Clarendon is a side platform

Side platform

A Side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, a tram stop or a transitway. A pair of side platforms are often provided on a dual track line with a single side platform being sufficient for a single track line...

ed Washington Metro

Washington Metro

The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...

 station

Metro station

A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated. At crossings of metro lines, they are multi-level....

 in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington

Arlington County, Virginia

Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, United States. The station was opened on December 1, 1979, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess...

 (WMATA). The station presently serves only the Orange Line

Orange Line (Washington Metro)

The Orange Line of the Washington Metro consists of 26 rapid transit stations from Vienna to New Carrollton. It has stations in Fairfax County and Arlington, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Prince George's County, Maryland. Half of the line's stations are shared with the Blue Line, and over...

, but is also planned to be on the Silver Line

Silver Line (Washington Metro)

The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, formally dubbed the Silver Line, is an extension of the Washington Metro rapid transit system, currently under construction with the goal of providing rapid transit service to Dulles International Airport and Tysons Corner...

, which is scheduled to start operations in 2013.

Location

Clarendon is located in the Arlington district of the same name at the intersection Highland Street, Clarendon Boulevard, and Wilson Boulevard. The station entrance itself lies in a park-like median between Clarendon and Wilson Boulevards.

The presence of Clarendon station has transformed the surrounding district into an urban village. As a result, a number of residential and shopping complexes have opened. These include the residential buildings such as Station Square, Clarendon 1021, and the Phoenix at Clarendon along with the Market Common Clarendon shopping center.

History

The station opened on December 1, 1979. Its opening coincided with the completion of approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) of rail west of the Rosslyn

Rosslyn (Washington Metro)

Rosslyn is a rapid transit station on the Blue and Orange Lines of the Washington Metro in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. One of three interchange points on the Metrorail system west of the Potomac River and located in a growing business district, Rosslyn is the busiest station...

 station and the opening of the Court House

Court House (Washington Metro)

Court House is an island platformed Washington Metro station in the Courthouse neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, United States. The station was opened on December 1, 1979, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority . Weekday ridership is approximately 14,000 passengers...

, Virginia Square and Ballston stations.

Station layout

Similar to many of the stations opened at the same time, Clarendon uses a side platform setup with two tracks. Architecturally, as part of the first generation of underground stations, the "waffle" coffer style predominates at Clarendon.

Escalators bring passengers to the mezzanine level, which contains faregates and ticket machines. Clarendon station is quite shallow, so much in fact that there is a staircase in between the two escalators that reach street level.

External links

• WMATA: Clarendon Station
• StationMasters Online: Clarendon Station
• The Schumin Web Transit Center: Clarendon Station
• Highland Street entrance from Google Maps Street View