President Street Station Friends Open Baltimore Depot Weekends
BALTIMORE, Md. — President Street Station, the historic rail depot that figured in the Baltimore Riot of April 19, 1861, has been reopened. Volunteers from the Friends of President Street Station (FPSS) are welcoming visitors from 10-5 Saturdays and Sundays until Thanksgiving weekend. The City of Baltimore owns the 1849-50 building and sought commercial development bids after the station’s Baltimore Civil War Museum, operated by the Maryland Historical Society, closed in 2007. In view of next year’s 150th anniversary of the riot, “the city seems now committed to the 150th and President Street Station as the main Civil War attraction for the new Baltimore National Heritage Area” says FPSS Vice President Robert Reyes. The heritage area, which was created in 2001 and updated in 2007, has a number of themes, one of which is “North of the South — South of the North.” Baltimore’s rich history as a border city where foreign, free and enslaved intermingled before the Civil War, where Frederick Douglass worked before escaping from slavery, where the Underground Railroad flourished, and where the April 1861 riot occurred will be part of that story. On April 19 Massachusetts and Pennsylvania soldiers were en route to Washington, answering President Lincoln’s call for troops to put down the rebellion after Fort Sumter was attacked. Seven of their eight rail cars were pulled by horses from President Street Station along Pratt Street to the Camden Station. The last car was forced to return to President Street Station. Citizens attacked the soldiers as they marched on Pratt Street. Four Massachusetts soldiers and 12 civilians died. The Friends of President Street Station have along history with the building. Civil War and railroad buffs formed the group in 1987 and pushed for the station’s restoration as a museum. Today the Friends are pressing for the station to be designated as a National Historic Site. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Last year they funded an evaluation study of the station’s national significance that would justify inclusion in the national park system. Retired NPS planner Bill Sharp produced a 15-page illustrated report documenting President Street Station’s history and significance, including its unique architecture, association with the Civil War and lives of nationally important people, including Lincoln, and its role as a vital transportation link between Washington and the North. Reyes says the report has been submitted to Congressman John Sarbanes and Senator Ben Cardin. They have been asked to introduce legislation to study the feasibility of designating the station as a National Historic Site. The Friends continue the April 19, 1861, commemoration that began 30 years ago with Steve Bunker hanging a wreath on the unmarked station. They host a procession from Fells Point along the waterfront to a ceremony at the station. Civil War News files going back to 1990 detail the building’s precarious condition, including a caved-in roof, after years of neglect. While Camden Station was restored as part of the Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards ball park, no such benefactor was on hand for President Street Station. The city stabilized it in 1993. A year later $800,000 in federal, state and city funds was promised for a renovation that would allow the museum to open in 1995. In January 1995 Gov. Donald Schaefer announced a $450,000 matching grant of federal funds from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). He credited his Transportation Secretary, James Lighthizer, now president of the Civil War Preservation Trust, for having “the vision, the courage, the guts” to use federal transportation funds in this way. However, Lighthizer’s successor changed the plans in late 1995 after restoration and exhibit cost estimates were $200,000 higher than expected. The renovated station opened at last on April 12, 1997. The museum opened the next day. The Friends celebrated with a week of lectures, demonstrations and living history programs. Their interpretive graphic exhibits, which remain on display for today’s visitors, focus on the station’s multi-faceted history. Members have loaned artifacts for the display cases. Volunteers run the shop, which carries Don Troiani art, books, action figures, tapes, CDs and other items. The Friends hope to get Eastern National, the National Park cooperating association, to operate a book store at the museum. Admission is free and donations are welcome. Visitors will receive a free copy of Passport To Your National Parks Companion Guide: Mid-Atlantic Region. Week-day and group tours can be arranged by calling (410) 461-9377.
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