B&O Railroad Station and Willard Hotel

B&O Railroad Station and Willard Hotel

Grafton West Virginia

1911

Architect: M. A. Long
Construction: The complex was built by J.J. Walsh and Son of Baltimore.

built during the Progressive Era (c. 1890s–1920s)

Latitude 39.3406731565377
Longitude -80.01775364559525

The B&O Railroad Station and Willard Hotel were constructed with
Red brick, Granite, and Terra-cotta trim

The Willard Hotel is 6.5 stories tall, but its exact height from the ground to the top was not found in the search results. The height of the B&O Railroad Station was not given either. It changes because of the different elevations on each side of the building.

Public

The B&O Station is built in the Beaux Arts style
The Willard Hotel is built in the Second Empire style

The Railroad station’s façade is richly framed: it faces Main Street at a lower elevation, to what looks like it shows two stories there, but on the trackside (where the land slopes) it rises to three stories. The front is arranged around a central block of five bays; the three middle bays form the main entrance and are flanked by substantial three‑quarter height columns. Above these, a strong entablature runs across, leading up to a parapet. In the center of it is a curved parapet cresting over the central bays, inside which is a large, decorative symbol bearing the B&O logo. Inside, the station has a grand central lobby. The interior finishes are elegant: marble floors, tall classical columns, and large windows that allow natural light to flood the space. The ticketing and baggage offices occupy one wing, while the other wing was used for related railroad administrative functions and passenger facilities.
The Willard Hotel, built immediately adjacent and slightly east of the station (finished in 1912), complements the station architecturally but with certain distinct stylistic features. It’s a 6-story building in a Second Empire manner mixed with Beaux‑Arts detailing. The hotel has a mansard roof with dormer windows, and its façade uses red brick combined with stone (or cut stone) trim, including quoins and corbeled brickwork. The hotel has large public rooms such as a ballroom, dining rooms, reading rooms, etc.

Image 1, 4, 5, 6
https://img.atlasobscura.com/lcd101JHqczAkEEKRAXtLzw0iuoU_qV8I-fIyzbLSho/rt:fit/h:400/q:81/sm:1/scp:1/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdGxh/cy1kZXYuczMuYW1h/em9uYXdzLmNvbS91/cGxvYWRzL3BsYWNl/X2ltYWdlcy9hMjRl/ZWVjYy03YzhmLTRm/NzEtODAyMi05YzNj/ODVjZGFkZGIyYTc2/NzNkYTA3YjEwZTRm/ZTdfOTAwMTg5NkEt/OTRCQy00NTk4LUIz/QUMtRUU1NTIxNTFG/RTlFLmpwZWc.webp
Image 2 - 3
https://sah-archipedia.org/sites/default/files/pictures/full/WV-01-TA1-002.jpg
Image 7
https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/ticket-counter-marion-oh-train-depo-usa-321693167.jpg

Image 1: Creative Commons
Image 2: Creative Commons
Image 3: Creative Commons
Image 4: Creative Commons
Image 5: Creative Commons
Image 6: Creative Commons
Image 7: Creative Commons

Justin Forster

Source 1
Pls4e. (2019, June 17). B&O railroad station and hotel. SAH ARCHIPEDIA. https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/WV-01-TA1
Source 2
The Willard Hotel, built in 1911 by the B&O to house travelers and important railroad employees, and, to its left, the old B&O terminal in Grafton, West Virginia. (n.d.). https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2015631664/#:~:text=The%20six%2Dand%2Da%2D,Grafton%20B&O%20Railroading%20Heritage%20Center.
Source 3

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/b-o-railroad-station-and-willard-hotel
Image 1, 4, 5, 6
https://img.atlasobscura.com/lcd101JHqczAkEEKRAXtLzw0iuoU_qV8I-fIyzbLSho/rt:fit/h:400/q:81/sm:1/scp:1/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdGxh/cy1kZXYuczMuYW1h/em9uYXdzLmNvbS91/cGxvYWRzL3BsYWNl/X2ltYWdlcy9hMjRl/ZWVjYy03YzhmLTRm/NzEtODAyMi05YzNj/ODVjZGFkZGIyYTc2/NzNkYTA3YjEwZTRm/ZTdfOTAwMTg5NkEt/OTRCQy00NTk4LUIz/QUMtRUU1NTIxNTFG/RTlFLmpwZWc.webp
Image 2 - 3
https://sah-archipedia.org/sites/default/files/pictures/full/WV-01-TA1-002.jpg
Image 7
https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/ticket-counter-marion-oh-train-depo-usa-321693167.jpg

First built in the early 1910s, the B&O Railroad Station in Grafton served as a major transportation hub for passengers and freight, reflecting the city's importance in the Baltimore & Ohio rail network, while the adjacent Willard Hotel provided upscale accommodations and social spaces for travelers and local events, including a ballroom, restaurant, and reading rooms. The hotel and station worked together as a gateway to the city, but over time, as passenger rail travel declined in the mid-20th century, the station fell into unemployment and the hotel deteriorated, eventually closing. Today, both buildings are vacant but still stand. Preservation efforts have been proposed or partially undertaken to rehabilitate them, though full restoration has not yet been realized. Although, research has said that the station now serves as offices for a unit of CSX Transportation.