Bowie Tower
The city of Bowie, Maryland, and the Huntington Heritage Society opened a railroad museum in a park adjacent to Amtrak's Northeast corridor in 1994. Included in the complex were three structures formerly serving the town: a tower, freight building, and waiting shelter. A caboose was later added as well.
The name Huntington stems from the original name of the town - Huntington City - which was later renamed Bowie in honor of Maryland governor and Pennsylvania Railroad president Oden Bowie. (The nearby town of Odenton was named for the same individual.) As the city of Bowie expanded, the original section became known as the Huntington Section, and it is here that the museum and park dedicated to the city's roots as a railroad center is located.
The structures located within the park were acquired by the city from Amtrak and moved a short distance from their former location in July of 1992. They were of no further use to the railroad. The tower closed in 1988, and MARC passenger trains now stop at at another location north of the section near Bowie State University.
The purpose of the Huntington Heritage Society is to identify, document, collect, and preserve the physical and oral history of the Huntington section of Bowie.
The photo above, by Vince Cipriani, was taken on opening day, May 22, 1994.
The photos below, by Allen Brougham, were taken in 2001. The bottom photo shows curator Ashby Kelley with the tower's model board.
