Baltimore Civil War Museum

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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into President Street Station. (Discuss)

The Baltimore Civil War Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a unique building with a curved roof supported by an arched truss was originally the President Street Station built in 1849–50 by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Company. This site and the rail line were key elements of the "underground railroad" by which many slaves escaped to the north before the Civil War.

[edit] History

The first bloodshed occurred nearby in 1861 as Massachusetts troops marching to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Camden Station ten blocks west were attacked by an angry mob. When Union Station opened in 1885, the President Street Station and yards became a freight terminal and were very active during the days when the Inner Harbor was a heavy industrial area. With the great change that followed World War II, the station was neglected and deteriorated badly. Restored with city and federal funds, the building reopened in 1997 as the Baltimore Civil War Museum, telling the story of Baltimore's and the railroads' roles in the war and Baltimore's place in the "underground railroad".

As of late 2007, the Baltimore Civil War Museum is shut down, and its future remains in doubt.^[1]