• 1946
    Engineers suggest a metro system through Downtown Washington, D.C.
  • 1959
    The first serious proposal is submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission
  • 1960
    The federal government creates the National Capital Transportation Agency with the purpose to develop a rapid rail system in Washington, D.C.
  • 1965
    Congress approves a metro system for D.C.
  • 1966
    Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is created.
  • February 1966
    President Lyndon Johnson's letter
    President Lyndon Johnson wrote a letter to the National Capital Transportation Agency to “search worldwide for concepts and ideas that can be used to make the system attractive as well as useful. It should be designed so as to set an example for the Nation.” [Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Arnold Newman, White House Press Office (WHPO)]
  • 1967
    Chicago architect Harry Weese designs a prototype that features a coffered concrete barrel vault ceiling.
  • 1968
    WMATA approves plans for a 98-mile system in the D.C. area, naming it the Metro.
  • December 1969
    Groundbreaking for the Metro.
  • 1976
    First Red Line Metro station opens (from Farragut North to Rhode Island Avenue).
  • July 1977
    First Blue Line Metro station opens (from National Airport to Stadium-Armory).
  • November 1978
    First Orange Line Metro station opens (from National Airport to New Carrollton).
  • January 1982
    A train derailed south of the Federal Triangle Metro station, resulting in three deaths and 25 who were injured.
  • December 1983
    First Yellow Line Metro station opens (from Huntington to Gallery Place).
  • December 1991
    First Green Line Metro station opens (from U Street-Cardozo to Anacostia).
  • October 1990
    $1.3 billion in federal funds were approved to construct the remaining 13.5 miles of the 103-mile system.
  • 2001
    WMATA completes all of the Metro lines planned since 1968.
    [Image via WMATA]
  • 2001
    WMATA starts a design competition for canopies that cover exterior escalators.
  • January 2003
    A Blue Line train derailed at that National Airport Metro station with no injuries reported.
  • January 2007
    A Green Line train derailed, injuring at least 18 people.
  • 2007
    The American Institute of Architects ranked the D.C. Metro number 106 on the “America’s Favorite Architecture” list.
    It was also the only Brutalist design in the survey.
  • June 2008
    An Orange Line train derailed between the Rosslyn and Courthouse Metro stations with no reports of injuries.
  • January 2009
    Metro’s highest ridership, the day of Barack Obama’s inauguration.
    [Photo via John Weiss]
  • June 2009
    Two trains on the Red Line collide, resulting in nine deaths and 70 who were injured.
    [Photo via Wikimedia Commons/NTSB]
  • November 2009
    Two trains on the Orange Line collide, resulting in only minor injuries.
  • February 2010
    A Red Line train derailed by the Farragut North Metro station, injuring three.
  • April 2012
    A Blue Line train derailed near the Rosslyn Metro station with no injuries reported.
  • July 2012
    A Green Line train derailed near the West Hyattsville Metro station with no injuries reported.
  • January 2014
    The American Institute of Architects presented the Twenty-Five Award to the D.C. Metro.
    The award was for "an architectural design of enduring significance" that "has stood the test of time by embodying architectural excellence for 25 to 35 years."
  • July 2014
    First Silver Line Metro station opens (from Wiehle-Reston East to Largo Town Center).
  • August 2015
    A train derailed by the Smithsonian Metro station with no injuries reported.
  • 2015
    New 7000-series Metrorail cars debut on the Red Line.
    [Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Ben Schumin]
  • July 2016
    A Silver Line train derailed by the East Falls Church Metro station, resulting in one passenger being sent to the hospital.