Shaw-Howard U Station - DC Metro
Green Line and Yellow Line - interchange station in Washington, DC.
About Shaw-Howard U station
Tucked under 8th Street NW at the edge of Shaw, this Green and Yellow Line stop is the quieter of the two stations serving the neighborhood — U Street, ten minutes north, takes the crowds. What Shaw-Howard U gets instead is the everyday traffic of one of the most rapidly changed parts of the District: students walking up the hill to Howard University, residents of the new apartment blocks along 7th and 9th Streets, and people heading to the restaurants and bars that have filled in around Blagden Alley and the O Street corridor. It is a straightforward station with a short escalator run and street entrances on both sides of the tracks, and it is a genuinely useful back door to downtown when the Convention Center area is busy.
The area around Shaw-Howard U
Shaw is a historically Black neighborhood immediately north of downtown, long anchored by Howard University and by the churches and row houses along its numbered streets. The last two decades have brought heavy development, and the result is a mix: century-old rowhouse blocks next to glassy new buildings, long-standing institutions next to newer restaurants. Riders here are students, residents, and people working downtown.
What is near Shaw-Howard U station?
One of the nation's foremost historically Black universities, occupying the hill just north and east of the station.
10 min walkRestored 1910s music hall on T Street that once hosted the biggest names in Black American music and still books live shows.
4 min walkA converted service alley off Naylor Court, now one of the more interesting restaurant and bar clusters in the city.
8 min walkThe District's main convention venue, filling several blocks between Mount Vernon Square and 9th Street.
12 min walkFirst and last trains at Shaw-Howard U
Departure times by direction. Which way you are traveling matters – the last train toward one terminal can be an hour before the last train the other way.
| Day | Toward | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-Thu | Branch Av | 5:22 am | 11:53 pm |
| Mon-Thu | Greenbelt | 5:26 am | 12:25 am |
| Fri | Branch Av | 5:22 am | 1:53 am |
| Fri | Greenbelt | 5:26 am | 2:25 am |
| Sat | Branch Av | 6:21 am | 1:52 am |
| Sat | Greenbelt | 6:26 am | 2:25 am |
| Sun | Branch Av | 6:22 am | 11:53 pm |
| Sun | Greenbelt | 6:26 am | 12:25 am |
| Day | Toward | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-Thu | Greenbelt | 5:28 am | 12:03 am |
| Mon-Thu | Huntington | 5:24 am | 11:55 pm |
| Fri | Greenbelt | 5:28 am | 2:03 am |
| Fri | Huntington | 5:24 am | 1:55 am |
| Sat | Greenbelt | 6:28 am | 2:01 am |
| Sat | Huntington | 6:24 am | 1:54 am |
| Sun | Greenbelt | 6:28 am | 12:03 am |
| Sun | Huntington | 6:25 am | 11:55 pm |
Travel times and fares from Shaw-Howard U
| To | Time | Weekday to 9:30pm | Late night & weekend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Center | 10 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Gallery Pl-Chinatown | 3 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| L'Enfant Plaza | 6 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Union Station | 12 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Smithsonian | 13 min | $2.25 | $2.25 |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport | 16 min | $3.25 | $2.50 |
| Washington Dulles International Airport | 68 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Pentagon | 11 min | $2.65 | $2.50 |
| Branch Ave | 25 min | $5.35 | $2.50 |
| Greenbelt | 22 min | $5.50 | $2.50 |
Travel times and fares published by WMATA. Fares valid July 2026.
Changing lines at Shaw-Howard U
Parking at Shaw-Howard U
Tips for using Shaw-Howard U
- If you are headed for the 9:30 Club or the heart of the U Street nightlife strip, stay on one more stop to U Street rather than walking up from here.
- The station has entrances on both sides of the tracks; the one nearer 7th and S puts you closer to the Convention Center side of Shaw.
- Howard University sits uphill from the station, so allow a little more time than the flat distance suggests.
Shaw-Howard U station FAQ
Yes, it is the closest Metro station to the Howard campus, which sits uphill and slightly east of the station. Expect roughly a ten-minute walk to the main quadrangle, longer if you are heading to buildings on the far side of campus or to the hospital.
They are adjacent stops on the same Green and Yellow Line pair, about a ten-minute walk apart. Shaw-Howard U is closer to Howard University, the Convention Center and the southern part of Shaw; U Street is the one for the U Street nightlife corridor and the African American Civil War Memorial.
Both the Green Line and the Yellow Line stop here, so you have direct service south through downtown toward L’Enfant Plaza and the waterfront, and north toward Columbia Heights and Fort Totten on the Green Line.
There is no Metro-operated park-and-ride lot at this station. It is an inner-city stop where street parking is metered and residential-permit restricted, so arriving on foot, by bike or by bus is far easier than driving.