Washington, DC

In the style of Vignelli NY Subway Map Design of the 1970s

In August 1972, The New York City subway map designed by Massimo Vignelli first appeared on the walls of every subway station, every train car, and millions of pocket maps.  It became a landmark in modernist information design and was sometimes scorned by transit riders for non-geographical design. Vignelli regarded the map as one of his finest creations. 

Michael Calcagno recreated the WMATA map in the style of a beautiful Vignelli map design:

In the style of 1990s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) map

This 1990s map design of BART was used, I believe as station map posters and in-car posters back in the 1990s. 

Michael Calcagno recreated the WMATA in the style of classic BART map design:

In the style of the Modern Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) map

This modern map design of BART is still in use on their system.

Michael Calcagno recreated WMATA map in the style of modern BART map design:

In the style of 1967 NYC Subway's Chrystie Street Connection Map

In 1967 NYC Subway opened the Chrystie Street connection in lower Manhattan, it brought together several BMT and IND lines with numerous routing changes. This brochure with a unique map design had several route changes affected by the new connection. This is where he can recreate many maps in that unique style.

Michael Calcagno recreated WMATA map in the style of NYC Subway's Chrystie Street Connection map design:

In the style of 1970s New York Telephone Company-designed NYC Subway Map

New York Telephone Company designed the NYC Subway Map in their phone books.

Michael Calcagno recreated WMATA map in the style of New York Telephone Company map design:

In the style of modern Los Angeles (LA Metro) map

This modern map design of LA Metro is still in use on their system.

Michael Calcagno recreated the Chicago L map in the style of modern LA Metro map design:

WMATA’s current Metrorail system, redesigned in the style of Maxwell Roberts’ 1951 Hagstrom-inspired NYC map

This map reimagines Washington, DC’s Metrorail system through the lens of vintage schematic design—specifically, the bold, geometric elegance of Hagstrom’s 1950s NYC subway maps, and the modern reinterpretations by cartographer Dr. Maxwell Roberts.

WMATA’s current map already leans schematic, but I wanted to take that idea further—refining symmetry, amplifying rhythm, and dialing in a structured, mid-century aesthetic. This redesign isn’t tied to real-world geography, but it anchors itself with familiar elements like the Potomac and Anacostia rivers for visual context.

The layout emphasizes balance: mirrored junctions, clean curves, and a composed, deliberate flow that pays tribute to both retro transit diagrams and timeless information design.

It’s part homage, part alternate reality—a version of WMATA that might have hung in a federal office building decades ago, showing the system not as it is, but as it might have once been imagined.

Download high-res JPG map here.

©2025, Calcagno Maps Company