Secrets of the DC Metro Red Line

Why hello! I’m Andy and I’m here at Shady Grove  Station at one end of the DC Metro’s Red Line.   Today, we’ll be riding all the way to Glenmont on  a train just like that to look at all the hidden   secrets, stories, and facts that you might not  know about from some of DC’s most famous stations. So join me, ride with me,  and let’s begin this journey. Welcome to Secrets of the Red Line. We start our journey at Shady Grove, which  was, until the opening of the Silver Line   Phase II Extension, the furthest station from  the Washington Monument at over 17 miles away,   and one of the few stations in the system  to have fare gates on the platform level. But there are far more interesting stations ahead,   and so we’ll hop on the next train going  south towards downtown DC and Glenmont. Our next station south is Rockville, the  first station on our ride to have a connection   to the MARC Brunswick line.   Linked to the station via a shared underground passageway, it’s in this passageway you’ll find a rare Metro logo that’s missing the system’s trademark “M.” At the station’s south exit, you’ll find a lobby  with a design totally unique to the Metro system,   featuring three levels of concrete surrounding  a semi-circular shaft. It’s on the third floor of this lobby where you’ll find one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the Metro system,   at over 400 feet in length, connecting  the station to Rockville Town Center. The next station is Twinbrook,   the only station in the entire Metro system  to have just one escalator. And here it is. Next, it’s White Flint. I mean, North Bethesda,  a station’s whose name was changed in September of 2022.   However, this wasn’t the first time  its name was changed, as it was originally   called “Nicholson Lane” in planning documents. Its  name was changed to White Flint right before the   opening of the station, in conjunction with the  opening of the now demolished White Flint Mall. Up next is Grosvenor-Strathmore. The  station is the first in our journey to   feature official Metro artwork. Upon  exiting the station’s east entrance,   the first artwork you’ll see is “Sonata,” a  2017 piece by Jeff Chyatte, where the aluminum   poles are arranged to align with the notes  of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. Continuing towards the Metro parking  garage and the Music Center at Strathmore,   one is treated to one of the more  whimsical pieces of artwork on the   Metro system: “Arts Walk Totems,”  39 totem poles installed in 2016,   the handiwork of over 240 students and their  teachers from 14 different high schools. Heading towards the Music Center at Strathmore,  you can take the parking garage’s elevator   to Level 4, where you’ll be greeted by an  inexplicable array of blue safety lights,   and a pedestrian bridge dedicated to Carlton R.  Sickles, also known as “The Father of Metro.” Just south of Grosvenor-Strathmore  is the “Linden Oak,” proclaimed a   Maryland Bicentennial Tree that may  have been seeded in as early as 1718.   Not only is the tree visible from the Red Line,  but the tree itself ended up changing the physical   course of the Line. Thanks to the efforts of State  Senator and environmental activist Idamae Garrott,   the Red Line was rerouted around the tree  to avoid disturbing the historic oak. Immediately after the Linden Oak, we cross  the beltway and head beneath the surface,   reaching our first underground  station, Medical Center. Not only does it feature  a stunning escalator bank,   but it’s home to a new set of high speed  elevators, one of the few in the Metro system, now allowing access to both sides of  Rockville Pike from the depths of the station. Even deeper than Medical Center is Bethesda,   the third-deepest station in the system with the  second-longest escalator bank at 212 feet long. The escalators lead to the station’s upper  mezzanine and bus transfer. It’s here,   to the right, where you’ll find “Tunnel  Vision,” a series of art installations   in the pedestrian tunnel under Wisconsin  Avenue. My favorite is “The Red Line.” And speaking of the Red Line, it’s time to  descend once again and head to our next station:   Friendship Heights If you head up the escalators at the north side of the station, you’ll find one of the   most unique mezzanines in the entire system, a  concrete nave split between both Maryland and DC,   providing access to the street and many of the  neighboring buildings and parking garages.  But you’ll also find one of Metro’s few abandoned  entrances, a connection to the once thriving   Mazza Galleria, which has been practically  shuttered since 2020. If you want proof, you can go behind the mall and look at the movies  still being advertised for the now closed AMC. While the north side of the station  has the most access points, the south   entrance to Friendship Heights is also  unique–sporting another rare elevator bank,   although this one being far older  than the elevators at Medical Center. Continuing our journey south, our  next secret isn’t at a station,   but along the Red Line itself. I’m here on  Yuma Street NW between    I'm here on Yuma Street NW between Tenleytown-AU station and Van Ness-UDC station, where you’ll find among these single-family homes,   sorta a vacant lot that’s currently being used as  a small park. The only evidence that this might   be more than it seems is this sign here to clean  up after your pets, which has a Metro “M” on it. Within the park, you’ll find a ventilation shaft  and emergency exit for the Red Line that runs   below Yuma Street. Residents who feared the  vent would ruin their peaceful neighborhood   fought Metro in court in 1973, delaying  construction for two years. In the end,   Metro got the route through Yuma Street that  it wanted. This lot, permanently maintained   as a park by Metro, is the only reminder  of the litigious conflict decades ago, Moving past many of the Northwest DC stations,  we reach Woodley Park-Adams Morgan/Zoo,   one of the deepest stations in the system and  the third longest escalator in the system. While its long escalator is no secret to regular  riders, what many may have missed is this plaque   dedicated to Fred L. Gau, Jr, who lost his  life during the construction of the Metro   while making measurements to improve  the art and science of rock tunneling. I’m here in Rock Creek Park between Woodley  Park Station and Dupont Circle Station where,   beneath our feet, is running the Red Line  right now. However, it could have run there. Original plans called for the metro to run along,  not beneath, the Wiliam Howard Taft bridge,   with two different designs sketched  up. However, the National Park Service   prohibited the Metro from tampering with the  bridge or the surrounding Rock Creek Park,   and so the metro was buried, deep, deep  underground, resulting in many of the   stations along this portion of the line to be  some of the deepest in the entire metro system. Dupont Circle is certainly one of the more well  known stations in the system.  Its north entrance is home to “The Dresser,” a poem by Walt Whitman, which encircles the escalator bank.   