Mapping the (transit) future of the Washington region, 1965

Proposed routing plan for the Washington, DC subway system, 1965. From the online exhibit Building the Washington Metro, associated with the book The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro by Zachary Schrag. Caption: Stolzenbach's attack on the freeways led to a political storm and, ultimately, his departure. In 1965, the NCTA proposed a much more modest system and promised that it would work with automobiles, not against them. This plan got Congressional approval., U.S. National Capital Transportation Agency, Rail Rapid Transit for the Nation's Capital, 1965 DCPL.

Note the legend "Rapid Rail Transit for the Motorist."

A version of this map was printed alongside a great article that Mark Jenkins wrote about the Washington subway system, including possibilities of expansion, in the Washington City Paper probably in 1988. It's too bad that the City Paper no longer publishes a "Cityscape" column like the one that Mr. Jenkins used to write. His writings likely stoked my interest in urban issues and urban design.

Index Keywords: transit