The History Hat
The History Hat - Dupont Underground Noir
Dive into DC's abandoned old trolley station beneath Dupont Circle and discover why its once again bustling with people. Starring Jessica Dwyer-Moss as Virginia B. Holley.
Partial Transcript (edited for length):
So it was true. After 55 years since the National Capital Planning Commission recommended this space be turned into a rathskeller or cabaret someone finally did it.
Everyone was in good spirits.
In the bliss of soaking in the tunnel's transformation they'd forgotten this was the very sight of the Trolley Terror of '57.
I would like to tell you of an incident in which I was involved recently in your city in the hope that it will bring to the attention of the proper authorities a most deplorable traffic situation.
On Saturday night, around midnight, a friend and I were driving north on Connecticut Avenue, on our way to Bethesda.
We had heard that there was an underpass that could be taken to avoid Dupont Circle.
A block or two before the circle, we approached an underpass, and thinking that it was the one about which we had been told, we entered it.
It wasn't until we rounded a sharp curve that we realized that we were in an underpass that was meant only for trolley cars.
We were unable to back out because of the sharp curve, so we drove around several more curves, finally able to pull off of the tracks onto a passenger platform just in time to avoid being hit by a trolley.
We then had to turn around and go back out the way we had come, and once again narrowly missed being hit by a trolley car traveling in
the other direction.
When we finally got back out onto the street, we were both quite shaken up and realized that we had escaped injury only by the fact that the trolleys travel infrequently at that late hour.
I want to say here that when we entered the tunnel we saw no signs to indicate
that it was for trolleys only and there were no barriers to prevent automobiles from entering it.
I have since learned that several other people have made the same mistake.
In the cities such as Washington, the nation's capital, where many strangers come and go daily, such a traffic hazard, I feel, is inexcusable.
Virginia B. Holley. Towson, Maryland.
Unfortunately for Ms. Holley, she mustn't
have been wise to the trolley tracks as she drove over them, like these which can still be found laid into the ground in a few spots in Georgetown.
After word of Ms. Holley's adventure spread, the traffic director ordered reflectorized
signs to read: "For Streetcars Only."
The gesture was too little too late.
Already fed up with accidents, both from vehicles and people striking trolley riders as they entered and exited,
some people soured on the very idea of the trolley.
The irony is, the Dupont Trolley Station was constructed to reroute trolleys from street level and remove them as a traffic hazard.
Here's one of them running along Connecticut Avenue prior to the station's creation.
Another gripe was Congress's insistence the trolleys be powered from beneath the tracks
instead of overhead. Thus, all repairs had to be made underground.
With Washington's icy winters and humid summers, trolleys were frequently stalled and could easily back up traffic.
With the prospect of air-conditioned buses that weren't subject to the limitations of subterranean power, Washington soon phased out its entire trolley system by 1962.
When they sealed off the tunnel entrances two years later, no one gave a hoot.
The entire tunnel system beneath Dupont Circle, which runs some 75,000 square feet, was left to ruin.
The space remained unused until architect Julian Hunt advanced a plan for a group
of artists and architects called "The Arts Coalition for Dupont Underground" to acquire a lease for the space.
In 2014, the coalition successfully gained a five-year lease from the city
and the Dupont Underground was born.
Over the past five years, the Underground played host to gatherings of every variety
of visual, audio, and immersive arts.
One thing is certain, kids couldn't chase each other on these tracks sixty years ago.
The Underground is also home to colorful works for multiple generations of graffiti artists.
From astronauts to intricate geometric patterns, coral reefs, beautiful portraiture, and creepy people that float or walk with trees on their feet,
it's all here in the Underground.
The point is the Underground is rumbling with people once more, but its fate is up to you.
Trust me, you don't want to wait another 55 years to enjoy it.
Music by Aaron Kenny courtesy of YouTube's Audio Library.
