Metro Center station
Washington, DC metro station in Downtown DC on the Red, Blue, Orange and Silver lines
Metro Center station is the central hub station of the Washington Metro, a rapid transit system in Washington, D.C. The station is located in Downtown, centered on the intersection of 12th Street NW and G Street NW. It is one of the 4 major transfer points in the Metrorail network. The Red Line portion of Metro Center station opened on March 27, 1976, as part of the first section of the Metro system.
The station averages 14,110 daily riders as of October 2025, making it the second-busiest in the system after Union Station.
Station layout
Metro Center station is laid out in two underground levels in a cross shape centered on the intersection of 12th Street NW and G Street NW. The lower level runs north-south under 12th Street between F Street and H Street, with one island platform for the Orange Line, Silver Line, and Blue Line. The upper level runs east-west under G Street between 11th Street and 13th Street, with two side platforms for the Red Line, with wide corridors above the lower level platform and tracks. Mezzanines are located above the tracks at both ends of the upper platforms.
Entrances are located on G Street at 11th Street (southeast corner), F Street at 12th Street (northeast corner), and G Street and 13th Street (southeast corner); and at the southwest corner of 12th Street and F Street. Only the 12th Street and G Street entrance has a surface elevator. The station also provides direct indoor access to the Macy's Downtown–Metro Center department store at 1201 G Street NW, allowing passengers to enter the store without going outside.
History
Metro Center was one of the original 6 stations to open with the first section of the Red Line on March 27, 1976.
“Metro Center station” enters the record as washington, DC metro station in Downtown DC on the Red, Blue, Orange and Silver lines. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Metro, Center and station can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Metro Center station” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Metro, Center and station provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4966977. Authority coordinates are 38.898, -77.028. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1976, 2025 and 1201.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Metro Center station” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.