A second poem, E. Ethelbert Miller’s  “We Embrace,” can also be found at the   north entrance by the elevator, in  a circle surrounding these benches. I would be remiss not to mention that the  Dupont Circle metro station was not the first   rail transit station in Dupont Circle–that honor  goes to the original streetcar station, whose many   entrances still dot the area, as you can see  here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. The station itself, abandoned for decades,  save for a brief period of time in the 90s   when it was a streetcar-themed food  court, was renovated into the “Dupont Underground", now showing unique artwork  and exhibitions in the former station. Our next station is Farragut North, a  prominent station whose north side has   a strangely low ceiling. That’s because it  was designed to accommodate a never-built   freeway off-ramp that would have  passed right over the station. At the station’s south entrance onto K  Street NW, you’ll find “Pulse”, a 2011   artwork by Jefre Manuel, designed to mimic Admiral  Farragut’s journey down the Mississippi River.   This entrance however, yet, holds another  secret. The left-most escalator seen here   appears to be somewhat separated  from the other two. That’s because   it originally wasn’t an escalator at all, but  an incline elevator–the first on the system.   It was dismantled when Metro built a traditional  elevator elsewhere in the station complex. “This is Metro Center, transfer to Blue, Orange,   and Silver Line trains, lower  levels, doors opening right side.” The center of it all, and our first  transfer station, Metro Center is   truly one of the most architecturally  striking stations in the metro system. It’s also home to the “Scenes of Washington”  mural by G. Byron Peck and “Ribbons and Jewels”   by Hazel Rebold, where the stained glass lamps  use Metro’s color palette and line structure. Metro Center is also home to a plethora of  underground connections leading to Macy’s,   a Grand Hyatt hotel, and various office buildings–although many have been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic. And on the Red Line platforms at Metro Center,  you’ll find Metro’s most elegant pylon,   dedicated to WMATA employees who  lost their lives in the line of duty. Insanely close to Metro Center is Gallery  Place-Chinatown, our second transfer station,   and Metro’s favorite station for testing  out new wayfinding maps and signage. On the station’s south side, you’ll find a  well-hidden elevator bank, with an absurd number   of televisions watching your every move. The  elevators actually lead to the Capital One Arena. The station’s north side is home to “The Glory of  Chinese Descendants”, a sculpture by Foon Sham,   where you'll find the titular phrase written  underneath the fan in Chinese characters. We now arrive at Union Station, consistently  ranked the busiest station in the metro system.   At its entrance inside Union Station itself,  you’ll find Metro’s fanciest “M,” clad in gold,   adorned with the flags of Metro’s operating  jurisdictions. It’s also here where   you’ll also find an unassuming entrance to  First Street NE, where one can see an oddly   placed set of fare gates, all leading to a  blank wall–a wall that hides its own secret. What this wall blocks off is an incomplete  tunnel built as provision for a direct   entrance onto H Street NE, which is why  the fare gates face it. While plans to   finish the connection have come and gone,  it remains sealed off for the time being. Just north of Union Station is Metro’s first  infill station, NoMa-Gallaudet University, where   you’ll find one of my favorite secrets on the Red  Line–a piece of abandoned track–common place in   many urban rail transit systems, but extremely  rare in a system that is less than 50 years old. So how did this happen? Well, the station is to  blame. Aerial imagery from before the station   opened shows the routing of the original Red  Line tracks slightly east of the current station.   The station was built west of the existing  tracks so that Red Line trains could still   operate during construction. This meant building a  new northbound and southbound track as well. While the original southbound track was quickly  removed, the original northbound track,   not bothering anybody, was left in place,  with its connection to the Red Line severed. And so it remains there to this day,   a one-of-a-kind rarity in the metro  system, hiding in plain sight. But that’s not all the secrets  this station has to hold.   You'll find artwork by Barbara Grygutis  and poetry by Dolores Kendrick. At our next station, Rhode Island  Avenue-Brentwood, you’ll find a plaque   by the bus bays commemorating the site  of the 1829 Columbian Harmony Cemetery,   the burial site for many distinguished black  citizens, including many Civil War veterans. In 1960, the Cemetery would be purchased by  a developer and moved to the new   National Harmony Cemetery in Landover,  Maryland. Sixteen years later,   a portion of this property would  become the Red Line station.   Continuing north, we reach Fort Totten, a  transfer station to the Green and Yellow   Lines. On the mezzanine level, sandwiched between  the Red Line and Green and Yellow Line platforms,   you’ll find that the escalator handrails have been  painted–with the red handrails leading to the Red   Line platforms, and the Yellow and Green handrails  leading to the Yellow and Green Line platforms. Also on the mezzanine is a plaque  commemorating those who lost their   lives in the 2009 train collision, which  occurred just north of this station. After Fort Totten, our next station is Takoma,  where you’ll find “From Model to Rainbow”,   a 2011 artwork by Sam Gilliam, located  in the Carroll Street underpass. And then we hit Silver Spring, home to  my favorite piece of artwork on Metro,   the “Penguin Rush Hour” by Sally Callmer Thompson. After Silver Spring, we duck underground  once more, going as deep as we’ll ever go,   reaching Forest Glen, the deepest station in  the metro system and the only one that can be   accessed solely by an elevator. The station sits  at 196 feet below the surface, the equivalent   of a 14-story building. Yet this extreme  depth is not the only secret at Forest Glen. It’s here, walking down the main corridor  to the Park & Ride and Kiss & Ride,   where you’ll find the small side staircase,  leading to Metro’s most unassuming entrance. Wheaton, our next station heading  north, is also a deep station.   Unlike Forest Glen however, Wheaton  has an escalator–the longest escalator   in the Western Hemisphere at 230 feet  long, taking nearly 3 minutes to climb. The escalator is commemorated as  a Civil Engineering Achievement   in this plaque which you can find  at the top of the escalator bank. Exiting via the station’s main entrance on the  west side of Georgia Avenue, you’ll also find   one more “secret,” “The Commuter”, a 1994 bronze  sculpture by Marcia F. Billig, depicting a man   on roller skates who hopefully won’t attempt  to descend the station’s famed escalators. And finally we reach Glenmont. It’s here where  we’ll ascend the escalators one last time,   finding “Swallow and Stars,” a 2001 mosaic  by Deirdre Saunder, recently restored. And here we are, our last station in Glenmont.   I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey, learning  that not every station in the metro system   is alike and many have some great secrets  to find. Now we’ve got a lot more lines to   cover that will be covered in future videos.  But until then, I’ll see you on the Metro.

