Pennsylvania Station (Baltimore) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Baltimore Penn Station Baltimore, MD
Amtrak intercity rail station MARC commuter rail station Baltimore Light RailLink station
Location	1500-1515 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland United States
Coordinates	39°18′27″N 76°36′56″W / 39.30750°N 76.61556°W / 39.30750; -76.61556
Owned by	Amtrak
Line(s)	Northeast Corridor
Platforms	3 island platforms (MARC and Amtrak) 1 side platform (Light RailLink)
Tracks	8 (MARC and Amtrak) 1 (Light RailLink)
Connections	MTA: 3, 11, 61, 64 CCC Purple Route [1] Johns Hopkins Shuttle[2] Baltimore Collegetown Shuttle[3] BoltBus Jones Falls Trail
Construction
Parking	550 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	BAL, rail airport code ZBP
History
Opened	1911
Rebuilt	1984
Electrified	January 28, 1935 (ceremonial) February 10, 1935 (regular service)
Previous names	Baltimore Union Station
Traffic
Passengers (2017)	1,063,628 annually  3.25% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station BWI Airport toward Washington, D.C. Acela Wilmington toward Boston South Vermonter Wilmington toward St. Albans BWI Airport toward Norfolk, Newport News or Roanoke Northeast Regional Aberdeen toward Boston South or Springfield Washington, D.C. toward Chicago Cardinal Wilmington toward New York Washington, D.C. toward Charlotte Carolinian Washington, D.C. toward New Orleans Crescent BWI Airport toward Savannah Palmetto Washington, D.C. toward Miami Silver Star Silver Meteor Preceding station MARC Following station West Baltimore towards Union Station Penn Line Martin State Airport towards Perryville Preceding station MTA Maryland Following station Mt. Royal / MICA toward Camden Yards Light RailLink Penn–Camden Shuttle Terminus
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Edmondson toward Washington, D.C. Chesapeake Edgewood toward Philadelphia–Suburban New Carrollton toward Tri-State Hilltopper Aberdeen toward Boston South BWI Airport toward Washington, D.C. Metroliner Wilmington toward New York New Carrollton toward Washington, D.C. Montrealer Wilmington toward Montreal Harrisburg toward Kansas City National Limited Capital Beltway toward Washington, D.C. Capital Beltway toward Washington, D.C. Montrealer Wilmington toward Montreal Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station Edmondson Avenue toward Washington, DC Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Biddle Street toward Philadelphia Woodberry toward Harrisburg Northern Central Railway Calvert Street Terminus Preceding station Western Maryland Railway Following station Baltimore Walbrook toward Cumberland Main Line Baltimore Hillen Terminus
Pennsylvania Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	1525 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland
Area	1.9 acres (0.8 ha)
Built	1911
Architect	McKim, Mead & White; Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison
Architectural style	Beaux Arts
NRHP reference No.	75002097
Added to NRHP	September 12, 1975
Location
Baltimore Penn Station Baltimore, MD Location in Baltimore

Baltimore Pennsylvania Station, often called Penn Station, is a major transportation center in Baltimore, Maryland. It was built in 1911 and designed by architect Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison. The building has a beautiful Beaux-Arts style.

You can find Penn Station at 1515 N. Charles Street. It's about a mile and a half north of downtown Baltimore and the Inner Harbor. The station sits between the Mount Vernon neighborhood and the Station North area.

When it first opened, it was called Union Station. This was because it served both the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Western Maryland Railway. In 1928, its name changed to match other Pennsylvania Stations.

The station is built on a raised area between two open trenches. One trench is for the Jones Falls Expressway. The other holds the tracks of the Northeast Corridor (NEC). The NEC is a busy train route. Penn Station is the eighth-busiest train station in the United States. It serves many passengers every year.

Train Services at Penn Station

Penn Station is a busy place with different types of trains. It's a key stop for people traveling around Maryland and to other states.

Light RailLink and MARC Trains

The station is the northern end for the Baltimore Light RailLink's Penn–Camden shuttle. This shuttle connects the Mount Vernon area with downtown Baltimore. The southern end is at Camden Station.

Penn Station is also a main stop for MARC's Penn Line commuter service. This service takes people to and from Washington, D.C. Most Penn Line trains stop here. Some trains continue to Martin State Airport or Perryville.

Amtrak Services

Amtrak owns Penn Station. It serves nine of Amtrak's services on the Northeast Corridor.

• Acela Express and Northeast Regional trains travel along the Northeast Corridor. They connect cities like Boston and Washington, D.C..
• Some Regional trains go further into Virginia. They stop at places like Alexandria, Newport News, Norfolk, and Roanoke.
• Other long-distance trains from Penn Station can take you to many different cities. These include St. Albans, Vermont, Charlottesville, Virginia, Raleigh, Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
• You can also travel to cities in Florida like Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami, Florida.
• Trains also go to Huntington, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Chicago, Illinois.

