Subterranean Art Space

Dupont Underground: The Secret Transit Tunnels of Washington D.C.

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

By the Wicked Cool Places editors · Published Thu, Mar 19, 2026 · Updated Fri, Aug 28, 2026

Why it’s cool

Hidden beneath the pavement of Dupont Circle, this 75,000-square-foot former trolley station has lived many lives. Once a Cold War fallout shelter and a failed food court, it is now an industrial canvas for immersive art and sound installations.

Northeast Adventure

A tiled pedestrian tunnel at Dupont Underground covered in graffiti tags beneath a New Hampshire Ave sign.

Hidden beneath the busy intersection of Dupont Circle is a cavernous concrete world that most commuters walk right over without noticing. This subterranean labyrinth, spanning 75,000 square feet, has transitioned from a mid-century transit hub to a canvas for the city's creative underground.

Why It Stands Out

Built in 1949, this was the only underground station in Washington’s extensive streetcar network. After the trolley lines were retired in 1962, the space took on a series of strange identities.

It served as a designated fallout shelter during the height of the Cold War and, in a bizarre 1990s experiment, briefly housed a failed food court known as "Dupont Down Under." The food court was a disaster; the windowless, damp environment proved miserable for workers and unappealing to diners, leading to its closure in just months. Today, the gritty concrete walls are no longer home to fast-food stalls but to immersive light and sound installations.

The raw, industrial atmosphere, complete with lingering graffiti and remnants of past lives, provides a hauntingly beautiful backdrop for local artists to experiment with the tunnels' unique acoustics. It is a rare piece of preserved urban decay repurposed for the modern era.

Before You Go

Don't rely on your phone's GPS to find the door, as mapping apps often struggle with the subterranean coordinates. The entrance is tucked away on 19th Street, situated between a Starbucks and Cafe Dupont.

Because the space is a work in progress, the terrain can be rough. Expect to encounter uneven surfaces, occasional puddles, and debris, making sturdy, closed-toe shoes an absolute requirement.

Access is generally restricted to scheduled guided tours, which can be booked through the Dupont Underground website.

Questions worth answering

How do we actually find the entrance?

Don't trust your phone's GPS for this one. Look for the door on 19th Street, positioned right between Cafe Dupont and the Starbucks.

What should we wear for a visit?

This isn't the place for nice footwear. You'll need sturdy, closed-toe shoes to handle the mud, broken glass, and rusted metal scattered across the floor.

What kind of atmosphere can we expect inside?

It's a massive concrete labyrinth that feels like a piece of preserved urban decay. The space has been everything from a fallout shelter to a failed dining hall, but now it's used for immersive art.

Can we just walk in whenever we want?

Entry is restricted to people who have booked a guided tour. You'll need to grab tickets through their official website before showing up.

Visit Snapshot

Its entrance sits on 19th Street, wedged between a Starbucks and Cafe Dupont. Avoid relying on mapping apps as they often provide incorrect locations for the entrance.

Guided tours must be booked in advance via the official website. Wear closed-toe shoes to navigate the industrial terrain, which may include broken glass, rust, or mud.

Location

Washington, District of Columbia

Know before you go

Easily accessible from the Dupont Circle metro station. Mapping apps show an incorrect location, the entrance is on 19th street between Starbucks and Cafe Dupont.

Tickets for a guided tour of the tunnels can be purchased on the Dupont Underground website. Much of the tunnels are still in a state of disrepair and the floor in some areas have broken glass, rusted metal, and muddy puddles, so wear closed-toe shoes.

Editorial source

The Dupont Underground

Underneath the bustling streets of Dupont Circle in Washington , D.C. there's a long-abandoned trolley station and tunnels that have found fresh use as an art space. For nearly 100 years, a network of streetcars ferried Washingtonians around the city, originally drawn by horses and later powered by elevated electric cables.

The Dupont Circle station was constructed in 1949 and was unique in the streetcar system for being the only station that was built underground. It was in operation until the system was shut down and replaced by bus lines in 1962 and with plans for the Metro train system on the horizon.

The discontinued streetcar station was briefly set up to be a fallout shelter in the case of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, but even that function was ended in 1975 and the tunnels were sealed off and abandoned. In 1995, a developer bought the abandoned tunnels from the city and built an ill-fated food court, called Dupont Down Under, on the abandoned tracks, with a dozen fast food vendors all operating out of spaces designed to look like the old streetcars.

The project was short-lived, however. Ventilation and lighting were poor, employees were miserable from working in the dank and windowless area all day, and customers were hesitant to go underground into abandoned tunnels for a bite to eat.

Dupont Down Under was shut down in only a few months and the tunnels were abandoned once again. The tunnels were reopened to the public in late 2016, however, and the 75,000-square-foot former streetcar station is in the process of being converted into an artistic space.

Local artists have begun transforming the tunnels into installations, including pieces that incorporate light and sound with the acoustics of the tunnels. Graffiti adorns the concrete walls and artistic pieces are tucked away in corners among the rubble of the abandoned food court.

Update as of August 2022: The entrance is now gated.

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