This weekend I visited Frederick Maryland and stumbled upon the old B & O station in the center of town. Abraham Lincoln gave a speech there in October of 1862. The station is in fine shape and serves as a community center. Can anyone inform me of the construction date of the structure (possibly 1850-54) and the date the station was decommissioned or closed?
I'm providing an answer to your question by quoting from two sources on two architects who were involved in the design of B&O stations and buildings. The first architect was an partnership between John Rudolph Niernsee and James Crawford Neilson. Randolph W. Chalfant & Charles Belfoure's book, Niernsee and Neilson, Architects of Baltimore - Two Careers on the Edge of the Future, provides information and photos of B&O stations, including the Frederick station. The second architect, Ephraim Francis Baldwin, wasn't involved in the original design and construction of the Frederick, MD station, but was involved in a later addition. Carlos P. Avery's book, E. Francis Baldwin, Architect - The B&O, Baltimore, and Beyond provides additional information on the Frederick station, as well as information and photos of other B&O stations and structures.
Here is a quote from Chalfant/Belfoure, p. 69:
"Niernsee & Neilson's 1854 Frederick passenger station at All Saints and Market Streets replaced an 1832 building. This building also had a three-story tower with round arched windows attached to a smaller two-story structure where the passenger waiting area and ticket counter was located. A canopy supported by ornamental iron columns provided cover for arriving and departing passengers. The building still stands in Frederick."
Here is a quote from Avery, p. 40:
"The original B&O station in Frederick, Maryland, was an Italianate building designed by Niernsee in 1854 and built at a cost of about $5,500. It is located on the corner of All Saints and market Streets, in downtown Frederick, at the end of a stub siding. In 1891-92, Baldwin was responsible for an addition to the east end of this station which cost $8,475.50. B&O floor plans for this station are in the Smithsonian collection. Railroad operations to this station ceased in 1948; the building still stands, in restored condition, and is on the National Register of Historic Places."