On November 24, Metro announced that they were testing new lighting at Judiciary Square's F Street Entrance. These new lights are designed to brighten the mezzanine, which has long been very dim. If the test is successful, the format will likely be expanded to other stations.Metro's original brutalist vaults were intended by their designer, Harry Weese, to be blank and to be lit entirely by indirect lighting. However, over the years, accoutrement has been added to the vaults, from station signs to security cameras. In most stations, supplemental lighting was added in mezzanines, which tend to be in perpetual shadow.
Fourth Street Entrance
F Street Entrance
The new test lighting strikes a medium between the extremes. It adds lots of light to the mezzanines, while still providing light to the vault. At the same time, the fixtures' design limits the encroachment of the light supports on the vault.
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