History
Service began on December 15, 1976, as part of the original Red Line that ran from Farragut North to Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood. The opening of the station was delayed by a court order over lack of handicapped access (it was originally supposed to open with the rest of the first stations on March 27, 1976). WMATA provided assurance that such access would be available by June 1, 1977.
Yellow Line service began on April 30, 1983, adding service to the Pentagon and National Airport. Green Line service began in 1991, adding service (at the time) to U Street and Anacostia.
Originally named "Gallery Place" after the nearby National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum, "Chinatown" was added to the station name in 1986 (although the station's signage was not replaced until 1990) and in 2000, a large Chinese-style fan, entitled The Glory of the Chinese Descendants, was installed over the 7th and H Street entrance. The station reverted to its original name, "Gallery Place", on November 3, 2011, with "Chinatown" listed as a subtitle.
This station has been a testing ground for new features in Metro stations. In 1993, the station was one of the first Metro station to receive tactile edging on its platforms. Since 2004, the station has been the site of testing for new signage. As a result, there is far more signage in this station than most others, including lighted signs, as well as signage that isn't found anywhere else in the system. In 2007, red LEDs were tested for the platform edge lights on the upper level. Orange LEDs were tested at the platform edge on the lower level, before being replaced by red LEDs in 2008.
Read more about this topic: Gallery Place (WMATA Station)
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