Washington Underground

I'm a fan of subways.  London is the classic of course.  Munich is my personal favorite.  But Washington D.C. has an extensive and very efficient system.  Really modernistic:

This is very cool, but if you stop and think about it, also a little creepy.  It has something of a catacombs vibe, but you just know the builders of the system were also thinking about their potential as bomb shelters.

And speaking of creepy, the first time I saw the entrance to the Dupont Circle station it gave me a vague sense of recognition and disquiet:

The commuters blithely descending into the depths brought to mind this scene from the film adaptation of The Time Machine (superior 1960 version):

Here the Eloi-clueless futuristic chuckleheads-are lured down underground for a visit with their troglodyte Morlock cousins, whose interest in them is purely culinary.

As we left the station on our final day in fact, there was some kind of malfunction in the PA system, so behind us I heard a harsh, guttural voice mumbling things I could not quite make out.  A Morlock, almost for sure.

Head for the exit!