B&O Railroad Company Headquarters Building

Introduction

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The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Headquarters at Baltimore Road and Charles Street was built between 1905 and 1906 after the previous headquarter building was burned down in the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904. The B&O was a major economic powerhouse of Baltimore between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The headquarter building reflects the B&O corporate pride in rebuilding, especially after its emergence from ownership by its rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad. When it was built, the 13 story building designed in the Beaux-Arts style was a novelty and one of the tallest in Baltimore. Today, the former headquarters building is used by the Kimpton Hotel Monaco and a restaurant.

Images

Headquarter building circa 1910

Backstory and Context

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The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was chartered in 1827 to bring the city of Baltimore back into competition in Midwestern trade against New York City and its popular and successful Erie Canal. The first 13 miles of line from Baltimore, MD to Ellicott City, MD opened in 1830 and was extended to Wheeling, West Virginia by 1852, stretching 379 miles. By 1905, during the time of the headquarters' construction, the B&O's network reached Chicago and St Louis.

Through the mid to late 19th century, the B&O maintained a fierce rivalry with the Pennsylvania Railroad. The two fought over right-of-way's and control of smaller railroad companies. Even in Baltimore, the two railways maintained their own separate stations. Baltimore's Penn Station is still in use as the main Amtrak station for Baltimore, while the B&O operated its passenger terminal at Mount Royal station. In 1896, the B&O went bankrupt, and through reorganization, it was merged with Penn. Due to antitrust laws, the companies were not officially merged, but in practice, they shared the same Board of Trustees, and in Washington, D.C., Union Station was built as a station to serve both Penn and B&O trains.

During the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, the 1882 Second-empire style building on Baltimore and Calvert Streets was destroyed. By the time of the building's completion, the B&O had regained stock control over the Pennsylvania Railroad and was independent again. In contrast to its predecessor building two blocks away, the new building was constructed to be fire-proof. Designed by architectural firm Parker and Thomas, it is built of steel construction encased in terra cotta masonry.

Of the four major trunk railroad lines of the early 20th century (B&O, Pennsylvania Railroad, Erie Railroad, and New York Central), the B&O Headquarters is the only surviving headquarter building.

Sources

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Encyclopedia Britannica. August 24th 2018. Accessed March 6th 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Baltimore-and-Ohio-Railroad.

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company Headquarters Building, 2 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Baltimore (Independent City), MD, Library of Congress. Accessed March 6th 2021. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/md1569/.