1884 Oakland Train Station
Given the architectural design term "Queen Ann Style" by its architect E. Francis Baldwin, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's "1884 Oakland Train Station" is the third building to occupy this location. The first station was a small, square two-story wooden building constructed shortly after the railroad passed through Oakland in October 1851. It was destroyed by fire in 1874, when the Glades Hotel across the tracks burned. A one story utility building served as the station until the present structure was built in 1884.
The center part of the building contains the main passenger waiting room and the Station Agent's office. The Station Agent and his assistants handled sales of passenger train tickets and arriving and departing freight shipments on the tracks behind the station. The east side of the station contains a second passenger waiting room, sometimes called the "Ladies Waiting Room."
Between these two rooms was the railroad's telegraph operator office that in later years also served as the Western Union office. An important feature of the "Queen Ann Style" building is the rounded tower and roof over the telegraph office.
The west side of the station building contained a baggage room, once dominated by the Railway Express Agency.
At one time, a 250,000-gallon water tank used to supply water for steam locomotives stood 50 feed from the east end of the station. It was removed in the early 1920's.
The last regular passenger train to depart from the station was B&O No. 12 that left at 6:30 p.m. on April 30, 1971.
The Town of Oakland purchased the entire station property in 1998 and began the renovation work that was completed in 2000. Since that date, the 1884 Oakland Train Station has become a model for the "revitalization work" of downtown Oakland.
Marker is on East Liberty Street west of South 2nd Street, on the left when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
