May 11, 1991
The first segment of the Green Line of the Washington Metro rapid transit system was formally opened. The next day’s edition of the Washington Post highlighted the fanfare surrounding this public transportation milestone in the nation’s capital.
“The politicians were there,” reported Washington Post staff writer. Stephen C. Fehr. “So were clergy members and business people. They cut ribbons, delivered speeches and shook hands yesterday as the transit system opened the first three Green Line stations in Northwest Washington.”
These stations on the inaugural 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) section of the Green Line were Mount Vernon Square-UDC (University of the District of Columbia) — renamed Mt Vernon Sq/7th Street-Convention Center in 2001– in the city’s central business district and Shaw neighborhood; Shaw-Howard University, likewise located in the Shaw neighborhood; and U Street-Cardozo (officially shortened to U Street in 2011), based in an area known widely as either Cardozo/Shaw or the U Street Corridor.
Hardina Williams, a long-time Shaw resident, was among those underscoring why the newly opened Green Line was so important to those living in that section of the city. “It’s going to mean a whole lot because a lot of people here don’t drive,” she said.
David Rosener, another Shaw resident, went to the Shaw-Howard University station at around 7:30 a.m. on opening day with a few friends and a bottle of champagne. “We thought it was a little early to be drinking champagne, but it had to be done,” he asserted.
One of the first passengers to board a train at that station was Milton Torrez, a private security guard hired by Washington Metro to help patrol and protect various stations at night. He made it clear that the inauguration of the Green Line would make commuting from and to his home in Prince George’s County in Maryland easier than it had been previously. He explained, “Before, I had to transfer three times on buses.”
The Green Line in its entirety now covers a total of 23 miles (37.1 kilometers) and encompasses 21 stations altogether. (The accompanying photo of the U Street station was taken in 2019.)
Photo Credit: Keizers (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)
For more information on the history of the Washington Metro, please check out https://www.wmata.com/about/history/upload/history.pdf
Transportation History 
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