Stadium–Armory station

Washington Metro station

Stadium–Armory

General information
Location| 192 19th Street SE, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Owned by| Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Platforms| 1 island platform
Tracks| 2
Connections|

* Metrobus: 96, B2, D6
* OurBus
* Anacostia Riverwalk Trail

Construction
Structure type| Underground
Bicycle facilities| Capital Bikeshare, 20 racks
Accessible| Yes
Other information
Station code| D08
History
Opened| July 1, 1977; 46 years ago (July 1, 1977)
Passengers
2023| 1,265 daily[1]
Rank| 74 out of 98
Services
| Preceding station  |  Washington Metro | Following station

|
|

Potomac Avenue

toward Vienna

|  | Orange Line |  | Minnesota Avenue

toward New Carrollton

Potomac Avenue

toward Ashburn

|  | Silver Line |  | Benning Road

toward Downtown Largo

Potomac Avenue

toward Franconia–Springfield

|  | Blue Line |

Location

Stadium–Armory station is a Washington Metro station in Southeast, Washington, D.C. It is located at the border of the Barney Circle and Kingman Park neighborhoods. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Stadium–Armory serves the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines.

The station is a transfer station, as this is the last station shared by the three lines before the lines diverge going east; east of the station, all three lines rise above ground onto elevated track to cross the Anacostia River. At the diverge point, the Orange Line continues above ground veering northbound towards the Minnesota Avenue station, and the Blue and Silver Lines continue eastbound entering a tunnel towards Benning Road.

## Location[edit]

North head house of the station, adjacent to the D.C. Armory

The Stadium–Armory station serves the Barney Circle and Kingman Park neighborhoods. It was adjacent to the now-defunct RFK Stadium, which was the former home of the D.C. United soccer team, the Washington Redskins, and the Washington Nationals, as well as of the second Washington Senators franchise before their relocation to Texas in 1972. The station also serves the D.C. Jail, and D.C. Armory, which is a popular venue for shows and entertainment and the headquarters of the District of Columbia National Guard. Together with the Potomac Avenue station, Stadium-Armory is one of two Metro stations within walking distance of Congressional Cemetery. Before its closure in 2001, D.C. General Hospital was served by the Stadium–Armory station.

With the redevelopment of the former D.C. General Hospital campus into a new mixed-use waterfront neighborhood called "Hill East", the neighborhood around the Stadium–Armory station will be in transition for the first time in years. Additionally, with the move of D.C. United to a new Audi Field soccer-specific stadium in the Buzzard Point area of Washington in July 2018, the future of RFK Stadium is uncertain, with the possibility of demolition lingering over the 1960s-era facility. As of July, 2022, EventsDC announced the demolition of RFK Stadium to be completed by 2023.

## History[edit]

### 20th century[edit]

The station opened on July 1, 1977.[2] Its opening coincided with the completion of 11.8 miles (19.0 km)[3] of rail between National Airport and RFK Stadium.[4] Orange Line service to the station began upon the line's opening on November 20, 1978.[5] Since then, the station has been the last underground station on the eastern end of the Orange Line, while Ballston-MU is the last on the western end.

In 1979, the D.C. Armory requested that the station name be changed to "Starplex" for the Stadium Armory Complex, but that request was ignored by the Metro Board.[6] Stadium–Armory would also serve as the eastern terminus of the Blue Line from its opening through the opening of its extension to Addison Road on November 22, 1980.[7]

### 21st century[edit]

The station was supposed to be the Silver Line's eastern terminus, but in December 2012, due to safety concerns regarding a pocket track between this station and Minnesota Avenue (the first station to the east on the Orange Line), Metro officials decided to extend the line into nearby Prince George's County, Maryland to Downtown Largo, which is the eastern terminus of the Blue Line.[8] Silver Line service at Stadium-Armory began on July 26, 2014.[9]

Between May 28 and September 5, 2022, all Orange Line trains were terminating at Stadium–Armory station due to the Platform Improvement Project which closed stations north of Stadium–Armory station. On weekends, all Blue and Silver Line trains were terminating Stadium–Armory while Orange Line trains were cutback to Ballston–MU station due to aerial structure repairs along the D route.[10]

#### Transformer fire[edit]

On September 21, 2015, a transformer caught fire near the station, causing severe delays. The reduced power as a result of the loss of the transformer caused WMATA to implement strategies to combat congestion in the system.[11] This included having Orange and Silver line trains skip the Stadium–Armory station during rush hours, but service had been restored as of November.[12]

## Station layout[edit]

Stadium-Armory is an island platform station with two tracks. Track D1 is for eastbound trains to New Carrollton or Downtown Largo, and track D2 is for westbound trains to Vienna, Franconia–Springfield, or Ashburn. An indicator sign at the north end of the station flashes to inform passengers of the arriving train's destination, showing Orange for New Carrollton, and Blue and Silver for Downtown Largo. This feature is only used at final transfer stations; another example being Rosslyn.

The station has two entrances along 19th Street SE; the north entrance at Independence Avenue and the south entrance between C & Burke Streets SE. Elevator access is at the south entrance.

S | Street level  | Exit/entrance, buses

|
|

M | Mezzanine  | Fare gates, ticket machines, station manager

Platform level  | Westbound | ←  toward Franconia–Springfield (Potomac Avenue)
←  toward Ashburn (Potomac Avenue)
←  toward Vienna (Potomac Avenue)
Island platform
Eastbound | → toward Downtown Largo (Benning Road) →
→ toward New Carrollton (Minnesota Avenue) →

## Notable places nearby[edit]

* D.C. Armory
* Eastern High School
* Kingman and Heritage Islands Park
* Congressional Cemetery
* Anacostia Riverwalk Trail
* National Arboretum (accessible via B2 Metrobus)

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Metrorail Ridership Summary". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
2. ^ Feaver, Douglas B. (July 1, 1977), "Today, Metro could be U.S. model", The Washington Post, p. A1
3. ^ "Sequence of Metrorail openings" (PDF). WMATA. 2017. p. 3. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
4. ^ Staff Reporters (June 24, 1977), "Metro's newest stations: Where they are, what's nearby", The Washington Post
5. ^ Eisen, Jack; Feinstein, John (November 18, 1978), "City–County fanfare opens Orange Line; Ceremonies open new Orange Line", The Washington Post, p. D1
6. ^ Eisen, Jack (August 7, 1979). "Zoological Park Subway Stop Name, 9 Others Changed by Metro Board". The Washington Post.
7. ^ Cooke, Janet (November 23, 1980), "Three new Metro stations have a festive first day", The Washington Post, p. D1
8. ^ Aratani, Lori (December 5, 2012). "Metro details Silver Line service changes". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
9. ^ Halsey, Ashley (July 26, 2014). "All aboard! Metro's new Silver Line rolls down the tracks for the first time". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
10. ^ "Final phase of Metro's multi-year Platform Improvement Project begins this weekend, closing five Orange Line stations | WMATA". wmata.com. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
11. ^ "Metro: Changes to Orange, Silver lines to ease delays". WUSA9.com. September 25, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
12. ^ "Metro plans additional service change at Stadium-Armory Station to further ease rush-hour congestion, delays on Orange, Blue & Silver lines" (Press release). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. September 27, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2016.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stadium–Armory (WMATA station).

* WMATA Stadium–Armory station page

* The Schumin Web Transit Center: Stadium–Armory Station
* C Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
* Independence Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View

38°53′18″N 76°58′38″W﻿ / ﻿38.8883°N 76.9771°W﻿ / 38.8883; -76.9771

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