Queen City Hotel facts for kids
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Queen City Hotel
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Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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The B&O's Metropolitan (left) and The Shenandoah at Cumberland, MD on December 5, 1970.
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| NRHP reference No. | 71001052 |
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Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | 1971 |
| Removed from NRHP | 1972 |
The Queen City Hotel was a large and fancy building. It was built in 1871 by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). This hotel was in Cumberland, Maryland. It served two main purposes. It was a train station for travelers. It was also a special place for people to visit and stay.
The hotel had 174 rooms. It also featured beautiful gardens with a fountain. There was a large ballroom for events. A big dining room could seat 400 people. The Queen City Hotel was taken down in 1972. A new United States Post Office was built in its place. A smaller train station for Amtrak service was also built.
Discovering the Queen City Hotel's Past
The Queen City Hotel was built just one year after the B&O railroad line reached Pittsburgh. This made Cumberland a very important spot. It was a major meeting point for trains. One route went northwest to Pittsburgh. The main B&O line went west of the Ohio River.
The hotel was designed by Thomas N. Heskett. He worked for the B&O Road Department. The building was made in the Italianate style. This style often includes grand, fancy details. Building the hotel cost over $350,000. That was a huge amount of money back then!
The hotel was used as a summer getaway. People could escape the heat there. It was located in a valley. Mountains surrounded the area. The railroad did not really advertise it as a tourist spot.
In the same year the hotel was finished, the B&O built another resort. This was the Deer Park Hotel in Garrett County, Maryland. That hotel closed in 1929. It was later destroyed by a fire.
In 1912, the B&O made the train station part of the hotel bigger. This new station section had three floors. It also included offices for the railroad company.
Why the Queen City Hotel Was Lost
Over time, fewer people traveled by train. This happened in the middle of the 20th century. Because of this, fewer people stayed at the Queen City Hotel. The hotel finally closed to the public in December 1964.
In 1969, there was a fire at the hotel. The city then checked the building. They decided it was unsafe. The B&O railroad planned to tear it down.
People who cared about historic preservation tried to save the building. They went to court to stop the demolition. But their efforts were not successful. The B&O started tearing down the hotel in 1971.
Saving this beautiful, old building was a big fight. It was one of the most important battles for historic preservation in the early 1970s. The Queen City Hotel was one of the last railroad hotels left in the U.S. Sadly, the battle was lost. The building was torn down.
Today, the Cumberland Post Office stands where the hotel once was.
