At street level, the average passerby would have no idea that beneath Washington, D.C.’s bustling Dupont Circle lies the Dupont Underground, a 15,000-square-foot space for visual, sound and performance art of all kinds.
The space originally opened in 1949 as a trolley station, replete with tunnels and platforms, but was closed off in the early 1960s when the trolley service shut down. At points in its history the space has been used as a fallout shelter and a short-lived food court. Otherwise, it sat abandoned.
In 2014, thanks to the efforts of a local architect, that all changed. Today, visitors are welcome into this subterranean venue just a mile from the White House, but only during the organization’s programs and events, which include concerts, play readings, art openings and more.