”The Queen City Hotel”
The Queen City Hotel was constructed in 1871 by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Cumberland, Maryland to serve both as a station and as a destination.
Hosting over 100 rooms, it also had such features as formal gardens with a fountain, and a ballroom.
It was torn down in the 1972 after being neglected and run down.
The Hotel and Station was designed by Thomas N. Heskett of the Railroad's Road Department in the Italianate style. The effort to preserve this ornate, Victorian-era structure was one of the classic preservation battles of the early 1970s.
It was one of the last remaining railroad hotels in the U.S. The battle was lost when the building was demolished in 1972.
The Cumberland Post Office and Amtrak Station now sits in its place, Inside the Lobby you will find a plaque that reads,
SITE of QUEEN CITY HOTEL – STATION
Ground Breaking 1871
Grand Opening Nov. 1, 1872
Ordered Destroyed 1971
One of kind in the US
First building in Allegany County
Named to the National Register 1971
Litigation taken to Supreme Court in effort to save this landmark by Preservation Society Inc.
The Preservation Society Inc provided this plaque in 1976.
The Queen City Hotel was located on Park and E. Harrison Street.
The Queen City Hotel served as a summer resort. Located in a valley surrounded by mountains, it provided an escape from the summer heat.
The Queen City Hotel was built only a year after the Baltimore and Ohio completed its rail connection to Pittsburgh. This placed Cumberland as a major junction of the route northwest to Pittsburgh and the main line west of the Ohio River.
This Beautiful structure no longer exist, except in the memories of those who experienced it and pictures saved through history.
I have placed a cache close by to commemorate it.
Pictures of what once was still exist. Check them out on this page . If you have pictures or memories Please Post them with your logs to share with everyone.
Due to the urban setting, you are seeking a micro cache in a busy muggle area. Please replace cache in its hiding location to reduce muggle theft.
No Room for a writing instrument so BYOP.
Stealth will be required during most hours, but can be Muggle free depending on the time and day of your Hunt.
*** Congratulations to KG8GN for the FTF Award !! ***