Dupont Underground


Useful Information

Location: 19 Dupont Circle NW, Washington, DC
(38.910450, -77.043591)
Open: During exhibitions.
[2020]
Fee: normally free.
[2020]
Classification: SubterraneaUnderground Museums
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: Ar=1,400m²
Guided tours: n/a
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: yes
Bibliography:  
Address: Dupont Underground, 19 Dupont Circle NW, Washington, DC 20036 E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
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History

1949 opened as a trolley station.
1962 underground platforms and tunnels were closed off when the city’s streetcar system shut down.
1960s designated as fallout shelter.
mid-1990s a short-lived food court on the West platform.
2016 repurposed as Dupont Underground.

Description

Dupont Underground is an art gallery in the capital Washington DC. It is a non-profit community arts organization run almost entirely by volunteers. The special thing is that they use the abandoned subway station below Dupont Circle for their exhibitions. The gallery is not only underground, it is more or less one-dimensional, in other words it is very long and straight and has no side branches. Both ends are staircases offering access to the former subway station. All, except one on the northwest side of Dupont Circle, were closed.