Queen City Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Queen City Hotel was constructed in 1871 by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
(B&O) in Cumberland, Maryland
to serve both as a train station
and as a destination. Hosting 174 rooms, it also had such features as formal gardens with a fountain, a ballroom and 400-seat dining room. It was torn down in 1972 to make room for what became Interstate 68
.
of the route northwest to Pittsburgh and the B&O main line west of the Ohio River
. The building was designed by Thomas N. Heskett of the B&O Road Department in the Italianate style, and the construction cost was over $350,000. The hotel served as a summer resort, although the railroad did not actively promote it as a tourist destination. Located in a valley surrounded by mountains, it provided an escape from the summer heat.
The year the hotel was finished, the B&O expanded its resort business by beginning the construction of the Deer Park Hotel
in Garrett County. (The latter hotel closed in 1929 and was later destroyed by fire.)
The B&O completed construction of a new, expanded passenger station component in 1912. The station occupied three floors and included offices for the railroad company.
attempted court action to save the building. These efforts were unsuccessful and the B&O began demolition of the building in 1971.
The effort to preserve this ornate, Victorian-era structure was one of the classic preservation battles of the early 1970s. It was one of the last remaining railroad hotels in the U.S. The battle was lost when the building was demolished.
The hotel site is now occupied by the Cumberland Post Office.
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
(B&O) in Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
to serve both as a train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
and as a destination. Hosting 174 rooms, it also had such features as formal gardens with a fountain, a ballroom and 400-seat dining room. It was torn down in 1972 to make room for what became Interstate 68
Interstate 68
Interstate 68 is a Interstate highway in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland, connecting in Morgantown to in Hancock. is also Corridor E of the Appalachian Development Highway System. From 1965 until the freeway's construction was completed in 1991, it was designated as...
.
History and design
The hotel was built only a year after the B&O completed its rail connection to Pittsburgh. This placed Cumberland at a major junctionJunction (rail)
A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
of the route northwest to Pittsburgh and the B&O main line west of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. The building was designed by Thomas N. Heskett of the B&O Road Department in the Italianate style, and the construction cost was over $350,000. The hotel served as a summer resort, although the railroad did not actively promote it as a tourist destination. Located in a valley surrounded by mountains, it provided an escape from the summer heat.
The year the hotel was finished, the B&O expanded its resort business by beginning the construction of the Deer Park Hotel
Deer Park Hotel
thumb|Deer Park Hotel - Main House - 1892thumbFollowing the American Civil War, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad created a vacation resort in the Appalachian Mountains of Western Maryland, in the small town of Deer Park, Maryland...
in Garrett County. (The latter hotel closed in 1929 and was later destroyed by fire.)
The B&O completed construction of a new, expanded passenger station component in 1912. The station occupied three floors and included offices for the railroad company.
Decline and attempt at preservation
As with other railroads, passenger traffic on the B&O line declined in the mid-20th century. Interest in and occupancy of the hotel also declined. The hotel closed to the public in December 1964. Following a fire in 1969, the building was inspected by the city and declared to be a hazard. The B&O made plans to demolish the hotel, and supporters of historic preservationHistoric preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
attempted court action to save the building. These efforts were unsuccessful and the B&O began demolition of the building in 1971.
The effort to preserve this ornate, Victorian-era structure was one of the classic preservation battles of the early 1970s. It was one of the last remaining railroad hotels in the U.S. The battle was lost when the building was demolished.
The hotel site is now occupied by the Cumberland Post Office.
See also
- Western Maryland Railway Station (Cumberland, Maryland)Western Maryland Railway Station (Cumberland, Maryland)Western Maryland Railway Station is a historic railway station in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland. It was built in 1913 as a stop for the Western Maryland Railway , and is a large commercial-style building that expresses the architectural functionalism of the turn of the 20th century...
(extant) - Cumberland (Amtrak station)Cumberland (Amtrak station)The Cumberland Amtrak station is a train station in Cumberland, Maryland, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. It is also served by Bayrunner Shuttle that starts in Grantsville and ends at BWI Airport...
External links
- Queen City Hotel National Register of Historic Places
- Cumberland Amtrak Station