Unique Station Designs on the DC Metro Green Line

Hyattsville, MD got its name from Christopher Clarke Hyatt. Christopher purchased his first parcel of land there in March 1845. Hyatt opened a store and began mail delivery, officially naming the community “Hyattsville” in his 1859 application to become postmaster. Fort Totten takes its name from the Civil War fort located at the top of the area's hill, maintained by the NPS. It was built in 1861 and completed in 1863 to provide protection to the capital during the civil war. The fort is named for Joseph Gilbert Totten, a general in the War of 1812. Totten was the tenth person to graduate from the US Military Academy, being one of three graduating members of the class of 1805. Besides serving in the War of 1812, he served as Chief of Engineers and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences.

Yup, College Park Airport is indeed the world's oldest continuously operated airport as it was established in 1909 by the United States Army Signal Corps to serve as a training location for Wilbur Wright to instruct two military officers to fly in the government's first airplane. The airport's first plane was a Wright Model A biplane, uncrated and assembled there in October of that year. Civilian operations began as early as December 1911. In 1909, Wilbur taught Lieutenant Frederic Humphreys, who became the first military pilot to solo in a government airplane, and in October that year, Mrs. Ralph Henry Van Deman became the first woman to fly in a powered aircraft in the US! The Camden Line is interesting in that it's one of the US's oldest rail routes still in operation as the B&O began running commuter service from Baltimore to Ellicott City (Ellicott City station closed but is the oldest remaining passenger railway station in the US) over part of the trackage in May 1830! Not to mention the B&O's Washington Branch Railway, now along the Camden Line, was the first railroad to serve DC! The Washington Branch roughly followed the route of the Washington and Baltimore Turnpike, now Baltimore Avenue. The Washington Branch had stations at Laurel (still a station) and Bladensburg (what's now Hyattsville; the Camden Line station closed in the 1980s) stations, there were stations built at Paint Branch (now College Park station), the cluster of turnpike inns that became Beltsville at Powder Mill Road, (no longer a station), and an iron furnace called Muirkirk (also in Beltsville; still a station).

WMATA stations are so cool and iconic. I love when you can identify a metro system just by the station architecture.

The stained glass at Columbia Heights is called Sankofa by Akili Ron Anderson, and they depict Sankofa birds set in a background of Kente cloth-inspired designs. Sankofa is a word in the Twi variety of Akan that means "to retrieve" and in the Akan culture of Ghana, the Sankofa bird signifies looking to the past for guidance for the future! When it comes to architecture, the DC Metro is among my favorites for aesthetics with the Tashkent Metro, and your showcase of the Green Line's architecture shows the Metro has a variety that comes together, and more than just the iconic ones downtown! Having art by locals further gives each station an identity! L'Enfant Plaza really is chef's kiss design and the perfect place to show just how incredible the DC Metro can be! How the parking garage is built over Hyattsville Crossing station reminds me a bit of Journal Square Transportation Center in Jersey City and how the transportation center plaza and parking garage was built covering a cut through Bergen Hill, with each bus lane having their own subway-style entrance to the PATH concourse. Originally when the station first opened in 1912 as Summit Ave, it was all open! The district was renamed Journal Square in 1925, the open-spandrel concrete arch bridge carrying Kennedy Blvd and the station opened above it opened in 1926, and the transportation center opened in the 1970s with a Brutalist design.

11:07 The Passy metro station in Paris is built in the same way; on the east side it's elevated pretty high up off the ground but on the west side it's underground.

Did you know that the Green Line once boasted the world's largest ice cube? During construction the coffer dam at the Waterfront Station burst, flooding several stations along the Green, Blue and Orange lines. To plug the leak, Metro brought in a giant freezer and sealed the tube with a giant ice cube (or ice cylinder.) It was certified as the world's largest by the Guinness Book folks. Now THAT’S unique!

I saw that sneaky Cherry Blossom train at the end Thom! Must be some quick editing lol. Thanks for showing us so much of the Green line. As a kid we parked at Greenbelt to visit DC and the convention center a few times and I never realized just how new the stations/line were at the time. I just kinda assumed more of the DC metro was older but some of these Green Line openings were more recent than I thought. Also, when the Purple line does open it'll be great having an outer loop for transfers instead of having to go Downtown like you mentioned. As a Marylander it's a shame we've fumbled it's construction so far. Thanks for the great video!!

If I had to pick a favorite WMATA stop, I'd have to go with L'Enfant Plaza due to the architecture. Nothing screams "Welcome to the DC Metro" like standing on the top level and looking up to see those vaults intersect the way they do with the sounds and rush of trains on both levels.

Never heard of an entire university ran bus network before, would definitely be interested to hear more about that

Yes that's will be cool to see the college bus service

Editing my least used green line video today! Cool timing.

Used to work at Best Buy in Columbia heights definitely agree about Dave’s lol

MARTA's Peachtree Center Station in Atlanta is one of my faves. It is very deep underground -- with some of the longest escalators in the world -- and the station was carved out of the living rock, which is visible at platform level. It is so deep that the escalators run more slowly than normal to allow your ears to adjust to the pressure change, and pressurized caissons had to be used during construction. Really nifty!

I always enjoy riding the DC Metro whenever I am in town. I'm always amazed at how large some of the underground stations are. My one dislike about the Metro are the outdated fare machines.

My favorite Metrorail stations are Forest Glen, Friendship Heights and Metro Center. Forest Glen is the deepest station, has a beautiful twin tube architecture, two peaceful and unassuming entrances, and is the only station without any escalators (although Montgomery County is planning a third entrance that would add some). Friendship Heights has two mezzanines on each end, leaving a spacious train hall in between. I love the domed ceiling at the upper mezzanine (a feature common on the western Red Line and parts of the orange line, but not standard across the entire system) — the DC/Maryland line goes right through the center of this rotunda. And Metro Center is an absolute classic, worthy of being the literal posterchild for the system. The iconic waffle vaults intersect in almost a perfectly symmetrical cross, and it is arguably the most useful, having the most unique entrances, serving the four busiest lines, and routinely ranking among the top five for entries and exits.

I can't say I've been in nearly as many metro stations as Thom, but I do remember being in awe of the iconic waffle pattern ceilings of the Washington Metro when I visited as a kid. A far cry from anything we have in Cleveland, that's for sure.

im down to ride the umd shuttles at some point.

Fascinating to know there is so much architectural diversity in the stations of the DC Metro! I had no idea. I've only ridden the DC Metro once, years ago. I rode the combined blue/orange line (that shows how long ago that was). The stations seemed futuristic and roomy, which was unusual in my limited experience for subway stations. Chicago subway stations were cramped by comparison--walking around an escalator when a train is coming is actually dangerous!

I would love to see a video about shuttle UM! It's very interesting to see small bus systems driven by college students.

I'll say from a more unique position, the first thing I think of when I think of the metro is the sounds. The old escalator hum and the combined 2,000/3,000, 1,000, and 5,000 series metro car traction motors all together. This was back about 15 years ago when they'd have a 2,000 or 3,000 series on one end, a 1,000 series in the middle, and a 5,000 series on the other end. Another thing I think of is the brown. The metro is system is very brown but it used to be a lot more brown.