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Students Explore Dupont Underground
Could an abandoned trolley station be D.C.’s next hot spot?
D.C. is known for its pricey real-estate, and the Dupont neighborhood is home to some of the most valuable square footage in the District. One of the busiest parts of the city, Dupont Circle is a hub of pedestrian and vehicular traffic and the center of an active restaurant, nightlife, and retail scene. What if there were 75,000 square feet of city-owned, unused real-estate right on the circle – or underneath it?
Four EHS students explored the Dupont Underground on Wednesday, May 6, and learned the history of an abandoned trolley station and its tunnels.
“Walking down into the space, I was a little nervous,” said Brooke Webb ’16. “It was poorly lit and had an eerie atmosphere. Then the motion-censor lights activated with each new step, and it was almost otherworldly – like an urban fairytale.”
The trolley station, which lies directly below Dupont Circle and above the Metro’s red line, opened in 1949 to relieve congestion and closed in 1962 along with the rest of the city’s streetcar system. In the mid-1990s, a poorly planned food court opened briefly on the station’s west platform. Its quick demise left many doubtful of the underground’s prospects for further development.
But our tour guide, Braulio Agnese, sees incredible potential for the space as an art gallery, performance venue, pedestrian route, skateboard park – maybe even an underground farm.
“I was intoxicated with the innovative ideas the developers had in mind,” said Jozette Moses ’17. “The plan to repurpose this unique and abnormal setting is truly different and surprising.”
Agnese serves as communications director for Dupont Underground, a group that has acquired a five-year lease on the space from the city. Agnese and his team are currently working to attract investors and future tenants.
Although Dupont Underground’s dreams might seem lofty, Agnese points to other major cities that have successfully renovated unusual spaces, turning them into commercially profitable and culturally relevant properties. For example, New York City’s Highline, a section of elevated train tracks, is now friendly to businesses, institutions, and pedestrians. And a dilapidated underground reservoir in Sydney, Australia, was converted to a spectacular public garden. D.C.’s own 11th Street Bridge is currently being re-invented as a park for recreation, environmental education, and the arts.
“When the guide started making references to Kunst Im Tunnel,” said Webb, referring to a subterranean art space in Germany between two major road tunnels, “and drawing inspiration from pop-up productions in London, my mind was reeling with ideas.”
Sofi Navarro-Bowman ’17, who grew up close by in Alexandria, said that the experience showed her D.C.’s potential and made her excited to live here. “It changed my perspective on how spaces like this can and should be used, especially as the population grows. The world is going to have to stop ignoring places like this and look to new innovation underground or even up in the sky – who knows!”
