U Street station

U Street station is a rapid transit station on the Green Line of the Washington Metro in the U Street neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

U Street
African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo
U Street station platform
General information
Location1240 U Street NW
Washington, D.C.
Owned byWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport Metrobus: 63, 64, 90, 92, 96
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Bicycle facilitiesCapital Bikeshare
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeE03
History
OpenedMay 11, 1991 (May 11, 1991)
Previous namesU Street-Cardozo (1991–1999)
U Street African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (1999–2011)
U Street (2011-present)
Passengers
20222,767 daily[1]
Rank24th
Services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Shaw–Howard University
toward Branch Avenue
 Green Line Columbia Heights
toward Greenbelt
Location

U Street station is located in northwest Washington and serves the U Street neighborhood; nearby attractions include the Lincoln Theatre, the historic restaurant Ben's Chili Bowl, and several nightclubs, including The Black Cat and the 9:30 Club. The station is approximately five blocks east of the neighborhood of Adams Morgan.

Station layout
Corridor to 13th Street entrance. Painted murals depict African-American musicians dancing in the street, a homage to U Street's cultural heritage

U Street station has a single island platform with entrances at either end, leading from U Street at 10th and 13th Streets. Like nearly all non-interchange stations on the Metro, there are two tracks: trains using track E1 head to Greenbelt, while those on E2 are bound for Branch Avenue. This station was among the last to feature the 22-coffer "waffle" ceiling vault design.

G Street level Exit/entrance, buses
M Mezzanine Fare gates, ticket machines, station agent
P
Platform level		 Southbound ← toward Branch Avenue (Shaw–Howard University)
Island platform
Northbound → toward Greenbelt (Columbia Heights) →

History

Plans for rapid transit prior to the creation of WMATA in February 1967 focused on the needs of commuters while neglecting some of the District's less affluent neighborhoods.[2] Riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 destroyed much of the commercial district around 14th and U Streets and planners hoped that adding a subway stop in that area would stimulate redevelopment.[3] The original 1969 plan called for a line under 13th Street NW with just two stations. However, in 1970, the District of Columbia Council agreed to pay an additional $3 million to add a third station and reroute the Green Line under U Street, and then 14th Street NW.[4] Instead of opening in 1976, the first Green Line stations, including U Street, opened in 1991.[4]

Trains originally serviced this station as Yellow Line trains until Green Line service was formally introduced later that year.[5] Yellow Line service resumed in late 2006 as part of what was initially an 18-month experiment to extend that line to Fort Totten station during non-rush hours and weekends.

On June 10, 2001, Metro Transit Police Officer Marlon C. Morales was killed in the line of duty at this station, while intervening in a fare dispute. A plaque exists outside the 13th Street entrance in his honor.[6]

"Cardozo" was added to the name just before opening, and refers to the nearby Cardozo High School. "African-Amer Civil War Memorial" was added in 1999 when the African American Civil War Memorial was completed at U Street and Vermont Ave NW. With this designation, this station had the longest name in the Metro system at 44 characters, while the shortest station names in the system belong to Takoma and McLean. On November 3, 2011, the station was renamed to "U Street" with "African American Civil War Memorial / Cardozo" as a subtitle.[7]

Since May 7, 2023, the northeastern terminus of the Yellow Line was truncated from Greenbelt to Mount Vernon Square, following its reopening after a nearly eight-month-long major rehabilitation project on its bridge over the Potomac River and its tunnel leading into L'Enfant Plaza. Thus, it no longer services this station.[8]

Notable places nearby

References
  1. "Rail Ridership Data Viewer". WMATA. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  2. Schrag at p. 106.
  3. Schrag at p. 211-12.
  4. Schrag at p. 213.
  5. world.nycsubway.org/United States/Washington, D.C
  6. Metro press release: Metro Transit Police to Honor Officer Marlon Morales With a Special Plaque at the U Street-African American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Metrorail Station
  7. "Station names updated for new map" (Press release). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. November 3, 2011. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  8. "Metro's Yellow Line reopens Sunday with controversial turnback". WJLA-TV. Sinclair Broadcast Group. May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
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38°54′59.4″N 77°1′43″W

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