Lost Washington: Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station

(Courtesy DC Public Library Commons' photostream)

The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station was located at the southwest corner of Constitution Avenue and 6th Street, NW. It was constructed between 1873 and  1878, being an outstanding example of the use of Victorian Gothic motifs.

Because of the soft ground over Tiber Creek, the building was supported by wooden piles driven to a depth of 35 ft. The tracks leading to the station crossed Long Bridge (roughly where 14th Street Bridge is), proceeded down Maryland Avenue, SW, crossed the Mall at 6th Street, and terminated at Constitution Avenue (then B Street).

There was a 130 ft train shed stretched halfway across the Mall leading up to the station, and this eyesore, along with the adjacent piles of coal for the engines, remained until the entire station was razed in 1908, following the opening of the new Union Station.

The most significant event in the history of the station was the assassination of President James A. Garfield, which took place in the main lobby at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 2, 1881. After only being in office for four months, Garfield was shot in the back and shoulder by Charles J. Guiteau, a mentally deranged office seeker. Garfield was taken to the White House where doctors were unable to locate and remove the bullet. Because of the uncomfortable heat and humidity, Garfield was taken by train to Elberton, New Jersey, where he died on September 19th.