design and signpost pillars. The whole system has a clean and consistent visual aesthetic that makes it really unique. The only thing I don’t like is that the underground stations can be a bit dark and gloomy, and the concrete is starting to crack and show its age in some stations. It’s still a beautiful retro vision of the future.

[alanthefisher]

We need more of LBJ's Jumbo infrastructure

[mdhazeldine]

I knew the Washington Metro was architecturally interesting, but I've not seen such a comprehensive video and breakdown of the different styles before. I have to say it looks incredible. Suddenly it's shot to the top of my bucket list to go and visit next time I go to the U.S!

[UrbanJerseyGuy]

Great video. I love how spacious they made many of Metro's stations, even those peak above ground stations.

[michaelimbesi]

Part of why it’s so good is that it eschewed the overblown, hulking nature and excessive amount of right angles and hard edges that ruined most other brutalist architecture. It’s actually a very welcoming feel because of all the curves in the design. It also made significant concessions to people, like stone benches, tile floors, easy navigation, wide sight lines, and pedestrian-friendly spaces. Nearly every other brutalist structure ever created felt actively hostile to human beings and to mammalian life in general.

[peabody]

The one thing about West Hyattsville is that there is exactly one other station with similar design: Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria. I live in the area and have used both stations.

The issue with painting... When the first Red Line stations were built, and the subsequent western leg of the Red Line built, they did not wrap the concrete to protect from water (those western leg stations are deep underground and near the water table, the original five stations are cut-and-cover). A lot of those stations were built with "thicker" concrete. But flaws and pre-casting mean that leaks and cracks let in water, and thence fungal spots and discoloration. Painting does alter the look of the stations, but not the grandeur. Newer underground stations don't have as much a problem.

Metro per se is a good system. The frustrating thing is that because it's a hybrid metro-commuter rapid transit system, it doesn't serve the core of DC as well as it could; we need more actual lines in various areas of the city (one proposal would separate the Blue Line into its own corridor parallel to the east-west trunk it runs on now and north of the Red Line).

And it had a lot more riders pre-pandemic. It's just had a double whammy of pandemic and bad luck with the 7000-series trains that really hampered ridership. Once it can get back to better headways and the adjustment of new rider patterns, I think it will get more people riding again.

One more thing if you visit/re-visit: not that you'd need to go there unless you like the CIA or CapitalOne (ha!), but the town/station spelled "McLean" is said like "mic-KLAYNE".

I loved this video and its review of the different styles of my home metro system, so thank you for posting it!

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

The waffle-style, the hexagonal tiles, and the blinking lights all make the Metro stand out! Definitely one of my favorite systems. Though when it comes to a certain line, my favorite is the Disneyland Resort Line in Hong Kong. It has two stations, Sunny Bay and Disneyland Resort. Sunny Bay has a futuristic gateway look while Disneyland Resort station has Victorian-style architecture. These two have very different designs because it was done to make passengers feel like they are travelling through time between the fantasy world of the Disneyland Resort and the city (the jingles you hear in the train's announcements reflect this too). And that's just the stations, because the trains are unique too with its cute design of Mickey-shaped handles, Mickey-shaped windows, and bronze statues of characters on display. The line was also the first on the MTR to be automated, the South Island would become the second line eleven years later!

[nimeshinlosangeles]

Now I'm looking forward to you doing a similar video for LA's Metro architecture. For how lacking LA's public transit is, many of the stations have been designed pretty thoughtfully.

[parshaupt]

Your channel is so underrated. Please continue uploading.

[captainkeyboard]

Your show about the Metrorail train stations is the best show I needed to watch many years ago. The stations designs are the main things I like about the Washington Metrorail rapid transit system. Your forum explains everything I have wanted to know about the station designs. Unfortunately, some of the subway stations look less than good by the water stains caused by the leaks that appear on the walls. Those subway stations appear as though they were built very few feet below the street surface. That is why I believe that most of them may need to be painted with primer paint or a lighter color to enhance their appearance. I thought that painting the surface and aerial stations' canopies top would help reduce exposure to the sunrays, but I saw that the first canopy at Rockville had chipped concrete. This makes me believe that is the reason that aerial, surface, even some open cut stations may need to be built with steel canopies. That is why Potomac Yard station is made predominately of steel. As a Metrorail fan, I am from New York. Your show is the greatest news I ever watched.

