Preservation Maryland

State Preservation Grants Support Relocation of Historic B&O Railroad Tower in Brunswick

06/19/2020
By Preservation Maryland

Gov. Hogan recently announced $600,000 in grants for capital historic preservation projects across the state, including a grant to relocate the historic B&O WB Tower in Brunswick, Maryland – also a Preservation Maryland Six-to-Fix project and recipient of a Heritage Fund grant from Preservation Maryland and the Maryland Historical Trust.

The City of Brunswick in Central Maryland was home to a major B&O railyard and the industry played a major part in the development of the town and region. Among the remaining links to this history is the ca. 1920 WB Tower situated close alongside the still-active tracks. It was the last tower in operation on the line when it closed in 2011. While city officials and community members have long been committed to telling the story of Brunswick’s railroad history, the WB Tower was on CSX-owned land and threatened with demolition.

In 2019, Preservation Maryland named the WB Tower a Six-to-Fix priority project. The organization has supported architectural documentation of the building and awarded the City of Brunswick with a Heritage Fund grant towards the total costs of relocation. With the recent announcement of the $15,000 grant from the Maryland Historical Trust Capital Grant program, the move is set to occur. As the relocation project moves forward, Preservation Maryland will continue to post updates.

Once moved to safety, and nearby other railroad relics, like a restored caboose, the City will begin a restoration and interpretation project as part of their heritage tourism efforts.

Smart Growth Maryland, a major program of Preservation Maryland, is actively engaged and supportive of efforts in Brunswick to create a new Conservation District.

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Additional grant awards were announced for the following deserving projects:

Lovely Lane United Methodist Church
Baltimore City
$100,000

Constructed 1882-1887, Lovely Lane Methodist Church is the Mother Church of American Methodism and was designed by noted architect Stanford White, of McKim, Meade, and White. The chapel has 27 original stained glass windows made by Louis C. Tiffany and Company. The grant funds will be used to restore the stained glass windows. The church has also received a $250,000 National Fund for Sacred Places grant, the only one in Maryland.

Schifferstadt Architectural Museum
Frederick County
$40,000

The Schifferstadt Architectural Museum is one of America’s finest examples of German colonial architecture. A National Historic Landmark, it is one of the earliest known homes in Frederick, and is an outstanding example of a Georgian-period house, influenced by German-American culture and building traditions. The grant funds will be used to prevent further water intrusion into the house by repairing windows and doors, installing a gutter system, and interior and exterior repointing of the walls.

His Lordship’s Kindness
Prince George’s County
$100,000

His Lordship’s Kindness, a National Historic Landmark, is known for its landscape, variety of original outbuildings, and the main house, Poplar Hill. The two-story brick, five-part house is an exemplary specimen of Georgian architecture. The grant funds will be used for urgent work on both the main house and outbuildings, where priorities have been identified including woodwork and roof repairs.

Mount Clare Museum
Baltimore City
$11,000

The Mount Clare Mansion is an 18th-century five-part Georgian house with reconstructed wings and hyphens. Also a National Historic Landmark, the house historically belonged to the Carroll Family and is now a public museum with meeting space, while the grounds are part of Carroll Park. Grant funds will be used to repair the exterior doors of the house that were badly damaged during an attempted break-in.

Bostwick House
Prince George’s County
$76,000

Bostwick House is one of four pre-Revolutionary war structures in Bladensburg. Built in 1746 for a prominent merchant, the two-and-a-half-story brick house dominates the property that overlooks the Anacostia River at the former Port of Bladensburg. Grant funds will be used to repair the buttress at the south elevation, which includes a structural analysis. The buttress was damaged by a microburst weather event in 2012, and then partially deconstructed and studied to understand its purpose as a structural element.

National Park Seminary
Montgomery County
$100,000

In 1887, National Park Seminary was originally constructed as a resort hotel, but spent most of its existence as an educational facility or under ownership of the U.S. Army. In 1927 the grand ballroom was added. Unlike other structures on the campus, the ballroom has Gothic rather than Beaux-Arts features. Grant funds will be used to restore all 14 stained glass windows in the grand ballroom. The comprehensive repair of these windows addresses the last major component of the revitalization of the seminary complex’s main building.

Ebenezer A.M.E. Church and Parish House
Baltimore City
$100,000

Built in 1865 for a congregation organized in 1836, Ebenezer A.M.E. Church is thought to be the oldest standing church in Baltimore that was erected by African Americans and continuously occupied by the descendants of the same congregation. This brick Gothic Revival church has a prominent bell tower and the parish house is located in an adjoining rowhouse. Grant funds will be used to complete an ongoing slate roof repair, which has reached the end of its useful life.

Calvin B. Taylor House
Worcester County
$45,000

The Calvin B. Taylor House is an 1832 front-gable dwelling with Federal and Greek revival architectural features. The house type and style is distinct to Berlin and Worcester County. ​Today the property houses a museum and has been meticulously restored and furnished to reflect domestic life in the 1830s. The roof of the building has reached its useful life, so the grant funds will be used to replace the wood shingle roof.

Christ Rock M.E. Church
Dorchester County
$13,000

Christ Rock Church was constructed in 1875. Along with the Stanley Institute School, they are the focus of the African American settlement that arose at Christ Rock, outside of Cambridge, just after the Civil War. The church is no longer used for religious purposes and is now a community center. Grant funds will be used to repaint the exterior to protect the wood siding, which will help the church reach its final steps to completing their overall capital project.

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