In June 1977, the city of Alexandria,
Southern Railway, and the
United Parcel Service reached an agreement allowing for Metro to retain the
air rights for the construction of the Van Dorn station when funding became available. After years of planning, in March 1987 Metro awarded a $32.3 million contract to complete the station by 1991 to
Dillingham Construction of
Pleasanton, California. Originally slated to be part of the
Yellow Line, in early 1990 it was decided Van Dorn would be served by the Blue Line with the Yellow Line being shifted to the
Huntington station. The station opened on June 15, 1991, with the completion of of rail west of the
King Street – Old Town station. Van Dorn Street would remain as the southwestern terminus of the Blue Line from its completion through the opening of the
Franconia–Springfield station on June 29, 1997. On June 25, 2017, Yellow Line trains stopped serving the station due to the elimination of Rush+, which is part of major changes to the Metrorail system. In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system. The Blue and Yellow Lines south of
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport station, including the Van Dorn Street station, would be closed from May to September 2019. The platform at this station would then be rebuilt starting in September 2019, necessitating single-track operations on the Blue Line for several weeks. A nearby rail bridge will also be rebuilt during the reconstruction. From March 26, 2020, until June 28, 2020, this station was closed due to the
2020 coronavirus pandemic. Between September 10, 2022, and November 5, 2022, Van Dorn Street was closed due to the
Potomac Yard station tie-in, closing all stations south of
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport station. Shuttle buses were provided throughout the shutdown. ==Station layout==