---
title: What Lies Beneath Dupont Circle
date: 2023-04-03T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/what-lies-beneath-dupont-circle"
section: Articles
---
# What Lies Beneath Dupont Circle

*April 3, 2023* — by [Maggie Haslam](/author/maggie-haslam)


> New Kibel Gallery Exhibit Explores the Rebirth of a Forgotten Underground Space

*DUHIST17 1920x1080 — D.C.'s only underground trolley station, which opened in 1947 under Dupont Circle, lived several different lives after shuttering, including a bomb shelter and food court. Today, it's home to a thriving arts exhibition space.*

It’s hard to imagine that the raucous activity (and raging traffic) of Washington, D.C.’s Dupont Circle could be rivaled by what’s happening just under its sidewalks. But what was once the city’s first underground trolley station (and later, a much-maligned food court) now thrums with large-scale sound and light projections, night markets, performances and art exhibitions.

“Dupont Underground: Layered History and Possible Futures,” which opens this evening at the University of Maryland’s Kibel Gallery, tells the history and evolution of Dupont Circle, and how the abandoned rail stop was transformed into a popular platform for D.C.’s thriving art scene by a team of architects, planners and other city stakeholders, including two UMD alums.

“The idea was to essentially give a public space over to the public and let them do stuff in interesting ways,” said Alick Dearie ’99, M.A. ‘04, who was an early architect on Dupont Underground and is now chair of its board of directors. “The cool thing about a space being found—and in a lot of ways elevated by the architecture—is we see the beauty of what it is but also the possibility.”

Featuring a commissioned animation by architect Jack Solomon that draws on archival photographs, drawings and documents, the exhibit takes visitors on a shape-shifting odyssey of Dupont Circle, rolling through a century of changes in the urban landscape, how people moved and the impacts below ground.

“There have been many chapters in the life of this space that have been very specific, and maybe that hasn’t worked out,” said Clinical Assistant Professor of architecture Lindsey May, who directs the Kibel Gallery. “This project shows the promise of doing things differently.”



*mysterious underground tunnel — Archival photo of Dupont's Trolley Station. Photo courtesy of Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.*



*video stills of dupont circle — Stills from the animated short, "Dupont Underground: Layered Histories & Possible Futures." Images courtesy of Jack Solomon.*



**Sidebar note:**

“Dupont Underground: Layered History and Possible Futures” opens at 6 p.m. Monday and runs through June at the Architecture Building’s Kibel Gallery. It will feature a talk by lead architect Julian Hunt and animator-architect Jack Solomon, followed by a reception. Tickets are free, but [RSVPs are requested](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kibel-gallery-opening-party-dupont-underground-spring-2023-show-tickets-560687149357).





**Topics:** [Arts & Culture](https://today.umd.edu/tags/arts-culture)


**Tags:** [Architecture](https://today.umd.edu/topic/architecture), [Arts](https://today.umd.edu/topic/arts)


**Units:** [School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation](https://today.umd.edu/topic/school-architecture-planning-and-preservation)