Metro first opened its doors on March 27, 1976… but Washington DC’s complicated story of public transportation, and the debate over how big the city should grow, began long before then. Before there was the Metro that we hold dear, streetcars connected downtown DC with Brookland and Catholic University, and the location of today’s Brookland-CUA station was home to University Station, a local Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad stop that served the local community until the early 1970s. By the 1950s and 60s, there were plans for an extensive freeway system that would reshape neighborhoods all across DC, including Brookland. Many local activists, along with Catholic University, opposed the proposed freeway, citing concerns about the loss of homes and businesses and the possibility of increased air and noise pollution. Instead, they supported the creation of the DC Metro system, which was seen as a way to connect the community of Brookland to DC without changing the neighborhood’s character.

When Metro began service in 1976, Brookland was still waiting for its own stop. The closest station to campus was Rhode Island Ave, and as reported by CUA’s newspaper, The Tower, students could reach it by bus or car. There was a lot of anticipation for a station to be built specifically for Brookland and the Catholic University campus, and contemporary articles in The Tower documented many construction delays as the student body’s excitement grew and the station slowly took shape. During the construction process, the Cardinal Yearbook described the station as a new transportation option for getting to and from campus, reflecting just how important the connection to Metro and the greater DMV had become.

On February 3, 1978, the Brookland station officially opened! The celebration was marked by an opening day ceremony with pennants and plenty of attention from the campus community. The station quickly became part of everyday campus life: by 1979, yearbook photographs showed commuter students boarding the Metro, and by 1980, students were casually discussing the experience of catching the last train home. While CUA students today use the Metro every day to get to campus, both for employment and education, and many could not imagine their commute any other way, the students in 1978-1980 had to integrate a brand new system into their daily routines. University leaders at the time quickly recognized the station’s importance, and in correspondence with WMATA, advocated for clearer directions for visitors, eventually suggesting that “CUA” be added to the station’s name—granting us the Brookland-CUA station that we all know and love today. More than just a new transportation stop, Metro became a vital connection between Catholic University, Brookland, and the wider Washington, DC community.

Visit the Next Stop: Brookland – CUA exhibit on the second floor of Mullen Library to explore the archival materials that were mentioned and discover more about Metro’s arrival and impact on campus and the Brookland community!

If you are interested in learning even more about Metro’s history and our collection, check out the Archivist’s Nook Blog Post for Metro’s 50th anniversary: The Archivist’s Nook: 50 Years of Service – Laying the Tracks for DC’s Metro 

Ella Spandorf & Niccolo Giambanco are both Graduate Library Preprofessionals (GLP) at The Catholic University of America Libraries