Downtown Silver Spring in Montgomery County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Hub of Growth

B&O Train Station

Hub of Growth Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, June 27, 2026

1. Hub of Growth Marker

Inscription.

The Hub of Growth. B&O Train Station. PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN
wrote in his diary on January 3, 1952: “The Baltimore and Ohio [B&O] Station was new, on a double track. Great business houses were on both sides of the track, thick as they could be. When I came to Washington on December 27, 1934, Silver Spring Station was in the midst of a beautiful park, with big trees all around it. It hadn't changed a great deal since Francis Preston Blair owned a farm there in Andrew Jackson's time.”

The original 1878 Silver Spring Station that then Senator-elect Truman (D-MO) first saw in 1934 was the second-oldest passenger station on the B&O Railroad's Metropolitan Branch. Fully opened in 1873, it ran 42.1 miles between Washington, DC and Point of Rocks, Maryland. The station, constructed on land donated by Blair, was a mirror image of the original 1873 station in Rockville, Maryland. Both brick Gothic Revival stations were designed by B&O head architect Ephraim Francis Baldwin.

Six decades later in 1936, in recognition of explosive population growth in southern Montgomery County, Silver Spring was made a stop on the mainline between Washington and Chicago-the only station on the Metropolitan Branch to serve long-distance passengers. By 1940 the small 58-year-old station was in dire need of expansion and modernization.

world war two intervened, but construction finally began in September 1945. The new $85,000 station took three months to build and began serving passengers on December 16, 1945. Now one-third larger, the Silver Spring Station Truman wrote about in 1952 remained in service until February 24,1997, when an errant automobile crashed through its Georgia Avenue entrance. Although scheduled to be demolished, an array of government and community entities rallied to prevent its destruction.

Restored inside and out to its 1945 appearance, Silver Spring Station reopened on November 22, 2002. The station is owned by Montgomery Preservation, Inc. It is listed on Montgomery County's Master Plan for Historic Preservation and the National Register of Historic Places. The station is available for event rentals.

Further information is at www.montgomerypreservation.org or (301) 495-4915

PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN
wrote in his diary on January 3, 1952: “The Baltimore & Ohio [B&O] Station was new, on a double track. Great business houses were on both sides of the track, thick as they could be. When I came to Washington on December 27, 1934, Silver Spring Station was in the midst of a beautiful park, with big trees all around it. It hadn't changed a great deal since Francis Preston Blair owned a farm there in Andrew Jackson's time.”

The original 1878 Silver Spring Station that then Senator-elect Truman (D-MO) first saw in 1934 was the second-oldest passenger station on the B&O Railroad's Metropolitan Branch. Fully opened in 1873, it ran 42.1 miles between Washington, DC and Point of Rocks, Maryland. The station, constructed on land donated by Blair, was a mirror image of the original 1873 station in Rockville, Maryland. Both brick Gothic Revival stations were designed by B&O head architect Ephraim Francis Baldwin.

Six decades later in 1936, in recognition of explosive population growth in southern Montgomery County, Silver Spring was made a stop on the mainline between Washington and Chicago-the only

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station on the Metropolitan Branch to serve long-distance passengers. By 1940 the small 58-year-old station was in dire need of expansion and modernization.

WWII intervened, but construction finally began in September 1945. The new $85,000 station took three months to build and began serving passengers on December 16, 1945. Now one-third larger, the Silver Spring Station Truman wrote about in 1952 remained in service until February 24,1997, when an errant automobile crashed through its Georgia Avenue entrance. Although scheduled to be demolished, an array of government and community entities rallied to prevent its destruction.

Restored inside and out to its 1945 appearance, Silver Spring Station reopened on November 22, 2002. The station is owned by Montgomery Preservation, Inc. It is listed on Montgomery County's Master Plan for Historic Preservation and the National Register of Historic Places. The station is available for event rentals.

Further information is at www.montgomerypreservation.org or (301) 495-4915

Erected 2026 by Montgomery Preservation.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical date for this entry is January 3, 1952.

Location. 38° 59.422′ N,

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, July 2, 2026

2. Hub of Growth Marker

In front of the 1941 Silver Spring B&O Railroad Station.

77° 1.611′ W. Marker is in Silver Spring, Maryland, in Montgomery County. It is in Downtown Silver Spring. It is on Georgia Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 8100 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring MD 20910, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A Downtown is Born (within shouting distance of this marker); Heat Up, Cool Down (within shouting distance of this marker); ‘Most Lonesome Spot’ (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Enticing Business (about 400 feet away); Canada Dry Building (about 400 feet away); The Community of Silver Spring (about 600 feet away); Silver Spring Shopping Center (about 700 feet away); The Silver Spring

Arriving in Silver Spring image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, June 27, 2026

3. Arriving in Silver Spring

Circa 1941 westbound diesel locomotive approaches Silver Spring's original 1878 station. (Silver Spring Historical Society)
(Close-up of Photo on Marker.)

(about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Silver Spring.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, June 27, 2026

4. All Aboard!

Silver Spring Station, built among trees as shown in this June 21, 1917 photo by Willard R. Ross, began a commercial boom.
Collection of Jerry A. McCoy

(Close-up of Photo on Marker.)

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, June 27, 2026

5. New in Town

“New Silver Spring Station-Exterior view of the new $85,000 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad station in Silver Spring. Although work on the structure, which will be about one-third larger than the old building, has not yet been completed, employees are scheduled to move in tonight.” Photograph and text are from the Evening Star December 11, 1945.
The Peoples Archive, DC Public Library.

(Close-up of Photo on Marker)

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, June 27, 2026

6. Dedication

County Executive Mark Elrich and Jerry McCoy, founder of the Silver Spring Historical Society at the dedication of the Marker on June 27, 2026.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 6, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 6, 2026, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. This page has been viewed 9 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 6, 2026, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.