Channel: Andy On Track

Views: 27,324

Keywords: Metro, WMATA, Red Line, DC Metro, Subway, Secrets

Id: 1VHkCFJ5lrQ

Length: 17min 22sec (1042 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 24 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/-myBIGD]

I was hoping he’d explain why it takes almost two minutes to go from Tenleytown to Van Ness station.

[u/Fishinabowl11]

This was way more interesting than it had any right to be.

[u/rackroomshoes]

I enjoyed that, very nicely done. Looking forward to the rest of the videos!

[u/ohhaitu]

No Brookland? :(

[u/KrispyBeaverBoy]

Great job, but as you can see in the video, Linden Oak be dead now. Think it had a huge chunk of it knocked off in a storm, and is no longer growing foliage.

[u/SuperBethesda]

Thanks for sharing!

[u/SandBoxJohn]

The elevator entrance on the south end of the Friendship Heights station were added to the station some years after the station original opened.

7:00 The tunnels of the Red line run under the Rock Creek valley run up stream of the the Taft Bridge on the other side of the bridge from where Andy is standing.

At Wyoming Avenue the 2 track single bore tunnel, another unique feature only found on the Red line, pass over the Lydecke Aqueduct.

8:43 The flat ceiling on the north end of the Farragut North station is there to accommodate 2 large trunk water mains that run under L Street NW.

[u/brycats]

Ooo i'm loving these kinds of videos. I'm glad to see more transit enthusiasts making videos on the metro, it's usually not appreciated or talked about as much as other transit systems.

[u/Waarheid]

Watched this yesterday, it was great. Top quality. So excited for the next one.