It’s somewhat ironic if you think about it — a celebration of the country’s interstate highway system in a train station. But that’s where the District Department of Transportation has chosen to mark the 50th anniversary of the interstate highways that helped changed the course of the United States.

On Monday, DDOT opened an exhibit in the West Hall of Union Station dedicated to the American interstate highway, centered around historic pictures, maps and documentation of their design and construction. As noted by a DDOT press release:

The display will help citizens of the nation’s capital learn of the impact the Interstate had on the nation, learn about President Eisenhower’s reasons for backing and signing the legislation that created the Interstate system, and underscore the important role of public input from DC citizens in shaping the Interstates in the District.

The exhibit is slated to run until May 6.

Of course, the interstate system brought both the good and the bad. As a massive infrastructure project, it created the connections and arteries that help maintain the country’s economic well-being. Conversely, it promoted much of the urban sprawl that extends outwards from most major cities, increasing dependence on the automobile for travel and clearing wild land for residential and commercial development at an alarming pace. And as many cities can attest — the District included — interstate highways cut straight through the heart of many densely populated urban areas, creating stark social and economic divisions that remain today.

If you choose to go, you may as well be true to the spirit of the exhibit — drive there. I-395 puts you out right on Massachusetts Avenue, mere blocks from Union Station.