Pentagon station

Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox station Pentagon station is a split platform station on the Washington Metro located adjacent to The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Providing service for both the Blue and Yellow Lines, the station is where the two lines diverge and thus acts as a transfer point. Northbound, both lines rise above ground, with the Blue Line serving the Template:Wmata station, and the Yellow Line crossing the Potomac River into the District of Columbia.

The station opened on July 1, 1977<ref name="July 1, 1977">Template:Citation</ref> with the completion of Template:Convert<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> of rail between National Airport and RFK Stadium.

Photography is not allowed anywhere on the station grounds.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bus service

Pentagon station is also a major bus hub<ref name=Pentagon_bus_map>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=ART_busbays>Template:Cite web</ref> in northern Virginia. The current bus facility opened in 2001<ref name=transit_center_opening>Template:Cite web</ref> as part of the Pentagon Renovation Program.<ref name=entrance>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Arlington Transit: 42, 87, 87A, 87P, 87X
• DASH: 35, 103, 104
• Fairfax Connector: 306, 393, 394, 395, 396, 598, 599, 698, 834, 835
• Metrobus: A11, A25, A27, A28, A66, A90, F28, F29, F44, F81, F83, F85
• Loudoun County Transit: 282, 482, 682, 882
• PRTC OmniRide: 543, 602, 612, 942, D-100, D-200, D-300, L-100, L-200, MC-100, MC-200, RS

Station layout

The station is located underground, adjacent to The Pentagon, and formerly had a direct (but secure) entrance to the Pentagon and its underground shopping center. This entrance was closed in 2001 as part of the Pentagon Renovation Program.<ref name="June 16, 2000">Template:Citation</ref> Access to the Pentagon is now gained via a new secured entrance facility above ground near the bus depot and the entrances to the subway station. The new exit features signage displayed at Gallery Place-Chinatown and newer stations.

Pentagon is one of two stations (the other being the Rosslyn station) at which trains going one direction are boarded on a different station level than trains going the other direction, as a way to prevent an at-grade crossing. This is because the Blue and Yellow lines split apart an extremely short distance from the station.

An indicator sign at the north end of the station flashes to inform passengers of the arriving train's destination, showing Blue for Template:Wmata and Yellow for Template:Wmata. This feature is only used at final transfer stations; another example being Template:Wmata.

South of the station, two empty tunnels diverge from the tracks towards Columbia Pike for future extension, but the plans were later dropped.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

S	Upper level	Pentagon, Pentagon Memorial, upper level bus bays
1	Lower level	Lower level bus bays
M	Mezzanine	Fare gates, ticket machines, station manager
	Template:Small
	Northbound	Template:0 Template:WMATA icon toward Template:Wmata Template:Small → Template:0 Template:WMATA icon toward Template:Wmata Template:Small →
T	Southbound	← Template:WMATA icon toward Template:Wmata Template:Small ← Template:WMATA icon toward Template:Wmata Template:Small
	Template:Small

Incidents

2010

Template:Main On March 4, 2010, a gunman, identified as John Patrick Bedell, who espoused anti-government views, shot and wounded two Pentagon police officers at a security checkpoint in the Pentagon station. The officers returned fire, striking him in the head. Bedell died the next day, on March 5, 2010.<ref name= msnbc1>Template:Cite web</ref>

2021

At 10:40 a.m. EST, on August 3, 2021, a stabbing occurred, killing officer George Gonzalez and leading to a lockdown of the Pentagon that was later lifted. The perpetrator, 27-year-old Austin William Lanz, shot and killed himself using Gonzalez's service weapon. In an apology issued by Lanz's family, they stated that in his final few months, he suffered from "many mental health challenges". There was a warrant out for Lanz's arrest due to an incident months earlier, in which Lanz broke into a Georgia home with a crowbar.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable places nearby

• Pentagon Memorial
• United States Air Force Memorial

External links

• Template:Commons category-inline

• Archived The Schumin Web Transit Center: Pentagon Station