All posts tagged: WMATA

Submission – Unofficial Future Map: Washington DC Metro by James Gibbons

November 26, 2015
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Submitted by James, who says: My redesign of the DC metro system, with the purple line and silver lines in their completed states. I wanted to do a Vignelli-style map of the system in DC, which I believe complements the relative simplicity of the system well. Regarding the abolition of the red line kink on the western arm: I think one bend to indicate the kink is still sufficient and recognizable. Transit Maps says: James […]

Historical Map: July 22, 1974 Sketch of the Washington DC Metro Map by Lance Wyman

September 29, 2015
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Here’s a fantastic bit of Washington Metro history that I hadn’t seen before: an original working drawing of the now-iconic map from 1974, two years before the system opened (see the opening day map here). Interestingly, it looks like Wyman was experimenting with textural treatments for the route lines at this time – stripes for the Red Line, stars for the Blue, etc. – an idea I’m ever so glad he abandoned, because it would […]

How Should the Purple Line Appear on the Washington, DC Metro Map?

July 17, 2015
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It’s a great question, and one that regular Transit Maps contributor Peter Dovak addresses over at the Greater Greater Washington website. A series of maps runs through a variety of options, each with its own pros and cons. Making Lance Wyman’s chunky style work with an increasingly complex system is a real challenge, but Peter’s definitely come up with some workable ideas. The one above uses a thinner route line for the Purple Line, which […]

Reader Question: Why Show the “Jog” in the DC Metro’s Red Line?

July 6, 2015
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My Transit Maps, Questions
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Question from lukasmaps: On your DC Metro Map redesign, why do you show the little “jog” on the red line between Van Ness-UDC and Tenlyytown-AU? No offense to your excellent work, but it ruins the visual clarity shown on the rest of the map and frankly, gets on my nerves. Again, no offense to this otherwise beautiful map. Answer: This is a fantastic question and one that I can use to illustrate how local knowledge […]

Historical Map: 1968 WMATA Metrorail Promotional Map

May 4, 2015
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Part of a promotional brochure discovered by Reddit user Globalwrath while cleaning his grandmother’s estate, here’s a fascinating look at the early pre-construction history of Metrorail. Much of the actual current system is represented fairly well as the “Authorized Basic System” (thin black lines) and “Adopted Regional System” (thick black lines) with at-grade sections represented by pink lines instead. Station names are obviously tentative (Pooks Hill? Weapons Plant?), but the alignments are very familiar. Of perhaps more […]

Official Map: Veterans Day Service, Washington DC Metro

October 22, 2014
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An interesting modification of the Washington DC Metro map sent my way by a couple of readers. On November 11, there will be no Blue Line trains at all, with those trains instead becoming “special” Yellow Line trains designed to get as many people to the National Mall as quickly as possible. The reason? The “Concert for Valor”, which is expected to draw a staggering 800,000 people (I really feel sorry for those who still […]

Submission – Washington, DC Metro Cross Stitch

October 16, 2014
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Submitted by ghostof-electricity, who says: DC metro map cross stitch I made this summer. I moved away two weeks before the silver line opened so I chose to create the metro map pre-silver line, the way I remember it  🙂 Transit Maps says: Rectilinear transit diagrams lend themselves well to cross stitch, but this is one of the neater ones I’ve seen. Nice work!

Interactive Map: Architectural Types of the Washington DC Metro

October 6, 2014
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An interesting post over at Greater Greater Washington by long-time Transit Maps contributor Matt’ Johnson: a clickable interactive map that displays the location of each of the different architectural styles at stations. (That’s eleven defined styles, plus a category for those few stations that are unique). The “waffle” vaulting at underground stations may be the iconic style in most people’s minds, but there’s definitely more to be seen than just that! Even the map above […]

Washington DC Metro Map Cocktail Menu

September 29, 2014
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The cocktail menu from a now closed (and not much missed, judging by its Yelp reviews) Washington DC restaurant/cocktail bar. It’s a pretty lazy attempt at a very obvious motif, executed without a lot of panache… the best value is in the “activities prohibited” icons at the bottom of the page. Source: urbanbohemian/Flickr