[yagi]

Thanks for this explanation. Washington's metro is great, whether you mean the stations, with their distinct style and architecture, or the frequency of trains, network extension etc. I remember riding DC's metro on my only visit to the city to this date. I keep very fond memories of it. It gives a great image of the federal capital of the USA.

[olklift]

Very professional. I like your approach narrative. You are good in finding the best views. And I agree Washington DC metro is a real architectural masterpiece. Having lived the bigger part of my life in Moscow (Russia), being a frequent user of metro of Moscow and St Petersburg - still admitting - Washington metro is great architecture no doubt

[Hollandstation]

very nice to see that those stations are very open and spatious

[MattMcIrvin]

There have been some concessions in the signage over the years. Originally, the Vignelli platform pylons were supposed to be the ONLY places where station identification signs appeared--there were no signs on the walls. That changed pretty quickly. They also added letter abbreviations in the circular line color indicators (maybe to improve color-blind access); those were not there originally.

The DC Metro opened when I was an impressionable kid and I grew up with it. To me, it's always been my mental default model of a subway system, though it's actually pretty unusual. It also seemed very futuristic and antiseptic at the time, which was attractive to people in the 1970s who saw cities as a problem--it was more or less designed to look as unlike the NYC subway of the time as possible. I know some people find its monumental brutalism off-putting, but to me it signaled fun times in the city on a high-tech train of the future.

[NikHYTWP]

Recently visited DC for the first time and the Metro is one of the things that I liked the most, such striking architecture!

[InsaneNuYawka]

This is the third time I'm watching your video, not only bc of the content, but bc the quality of the footage is so high and the variety of stations you captured is the only one around satiating my thirst for this sort of stuff 🤤
many thanks
😏

[Pete]

Production quality is amazing! This channel is going to be big

[sjf]

I just got home from riding Metro from central DC to one of the Green Line suburbs and this video was the first thing YouTube recommended for me. What a fantastic showcase of the beauty and diversity of Metro! I definitely want go and seek out some of the unique stations mentioned tomorrow just because of this video!

[djmk]

I used to go back to DC every year when I worked for the Federal Government back in the early 2000’s. Since I never got a rental car, I would walk or take the Metro everywhere. My only gripe with the metro was that most, if not all, underground stations had terrible lighting. The vaulted stations in particular that had two tracks in center of vault with strips of fluorescent lighting mounted at grade level between the two tracks, was very poorly planned. When a train would pull into a station and stop, the train would block half of the indirect lighting in the vault which resulted in reduced light levels. When two trains, one in each direction, would stop to unload/load, you got a nice solar eclipse effect, that reduced the light levels down to almost zero. Unless it has already been started or completed, the entire metro system needs to upgrade the lighting system to today’s standards. The majority of lighting in the stations is either fluorescent or metal halide (HID). Over time the lumens produced by a lamp goes down as the lamp ages. It appears Metro maintenance does not replace bulbs until they totally go out. So, even if a bulb is only producing 50% of its original light output, the bulbs are left in place. The Metro needs to replace and improve station lighting with updated light sources which will improve rider’s safety and security while awaiting the arrival of their trains.

[pisces]

I’m a DC native and a regular Metro passenger for about 40 years. This video gives me a different perspective of the system. I must admit that seeing it presented this way makes me proud. I’ve been taking it for granted for decades. We’ve had some recent problems with crime at different stations in the system. A Metro employee was killed and several passengers injured by a random shooter with a criminal history at the Potomac Avenue station a couple of weeks ago. Overall, the system is safe and efficient.