File:WB Tower New Location.JPG: Difference between revisions

Summary

On April 2, 2022, the B & O Westbound Tower was relocated to E. Potomac Street adjacent to the site of the old YMCA, which was destroyed by fire in November, 1980.

Following years of planning and discussion, the City of Brunswick, Maryland finally moved the historic WB Tower off of CSX property.

The interlocking tower, built around 1906-07, was removed from service a decade ago and residents feared the historic Baltimore & Ohio structure would be demolished. Coordination of engineering services, structural analysis, consideration of appropriate locations, transfer of ownership, and the logistics of moving the two-story building delayed the project several times through the years, according to the city.

In 2020, the state announced a $15,000 award from the Maryland Historical Trust Capital Grant Program to help with the move. “The WB Tower and its largely intact interior machinery and communication cabling is a rare-remaining physical vestige of B&O Railroad’s long history in Brunswick,” officials with Preservation Maryland, which has been assisting in the project, said of the building.

“Many of the buildings related to the massive footprint once held by the B&O and related industries in Brunswick are now gone, including the massive roundhouse, formidable YMCA, and many auxiliary buildings.”

A few years ago, Brunswick Crossing residents raised funds for the relocation. A 5K run was hosted by the master planned community - with tee-shirts to celebrate the occasion.

(Information courtesy of Richard A. Foot)