Metro Center is the central hub station

Metro station

A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated. At crossings of metro lines, they are multi-level....

 of the Washington Metro

Washington Metro

The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...

 rapid transit

Rapid transit

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

 system in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 Metro Center was one of the original Metro stations, and has been in service since March 27, 1976.

Metro Center is on the Blue

Blue Line (Washington Metro)

The Blue Line of the Washington Metro in the United States consists of 27 rapid transit stations from Franconia–Springfield to Largo Town Center. It has stations in Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Prince George's County, Maryland...

, Orange

Orange Line (Washington Metro)

The Orange Line of the Washington Metro consists of 26 rapid transit stations from Vienna to New Carrollton. It has stations in Fairfax County and Arlington, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Prince George's County, Maryland. Half of the line's stations are shared with the Blue Line, and over...

, and Red

Red Line (Washington Metro)

The Red Line of the Washington Metro is a rail rapid transit service operating between 27 stations in Montgomery County, Maryland and the District of Columbia, United States. It is a primary line through downtown Washington, and the oldest and busiest line in the system...

 Lines, and is a transfer station

Interchange station

An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system, and allows passengers to change from one route to another. Transfer may occur within the same mode, or between rail modes, or to buses...

 between the Red Line and the already-joined Blue and Orange Lines. It is also planned to be on the Silver Line

Silver Line (Washington Metro)

The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, formally dubbed the Silver Line, is an extension of the Washington Metro rapid transit system, currently under construction with the goal of providing rapid transit service to Dulles International Airport and Tysons Corner...

 route, which is scheduled to start operations in 2013.

Metro Center is located in downtown Washington, under an area roughly extending east–west from 11th to 13th Streets Northwest, and north–south from F to H

H Street (Washington, D.C.)

H Street is an east-west street in Washington, D.C.. It is also used as an alternate name for the Near Northeast neighborhood, as H Street is the neighborhood's main commercial strip.-History:...

 Streets Northwest. Its entrances are on G Street at 11th, 12th, and 13th Streets, and at the corner of 12th and F Streets. The station's only street elevator is on the west side of 12th Street north of G Street. It is the second busiest station in the Metrorail system after Union Station

Union Station (Washington Metro)

Union Station is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C. on the Red Line.The station is located in Northeast of the city under the western end of Union Station, the main train station for Washington, at which connections can be made to Amtrak intercity trains as well as the Virginia Railway...

, averaging 30,500 passengers per weekday .

The mezzanine

Mezzanine (architecture)

In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...

 (upper) level of the station contains side platform

Side platform

A Side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, a tram stop or a transitway. A pair of side platforms are often provided on a dual track line with a single side platform being sufficient for a single track line...

s for Red Line trains traveling towards Glenmont

Glenmont (Washington Metro)

Glenmont is a Washington Metro station in Montgomery County, Maryland on the Red Line. This is the northeastern terminus of the Red Line.Glenmont is the only station on the Red Line to feature the six-coffer arch design. The six-coffer design is also seen on the Green Line...

 and towards Shady Grove

Shady Grove (Washington Metro)

Shady Grove is an island platformed Washington Metro station in Derwood, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on December 15, 1984, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority . Serving as the northwestern terminus of the Red Line, it is the station most distant...

. Orange Line and Blue Lines trains traveling in both directions share a center platform on the station's lower level.

A Metro sales office is located on the mezzanine level of the station on the platform for Glenmont-bound Red Line trains, near the 12th and F Street entrance. The Grand Hyatt Washington

Grand Hyatt Washington

Grand Hyatt Washington is a AAA Three Diamond Award hotel in Washington, D.C., United States. It is located at 1000 H Street Northwest. The hotel has 888 rooms, 32 conference rooms, 4 restaurants and 3 bars. It is famous for hosting the Scripps National Spelling Bee. -External links:*...

 is connected to Metro Center, as is downtown's only remaining department store, Macy's

Macy's

Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...

. During the mid-20th century, the area was the commercial heart of Washington, housing many department stores, theaters, offices, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Due to a combination of the racial disturbances associated with the 1968 riots

1968 Washington, D.C. riots

Five days of race riots erupted in Washington, D.C. following the April 4, 1968 assassination of Civil Rights Movement-leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil unrest affected at least 110 U.S...

, the opening of new suburban malls, and concentration of new commercial building near K Street

K Street (Washington, D.C.)

K Street is a major thoroughfare in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. known as a center for numerous think tanks, lobbyists, and advocacy groups.-Location:...

–Farragut Square

Farragut Square

Farragut Square is a city square in Washington, D.C.'s Ward 2. It is bordered by K Street NW on the north, I Street NW to the south, and on the east and west by segments of 17th Street NW, and it interrupts Connecticut Avenue NW...

, the Metro Center area declined. It later successfully revived. The Shops at National Place

The Shops at National Place

The Shops at National Place is a three-level, indoor shopping mall located in downtown Washington, D.C. in the 16-story National Place Building. It is located on the block bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue, F Street, between 13th and 14th Streets NW, the former site of the Munsey Trust Building. It...

 is an adjacent two-level dining/shopping complex.

Improvements

The station is located so close to the Gallery Place station (which connects to the Yellow

Yellow Line (Washington Metro)

The Yellow Line of the Washington Metro consists of 17 rapid transit stations from Huntington to Fort Totten. The line terminates at the Mount Vernon Square station during peak hours.Peak hours are 5 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Service is extended to the Green Line stations during...

 and Green Lines

Green Line (Washington Metro)

The Green Line is one of five heavy rail subway lines that constitute the Washington Metro rapid transit system in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The Green Line consists of 21 stations, with termini at Branch Avenue and at Greenbelt. The Green Line runs through Prince George's County,...

) that the lights of each station are visible to the other through the tunnel. Plans have long been in the works to add a pedestrian tunnel to connect Gallery Place–Chinatown with Metro Center and provide pedestrian access to five (eventually six) different Metro lines. The most recent major development was the completion of a "Gallery Place/Chinatown - Metro Center Pedestrian Passageway Tunnel Study" in July 2005.

Notable places nearby

• Ford's Theater
• Inter-American Development Bank
  Inter-American Development Bank
  The Inter-American Development Bank is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean...
  
  
• Macy's
  Macy's
  Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
  
  
• National Museum of Women in the Arts
  National Museum of Women in the Arts
  The National Museum of Women in the Arts , located in Washington, D.C. is the only museum solely dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements in the visual, performing, and literary arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay...
  
  
• National Press Club Building
• Warner Theatre
  Warner Theatre (Washington, D.C.)
  The Warner Theatre is a theater located at 513 13th Street, N.W. in Downtown Washington, D.C.. The basement level is at 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue.-History:...
  
  

External links

• WMATA: Metro Center Station
• StationMasters Online: Metro Center Station
• The Schumin Web Transit Center: Metro Center Station (Upper Level)
• The Schumin Web Transit Center: Metro Center Station (Lower Level)
• G Street and 13th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• G Street and 12th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• G Street and 11th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• F Street and 12th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View