Amtrak's large Superliner railcars cannot use this station. This is because the tunnels near Baltimore Penn Station are too small for them.

Penn Station's interior, showing its grand design.

Before Amtrak started in 1971, Penn Station was the main Baltimore station for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). Trains from the Western Maryland Railway also used Penn Station. Many PRR commuter trains to Washington, D.C., used this station too. These were the early versions of today's MARC Penn Line.

Famous trains from other railroads also stopped here. These included the Southern Railway's "Southerner" and "Crescent Limited". The Atlantic Coast Line's "Champion" and the Seaboard's "Silver Meteor" also stopped at Penn Station. They carried passengers heading to southern states.

Until the late 1960s, the PRR also ran long-distance trains from Penn Station. These trains went to places like Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Some even went to St. Louis, Missouri, and Buffalo, New York.

The station was restored in 1984. It was made to look like it did when it opened in 1911.

Station Features and Amenities

Penn Station has a magazine store where you can buy snacks and other quick items. There are also two restaurants: Dunkin' Donuts and Java Moon Cafe.

If you drive, there's a parking garage with 550 spaces. This garage is owned by the Baltimore Parking Authority. You can also find ZipCar vehicles based at the station.

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  Amtrak Northeast Regional train arriving.

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  MARC Penn Line train at the station.

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  Light RailLink train at the station.

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  Charm City Circulator bus on Charles Street.

Station History

Baltimore Pennsylvania Station first opened on September 15, 1911. It is the third train station to be built on this spot.

The first station was a wooden building. It was built in 1873 by the Northern Central Railway. This company was part of the PRR. In 1886, a new station called Charles Street Union Station replaced it. This station had a three-story brick building. It also had a large train shed. This building was taken down in 1910 to build the current Penn Station.

Savarin Restaurant inside Pennsylvania Station around the 1930s.

In the 1920s to 1940s, Savarin Restaurants had full dining rooms in big train stations. One was at Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station. Another was at Washington's Union Station. The Savarin Restaurant in Baltimore had murals showing scenes from the Chesapeake Bay. By the 1960s, it only offered counter service.

Penn Station became the main train station for long-distance travel in Baltimore. This happened after the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad stopped all passenger service north of Baltimore in 1958.

The Checkers Speech

In 1952, Richard Nixon was running for Vice President. He gave a famous speech called the "Checkers speech." In this speech, he talked about a special package waiting for him at "Union Station in Baltimore." This package contained a cocker spaniel dog. His daughter Tricia named the dog "Checkers."

=Male/Female Sculpture

In 2004, the City of Baltimore asked artist Jonathan Borofsky to create a sculpture. It was meant to be a centerpiece for the plaza in front of Penn Station. His artwork is a 51-foot-tall aluminum statue called Male/Female.

This statue has caused a lot of discussion. Some people like its modern look. They think it fits well in a city. Others think it doesn't match the classic style of the station. The Baltimore Sun newspaper called it "oversized, underdressed, and woefully out of place."

Male/Female sculpture in front of Pennsylvania Station, August 1, 2006.

Future Plans for the Station Area

There have been ideas to turn the upper floors of Penn Station into a hotel. Proposals were made in 2001 and 2006, but they didn't happen. In 2009, Amtrak agreed with a developer to build a 77-room hotel. This project also faced delays.

In 2017, Amtrak chose a group called Penn Station Partners. They will make improvements to the station and develop nearby land. In 2019, plans were announced for a new hub. This hub would include apartments, shops, offices, and a hotel.

Amtrak says this plan will create a top transportation hub. It will help with the expected increase in passengers. This is because new, faster Acela Express trains will start running in 2021. The project could cost between $400 million and $600 million. Amtrak is also putting $90 million of federal money into station and track improvements.

In 2020, Amtrak and Penn Station Partners showed plans for a new train terminal. This new building will be just north of the current station. It will handle all passenger services. The current Penn Station building will be restored. Its upper levels might become office space. The ground level could have restaurants and shops.

• Amtrak – Stations – Baltimore Pennsylvania Station
• Pennsylvania Railroad Station, Baltimore City, including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust

All of the following are filed under Baltimore, Independent City, MD:

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MD-50, "Union Junction Interlocking Tower, Bounded by Federal, Guilford, Royal, and Calvert Streets", 6 photos, 15 data pages, 1 photo caption page
• HAER No. MD-163, "Baltimore & Potomac Interlocking Tower, Adjacent to AMTRAK railroad tracks in block bounded by Howard Street, Jones Falls Expressway, Maryland Avenue & Falls Road", 11 photos, 27 data pages, 2 photo caption pages

Images for kids

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  Penn Station's interior