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Bowie Railroad Buildings
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Bowie Railroad Buildings - Tower, December 2008
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| Location: | 8614 Chestnut Ave., Bowie, Maryland |
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| Built: | 1913 |
| Architectural style: | Queen Anne |
| Governing body: | City of Bowie |
| NRHP Reference#: | 98001261 |
| Added to NRHP: | 1998-11-04[1] |
The Bowie Railroad Buildings comprise three small frame structures which served as the depot complex for the Pennsylvania Railroad at the junction of the Washington (Amtrak/MARC Train) and the Pope's Creek branches. The complex is located at Bowie in Prince George's County, Maryland. The complex includes a single-story freight depot, a two-story interlocking tower, and an open passenger shed located alongside the tracks of the Huntington, or Old Bowie section of the city.[2]
The complex of buildings are significant for their contribution to the development of rail transportation in the region, and as examples of the types of buildings commonly associated with small-scale rail junctions in the early 20th century.[2] The railroad depot structures in Old Bowie are rare survivors recalling the once prominent number of railway stations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. These small buildings are testament to the significance that a railroad junction had in the commerce and intercourse of the nation at the time of the heyday of the railroads. As an active station, the original Bowie Station was built by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, which was then acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad, and later by Penn Central Railroad. When Amtrak took over passenger service in 1971, the station became a stop for the Chesapeake train between Washington and Philadelphia, until it was acquired by MARC,[3] and replaced by the Penn Line. The buildings have been restored to the Pennsylvania Railroad livery of gray with burgundy trim, and are being maintained by the City of Bowie Museum Division, and supported by the Huntington Heritage Society as a community museum.[2]
In 1989, MARC service moved to Bowie State.
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The Huntington Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located in Bowie, Maryland. The museum is owned by the municipal government and is located in the Bowie railroad station. It hosts several displays featuring Bowie's railroad history, including artifacts and photographs.
A 1922 Norfolk and Western Railroad caboose is located on the museum grounds. There is no admission charge to the museum which is handicapped accessible.
The City of Bowie purchased the buildings that comprise the museum from the railroad and located them together on the current museum site in 1992. These buildings were then restored in collaboration with the Huntington Heritage Society.
The buildings are located at 8614 Chestnut Avenue, near the intersections of 11th Street, close to the rail line. The City of Bowie maintains six sites in its museum system, all of which have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998.
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