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B&P Tower

Sykesville, Maryland

 

B&P Tower, which closed in July 1988, had served since 1910 at the south end of Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station. Named for the old Baltimore & Potomac Railway, the building stood vacant following its closing and was slated for demolition to make way for the Penn Station light-rail extension. To the rescue came Bowie, Maryland, which decided to acquire the building for its "historical and esthetic value," but not necessarily to use as a railroad-related artifact. There were plans to use B&P Tower in one of the city's parks, possibly as a boat house, but the plans never materialized. The tower's pieces were stored in an unprotected state. The town of Sykesville, Maryland, acquired the tower in 1999. The salvageable parts - those that had not deteriorated too badly for use - were moved for reassembly in the town's downtown area. Space in the second-floor office portion of the tower was opened in 2001 as meeting space and for a layout area for members of the Sykesville & Patapsco Model Railway. The ground floor was equipped with restrooms, and in 2002 it became the "Old Main Line Visitor Center & Post Office." Only the second-floor of the tower is original. The ground-floor consists of a reconstructed base; the original base (which was somewhat generic) was not demolished and remained on the Penn Station site.