There's Something Incredibly Unique Hiding Underneath This Maryland City

Not many people know that Maryland’s very own Wheaton has a unique feature hiding underneath the city. A feature so remarkable, that it holds a record within the entire Western Hemisphere.

Wikimedia Commons / nesnad

If you've ever taken the Metro Red Line, you may have stopped at Wheaton Station.

Flickr / Michael Colburn

This metro station seems fairly normal when it comes to the every day hustle and bustle. Metro trains arrive and depart regularly throughout the day, transporting riders to and from their destinations.

Once you approach the escalator, you'll see why this location is so unique.

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Wikimedia Commons / Theadana

While the average escalator ride is under 30 seconds, the Wheaton Station escalator takes almost three full minutes from bottom to top, or top to bottom, respectively.
At 230 feet in length, time ticks slowly while riding this immensely long escalator. Most people opt to start walking the stairs to get to where they're going a bit quicker.

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Flickr / libsciterp

The Wheaton Station escalator is the longest single span escalator in the Western Hemisphere. People often get this confused with the Rosslyn Metro escalator in Arlington, which comes in at a close second, at 207 feet.

A quick search on Youtube, and you’ll find that quite a few people have filmed their experiences on the Wheaton Station escalator. You can watch the below clip from user Bambul Shakibaei where he films his slow descent up the famous moving staircase.

Have you been to Wheaton Station and rode the 230 foot long escalator? Share your thoughts in the comments.