METRO MALLS

Over the past four decades, DC's Metro system has grown exponentially. A 4.6 mile -seven station- starter line opened in March 1976. In mid-2023, the network stretched for 129 route miles, with ninety-eight station stops. The 23 mile -twelve station- Silver Line Extension to TYSONS CORNER CENTER and Dulles International Airport was completed in November 2022.
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Arlington, Virginia's subterranean CRYSTAL CITY complexes became the first Metro-adjacent shopping malls, in 1977. The next came along in 1984, when the struggling ROCKVILLE MALL, in Maryland, was reinvented as ROCKVILLE METRO CENTER.

The Metro system was extended to Arlington, Virginia's BALLSTON COMMON (1986) and FASHION CENTRE AT PENTAGON CITY (1989). Subway routes soon reached Maryland's WHEATON PLAZA (1990) and PRINCE GEORGES PLAZA (1993). Other malls indicated on the diagram above were located near, but still a distance away from, a Metro stop.

In the 21 century, two lifestyle centers have been built at Metro stations; Virginia's MARKET COMMON AT CLARENDON (2001) [not indicated on map] and Maryland's THE BOULEVARD AT THE CAPITAL CENTER (2003). In 2014, Virginia's TYSONS CORNER CENTER became a Metro-adjacent shopping mall.