Glen Arm Railroad Station

Located in the Long Green Valley National Register Historic District, the Glen Arm Railroad Station was constructed by the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad in 1909 on the site of an existing railroad station built by the Baltimore and Lehigh Railroad Company. The Glen Arm Station, also known as the Ma-Pa Whistle Stop, was a station serving commercial freight hauling and passenger transportation. The station, a Baltimore County Historic Landmark, is notable as one of the last surviving examples of a rural train station with late Victorian style details such as wooden shingles and large eave overhangs with decorative brackets. It is unique as it is the only surviving station associated with the rail line that retains the integrity of setting and architecture. The station had been poorly renovated into a short-order restaurant about 1969 and abandoned in the early 2000s. The vacant building suffered significant deterioration. The structure was compromised as the floor and foundation framing rotted and collapsed. Walls and roof framing were exposed along with broken and missing windows and doors. Two shoddy additions had been built along the former railroad right of way, concealing the original doors and station master’s bay window. The restoration and renovation of the building transformed the historic station into a coffee shop that serves the Long Green Valley community. The new work maintains the integrity of the former station’s simplicity of rectangular plan with new uses in the former waiting room, freight room, ticket office, and former station master area. Although all interior plaster finishes had been lost, the goal was to recreate the distinction between this as a more formal, painted finished room and the freight room, where wide cedar boards were refurbished and sealed. The rehabilitation consisted of lifting and leveling the structure and pouring a new structural slab. Exterior and interior details were preserved. Architectural elements and details, including windows, doors, casing, brackets and historic paint colors, were replicated in-kind per NPS Preservation Standards. The restoration included hvac, plumbing, electric, water, and septic. The site work allowed for pedestrian improvements and a performance shed and food truck venue. The project has been awarded historic tax credits form the National Park Service, Maryland Historical Trust, and Baltimore County.

 

Project Data
Datec. 1909, 2022
Locationglen arm, md
Awards AIA Baltimore 2025 Design Award - Honorable MentionMHT Historic Revitalization Competitive Commercial Tax CreditNPS Commercial Tax Credit
Photography anne gummerson photography
Collection COMMUNITY
floor plan and site plan
More Projects From

COMMUNITY