L'Enfant Plaza is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C. served by the Blue, Green, Orange, and Yellow Lines. It is a transfer station, with the Blue and Orange lines on the lower level crossed by the Yellow and Green lines on the upper level. It is also where the Yellow and Green lines converge going north. It is the only station in the system to be served by four lines; when the Silver Line begins service in 2013, it will be the only station in the system to be served by five lines. Only the Red Line does not serve the station.

The station is located in Southwest Washington, with entrances at the L'Enfant Plaza shopping mall concourse at 9th and D Streets, on D Street between 6th and 7th Streets, at Maryland Avenue and 7th Street, and in the courtyard of the former United States Department of Transportation building. It is in the center of an area crowded with federal buildings, and is a transfer point allowing passengers to easily cross the Potomac between Virginia and central Washington, making it a very busy station. Service began on the Blue and Orange level on July 1, 1977, and on the Green and Yellow level on April 30, 1983.

L'Enfant Plaza is named for the French-American planner of Washington, D.C., Pierre Charles L’Enfant.

The Virginia Railway Express L'Enfant station is adjacent, located between 6th and 7th Streets. In October 2009, Amtrak will begin providing passenger train service at the station.

Notable nearby locations

• L'Enfant Plaza
• National Mall
• Several Smithsonian Institution museums, including:
  • Arts and Industries Building (currently closed)
  • Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
  • National Air and Space Museum
• Several federal government buildings, including:
  • James V. Forrestal Building, the Department of Energy headquarters
  • Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, the Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters
  • Federal Aviation Administration
  • United States Postal Service

Notes and references

1. L'Enfant identified himself as "Peter Charles L'Enfant" during most of his life, while residing in the United States. He wrote this name on his "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t(he) United States ...." (Washington, D.C.) and on other legal documents. However, during the early 1900's, a French ambassador to the U.S., Jean Jules Jusserand, popularized the use of L'Enfant's birth name, "Pierre Charles L'Enfant". (Reference: Bowling, Kenneth R (2002). Peter Charles L'Enfant: vision, honor, and male friendship in the early American Republic. George Washington University, Washington, D.C. ISBN 978-0-9727611-0-9). The United States Code states in 40 U.S.C. 3309: "(a) In General.—The purposes of this chapter shall be carried out in the District of Columbia as nearly as may be practicable in harmony with the plan of Peter Charles L'Enfant." The National Park Service identifies L'Enfant as Major Peter Charles L'Enfant and as Major Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant on its website.
2. Weir, Kytja. "Amtrak to run daily service from Va. to D.C.", The Examiner, 2009-06-03. Retrieved on 2009-06-16.

External links

• WMATA: L'Enfant Plaza Station
• StationMasters Online: L'Enfant Plaza Station
• The Schumin Web Transit Center: L'Enfant Plaza (Upper Level)
• The Schumin Web Transit Center: L'Enfant Plaza (Lower Level)
• VRE: L'Enfant Station